Renting from China: full process

Still in China and want to lock down a place in Singapore before you arrive? Follow the rhythm below and you can move straight in when you land.

Budget: a room (common/master) or a whole unit? A single room is usually S$1,000–2,200/month; a whole unit is priced by the number of rooms. Check the live ranges on each condo's price page.
Location: use your school as the center and first decide "within how many minutes on foot / by MRT." The commute time you save by living near campus is often worth more than the little you'd save on rent.
Enrolment date: the day your lease starts decides whether you need a short-term stopgap first.

Ask the landlord or agent for a real walkthrough video (not stock photos), showing: natural light, the bathroom, the kitchen, the common areas, and the actual view out the window.
The three key questions: how much is the deposit, how long is the lease, and who pays for utilities and internet.
If you can, arrange a video viewing and have them walk through on the spot, turning on lights and taps to verify.

Once you've chosen a place, pay a good faith deposit to hold it. This is usually one month's rent and converts to the security deposit after signing.
Sign a formal Tenancy Agreement (TA) with every tenant's name written in.
Keep a paper trail: pay by bank transfer, noting the property address and purpose; never hand cash to an individual and never pay in full before signing.

Deposit: a room is usually 1 month; a whole unit is by lease length, generally one month's deposit per year rented.
Advance rental: commonly "one month's deposit plus one month upfront."
Stamp duty: tenants generally pay stamp duty on the agreement, calculated on the rent, and you can do it yourself on the IRAS website.
For detailed agent-fee rules, see "How agent fees work."

On move-in day, check everything against the inventory list item by item, and photograph anything wrong on the spot as evidence.
Note the agreed responsibilities for air-con servicing and repairs (the agreement usually has a "minor repairs" clause).

Not sure how to handle a step? Just add us on WeChat — we'll help you get the process running smoothly around your school and budget.

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