SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Dorothy Marie Ng, Monica Yip, Tay Peng Cheng and Tan Shao Tong, WongPartnership LLP
6.8 Costs Payable by a Tenant at the Start of a Lease The tenant usually pays the stamp duty charge - able on the lease and a security deposit as secu - rity against breach of terms of the lease. They may also be required to pay service charges or charges for the hire of furniture and fittings and the landlord’s legal costs and/or administration fees. 6.9 Payment of Maintenance and Repair Landlords are generally responsible for the costs of maintaining and repairing common areas shared by several tenants. 6.10 Payment of Utilities and Telecommunications Tenants will arrange with and pay suppliers directly for the supply of utilities and telecom - munications. If separate metering for utilities is not possible for the leased premises, or if the landlord is purchasing electricity in bulk for the entire property, the landlord will arrange for the supply of utilities to the leased premises and apportion the charges for utilities to the tenants. 6.11 Payment of Property Taxes As owner of the property, the landlord is the party responsible for payment of property taxes. However, it is common for landlords, particularly in the case of office and residential leases, to require tenants to bear any increase in property tax payable during the lease term. 6.12 Insurance Issues The tenant will bear the cost of insuring the real estate that is the subject of a lease. A landlord will usually require the tenant to take up the policy in the joint names of the landlord and the tenant.
duct is intended to guide tenants and landlords of “qualifying retail premises” to ensure a fair and balanced position in negotiations of leases. Please refer to 1.3 Proposals for Reform . 6.4 Typical Terms of a Lease There is no fixed duration for the length of a lease; it depends on the needs of the lessee and the agreement made between the lessor and lessee. The tenant is typically responsible for the upkeep of the property and is required to maintain and repair the real estate, preserving it in good con - dition. The tenant’s failure to comply with this covenant will constitute a breach of a term of the lease, for which the landlord will be entitled to enter the premises to carry out necessary works and to recover the costs of so doing from the tenant. Rent is typically payable monthly in advance, though depending on the agreement between parties, there are instances of annual advance payments. 6.5 Rent Variation Whether the rent remains unchanged or is vari - able during the length of the lease term depends on the agreement between the lessor and les - see. 6.6 Determination of New Rent The rent may be varied at a fixed rate or may be pegged to an index, such as the consumer price index or the prevailing market rent. The exact mechanism is up to the parties to negotiate. 6.7 Payment of VAT GST is payable on rent, except in the case of leases of residential properties, which are exempt from GST.
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