Fancy keeping the extended family unit in tact whilst having your own space and the physical boundaries of a wall and door? Now you can, with this new property type – Dual-key apartment. Already available at some executive condominiums, they come with a studio-unit attached. Available for use by the owner or rented out (if rules and regulations are fulfilled), it’s a brand new way of life, and maybe even, income.
Interest is growing in a new type of home here which offers an adjoining studio apartment so that families can have relatives such as elderly parents living close by and still enjoy some privacy. But a second reason has emerged as to why these so-called ‘dual key’ apartments look appealing to many buyers – the chance of renting out the extra unit earlier than would usually be allowed.
Esparina Residences executive condominium on Compassvale Bow.
The studio unit, with its own kitchen and bathroom, has a separate entrance which opens to a foyer that is shared with the main unit. Hence the name dual-key apartments, which are on offer at some executive condominiums, a public-private housing hybrid. ECs are subject to a five-year minimum occupation period (MOP). During this period, owners of regular EC apartments are not allowed to rent out their whole unit. But owners of dual-key apartments can rent out the studio apartment, as long as they comply with the rules.
Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the HDB said private developers of such units market dual-key homes as one apartment under one strata title, which means the studio unit is counted as a room and not a separate apartment. Owners who rent out rooms within the MOP must register with the HDB seven days from the start of the lease period. The HDB also said such owners will have to comply with subletting conditions, including living in the flat during the lease period.
One of the latest EC projects - Arc @ Tampines executive condominium.
Some property consultants say they have received a number of queries from buyers asking if its possible to rent out the entire attached studio apartment. ‘We’ve had an average of five inquiries per week over the last two to three months from people who attended our investment seminars or who approached our agency directly,’ said PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail. Such apartments are a recent addition to the EC market and property consultants say their numbers are limited, making up only a small percentage of each project’s total apartment mix.
Launched last year, Frasers Centrepoint’s 573-unit Esparina Residences has 71 dual-key units in various sizes. Such homes made up only 64 of the 574 homes available at Hoi Hup Realty’s recently launched Arc at Tampines project. Analysts say dual-key units will add to the diversity of the leasing market. ‘Certainly they will be popular. Not only will the landlord be able to rent his extra space, he’ll be able to monitor what his tenant is up to while maintaining privacy for himself and his tenant,’ said Colliers International director of research and advisory Chia Siew Chuin.
The flexibility of such units makes it especially appealing for younger couples, said Mr Ismail. ‘Aside from renting it out, they can also break down the walls and transform it when their families expand. Or retain the walls and move their parents in.’ But it will be some time before tenants and owners will be able to experience this type of living arrangement, with the first of the EC dual-key apartments estimated to be completed in 2014, said property observers.
Jones Lang LaSalle’s South-east Asia research head Chua Yang Liang expects rents of such homes to be higher than those of individually-rented rooms but lower or comparable to those of stand-alone studio apartments.
Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Reprinted with permission.
Editor’s Commentary:
Does this mean that prices of ECs will rise and will developers offer more of these property types in future EC projects?
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