Looking for short-term accommodation 2 exchange students

17 November 2021 16:44:19

Hi everyone!

Me (Portuguese) and a friend from university (Romanian) are going on exchange for 1 semester at Singapore Management University starting at the beginning of January until May.

Our issue is that we are struggling to find a place to live because we are only looking to stay for a short period of time, and accommodation is pretty expensive.

I found a lot of listings on expat.com for really beautiful studios going for SG$800 listed in the last few weeks, but they seem too good to be true... I wanted to ask if anyone has any opinion on these? Some examples of studios I saw are:
- https://www.expat.com/en/housing/asia/s … n-106.html
- https://www.expat.com/en/housing/asia/s … on-rd.html
- https://www.expat.com/en/housing/asia/s … batok.html
- https://www.expat.com/en/housing/asia/s … -east.html

Also if anyone has any recommendations about where else to look for places to look for accommodation that would be amazing, thank you!

beppi

17 November 2021 23:39:38

14847

World Citizen

Unfortunately for you, it is illegal in Singapore to rent out residential property for less than 6 months (and for the cheaper HDB flats less than a year). Anybody offering to do so is most likely out to cheat you.
You have no other choice than staying in a hostel or serviced apartment- ask your school to arrange something urgently!

As for the ads you found (all from one and the same property agent - a profession not known for honesty in Singapore!): The addresses are HDB towns, but the pictures show neither HDBs nor studio (meaning one-room) apartments (which do not exist as HDB).
I doubt that any studio apartment is available at S$800/month - and also that the two of you want to stay together in one room on one double bed!

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