Sublet Office Space in Singapore: Landlord Consent, Tax, GST and Stamp Duty

Short answer: A Singapore company can sublet spare office space if its lease allows it and the landlord consents in writing. JTC and HDB premises need the agency’s own approval. The sublet rent is taxable income, a GST-registered company charges 9% GST on it, and the sublease is stamped at 0.4% of the rent.

Renting spare desks or rooms to another business can recover part of your rent, but a sublease brings its own approvals, tax and paperwork. This guide explains how to sublet office space in Singapore properly: who must consent, how IRAS taxes the income, when GST applies, how stamp duty is worked out, and what to agree if the sub-tenant wants to use your address as its registered office.

Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of experienced Singapore law firms who offer cost-effective and efficient legal service and advice. This article is general information only and is not legal advice.

Can a company sublet office space in Singapore without the landlord’s consent?

Usually not. Most commercial leases prohibit subletting, assigning or sharing possession without the landlord’s prior written consent, so the first document to read is your own tenancy agreement.

Check the clauses on subletting, parting with possession and permitted use. Landlords usually want the sub-tenant’s company profile, the area and use, and the draft sublease. If you sublet without consent, the landlord may treat it as a breach, which can put your own tenancy, deposit and fit-out at risk.

A sublease must end on or before your head lease ends, and you stay liable to your landlord for the whole premises, including breaches by the sub-tenant. If the clause wording is unclear, speak to a lawyer before you sign anything with the sub-tenant.

Do JTC, HDB or URA need to approve a sublet?

For JTC and HDB premises, yes: the agency is your landlord and has published subletting rules. For URA, approval matters if the sub-tenant’s activity differs from the premises’ approved use.

JTC states that subletting without its approval breaches the lease conditions and may lead to termination or sublet fees of up to 100% of the assessed sublet rent. JTC says it informs applicants of the outcome within 7 working days of an online application. The application processing fee of S$599.50 or S$1,199 (including GST) is currently waived for online applications, and a subletting fee is set out in the consent letter. See JTC’s page on subletting your premises.

HDB’s subtenant rules apply to HDB shops. HDB states that its (sub)tenant arrangements do not apply to units in HDB office complexes, so tenants there should check their tenancy terms.

For URA, a plain office-to-office sublet in a building approved for office use does not change the use. If the sub-tenant wants to run something else, such as a training centre or a showroom, URA advises checking whether planning permission for a change of use is needed before committing to a tenancy.

How is sublet office space taxed for a Singapore company?

The sublet rent is taxable income of your company. IRAS lists rental income among the types of income a company pays tax on, at the corporate rate of 17%.

In practice:

• Rent you pay for space your company occupies for its business is deductible. IRAS states that where only part of the premises is used for business purposes, the corresponding proportion of the rent can be claimed. The tax claim follows the contractual rent paid, not the accounting entries under FRS 116 (see our guide to FRS 116 leases for SME lessees).
• The share of head-lease rent, service charge and utilities relating to the sublet area should be matched against the sublet income. Keep a simple floor-area apportionment on file.
• Whether the sublet income is part of your trade or separate rental income chargeable under section 10(1)(f) of the Income Tax Act 1947 depends on the facts. For non-trade investment income, IRAS does not allow excess expenses from one source to be set against another, so classification matters if the sublet runs at a loss.

Record the income in its own account rather than netting it off the rent expense, so that the tax computation and the GST return can both be checked against the sublease.

Do you charge GST on sublet office rent?

Yes, if your company is GST-registered. IRAS treats the sale and lease of all properties other than residential properties as subject to GST, so sublet office rent is a standard-rated supply at the current rate of 9%.

Key rules from IRAS’s e-Tax Guide for property owners:

• GST is accounted for at the earlier of the date you receive the rent or the date you issue the invoice.
• If the sublease is not at arm’s length, for example to a related company at a token rent, GST is based on open market value.
• If you let another business use part of your premises free of charge, you are treated as making a deemed supply and must account for output tax. For a tenant, the value is the portion of rent you pay in proportion to the GFA the other business occupies.
• The GST you pay on your own rent and service charge remains claimable as input tax, because the space is either used for your business or let out for a business purpose.

