PRIVATE apartments cannot be used as workers’ dormitories. However, to be classified as a dormitory, a unit needs to accommodate more than eight workers. So it is perfectly legal for a private apartment owner to rent to foreign workers, as long as there are no more than eight of them.
The management corporation, says Mr Chan Kok Hong, managing director of CKH Strata Management, cannot restrict owners from doing this.
But Mr Teo Poh Siang, who runs estate management firm Wisely 98, says: ‘Units rented to foreign workers are usually very badly maintained and overcrowding is a prevailing issue.’
Common property may be damaged as a result. ‘The value of the property may be affected if foreign workers occupy more and more units,’ he says. Continue reading
