Singapore Commercial Real Estate Laws: Landlord Guide
Comprehensive overview of Singapore commercial landlord-tenant laws, including the new Code of Conduct for Retail Premises and general commercial lease princ...
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Singapore’s commercial real estate market—consisting of office spaces, retail storefronts, and industrial warehouses—operates predominantly on the principle of freedom of contract, heavily influenced by English common law. However, recent sweeping legislation has fundamentally altered the landscape for retail landlords.
The Lease of Retail Premises Act
Historically, commercial landlords in Singapore held significant bargaining power over tenants. To level the playing field, the Singapore government passed the Lease of Retail Premises Act 2023, which strictly mandates compliance with the Code of Conduct for Leasing of Retail Premises in Singapore (CoC).
Effective from February 2024, this legislation applies to all "Qualifying Retail Premises" (QRPs) where the lease term is at least one year.
Qualifying Retail Premises (QRP)
A premises is considered a QRP if:
- The premises are used primarily for the sale of goods or provision of services (such as an F&B outlet, a clothing store, a clinic, or a tuition center).
- The lease is for a period of one year or longer.
If your property is a QRP, your Tenancy Agreement must strictly adhere to the guidelines set out in the CoC. If it does not, the non-compliant clauses can be declared void, and the landlord may face penalties.
Key Commercial Leasing Rules (General & QRP)
| Landlord and Tenant must bear their own legal costs for lease preparation |
Security Deposits
In typical commercial (office/industrial) leases, the security deposit is usually equivalent to three months’ gross rent.
For Qualifying Retail Premises, the CoC caps the security deposit at a maximum of three months' gross rent for lease terms of up to three years (if the premises is smaller than 5,000 sq ft). Furthermore, the CoC gives retail tenants the option to provide a portion of this deposit (e.g., one month's worth) as a bank guarantee rather than cash.
For more detail, see our Commercial Security Deposits guide.
Eviction Procedures
Commercial evictions in Singapore are governed by the strict terms of the lease and common law principles regarding forfeiture and re-entry. If a commercial tenant misses a rent payment or substantially breaches the lease, the landlord must issue a statutory notice under Section 18 of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act (CLPA).
Unlike the residential sector, courts generally uphold swift right-of-re-entry clauses in commercial contracts, though tenants can still apply for relief against forfeiture.
For more detail, see our Commercial Eviction Process guide.
Rent Reviews and Increases
There is no general statutory rent control for commercial or industrial properties. Rents are entirely determined by market forces.
A common feature in Singapore commercial leases is the "Base Rent + GTO (Gross Turnover)" model, where a landlord takes a base amount plus a percentage of the tenant's exact monthly sales. Under the CoC, retail landlords are prohibited from demanding exorbitant sales data without clear confidentiality provisions and cannot unilaterally rewrite base rents purely based on high sales figures without mutual agreement.
For more detail, see our Commercial Rent Increases guide.
Getting Started with Commercial Leasing
Drafting an air-tight commercial lease in Singapore now requires granular knowledge of the Lease of Retail Premises Act to avoid inadvertently weaving non-compliant, voidable clauses into a multi-year multi-million-dollar retail contract.
Explore more Singapore commercial compliance topics:
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