If your company is not GST-registered, you do not charge GST on the sublet rent. The rent does count towards taxable turnover, though, and registration is compulsory once taxable turnover exceeds S$1 million in a calendar year or is expected to exceed S$1 million in the next 12 months. Our article on compulsory and voluntary GST registration explains the tests. If you take a security deposit, read how GST applies to a refundable deposit before you invoice it.

How much stamp duty is payable on a sublease?

A sublease is a lease of part of your premises, so it attracts lease duty at the same rates as any other lease. IRAS lists the lessee or tenant as the party liable for lease duty, which on a sublease is your sub-tenant.

The AAR is the higher of the contractual rent and the annualised market rent. It includes service, maintenance and furniture charges but excludes GST. Duty is rounded down to the nearest dollar, with a minimum of S$1.

Example: a 2-year sublease at S$3,000 a month plus a S$300 monthly service charge has total rent of S$79,200 (S$3,300 x 24). Lease duty is 0.4% x S$79,200 = S$316.80, rounded down to S$316.

The deadline is 14 days after signing if the document is signed in Singapore, or 30 days after it is received in Singapore if signed overseas. IRAS also notes that a true licence, which does not grant a lease, may not be liable to duty; if you are unsure whether a desk-sharing arrangement is a licence or a lease, you can apply to IRAS for adjudication. Our guide to stamping tenancy agreements walks through the e-Stamping steps. The full rate table is on IRAS’s renting a property page.

Can the sub-tenant company use your address as its registered office?

Nothing in the ACRA guidance we reviewed limits an address to one company, but agree to it only if your landlord’s consent covers it and the terms are in writing.

From 20 October 2026, under the Corporate and Accounting Laws (Amendment) Act 2025, a registered office no longer has to be open for fixed minimum hours each business day. ACRA’s commencement announcement confirms that a person wishing to inspect company records must give reasonable notice, and the company must then make them available for at least 2 hours on each relevant business day. A change of registered office address must still be filed within 14 days.

Before you agree, settle these points in the sublease:

• who receives and forwards the sub-tenant’s mail and official notices;
• where the sub-tenant’s registers and records are kept, and how inspection requests will be handled;
• signage, if any, at reception;
• a deadline for the sub-tenant to change its registered office when the sublease ends.

Our guide to changing a registered office address covers the filing.

What documents do you need to sublet office space in Singapore?

A sublease that is consented to, signed, stamped and recorded in the accounts protects both sides.

1. Read the head lease and note the subletting, permitted use and expiry terms.
2. Agree the commercial terms with the sub-tenant: area (with a marked floor plan), rent, service charge, deposit, term and shared facilities.
3. Apply for consent from the landlord, or from JTC or HDB through their portals, and wait for written approval.
4. Check whether the sub-tenant’s use needs URA planning permission.
5. Sign the sublease, requiring the sub-tenant to comply with the head lease terms.
6. Have the sub-tenant stamp the sublease within 14 days and send you the Stamp Certificate.
7. Set up the invoicing: GST at 9% if registered, a separate income account and a register of deposits held.
8. If the sub-tenant will use your address, record the registered office arrangement and diary the date its address must change.

What are the common mistakes when a company sublets office space?

Most problems come from treating the arrangement informally:

• letting a related company or a friend’s business use desks without a written agreement or landlord consent;
• netting sublet rent off rent expense, which hides the income from the GST return and the tax computation;
• not stamping the sublease, which leaves the company without a Stamp Certificate if a dispute arises;
• no exit process for the sub-tenant’s registered office address.

Try our free tools. If the sub-tenant is a new company that also needs a company secretary, Singapore Secretary Services can help.

Frequently asked questions

Who pays the stamp duty on a sublease?

IRAS lists the lessee or tenant as liable for lease duty, which on a sublease is the sub-tenant. As the sublessor, check that it is stamped on time and ask for the Stamp Certificate.

Can a JTC tenant sublet to its subsidiary?

JTC allows its tenants to sublet only to related businesses, defined by a shareholding of more than 50% in either direction, and approval from JTC is still required.

Do I charge GST if the sub-tenant is a related company?

Yes, if your company is GST-registered. If the rent is below market, GST is based on open market value, and free use is a deemed supply.

Can the sublease run longer than my own lease?

No. A sublease must end on or before your head lease ends. For JTC premises, a sublet to a non-related business is capped at 3 years or the remaining tenancy, whichever expires earlier.

Last reviewed: 21 October 2026. The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services.