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Tenant agent commission and CEA agreements in Singapore

When expats owe a tenant-side fee, how to read CEA prescribed estate agency agreements, renewal commission traps, dual-commission offences, and stamp-duty reimbursement hygiene.

HomeArriving & Living3 min readLast reviewed 15 September 2026

r/askSingapore rental threads recycle the same shock: “My tenant agent wants half a month again on renewal” and “Do I need an agent at all?” Singapore has no fixed legal commission rate. What you owe is whatever you put in a CEA prescribed Estate Agency Agreement — or nothing, if you never appointed anyone and only dealt with the landlord’s agent.

Two different people on WhatsApp

Role	Who usually pays	What they do
Landlord’s agent	Landlord (market norm)	Lists, views, drafts TA for the owner
Your tenant agent	You, if you signed an agency agreement	Searches, negotiates, represents you
Dual commission	Illegal for one agent to collect from both sides of the same deal	Walk away if someone asks you to “top up quietly”

CEA is explicit: agents cannot collect commission from more than one party in the same transaction. Pay the agency, not cash to an individual’s personal PayNow, and get an official receipt.

Before anyone “helps you find a place”

Decide if you need a tenant agent at all — many expats view via PropertyGuru / 99.co and deal with listing agents.
If you want representation, insist on a CEA prescribed Estate Agency Agreement (exclusive or non-exclusive) before viewings pile up.
Fill in commission amount, GST, and — critically — renewal / extension language. Blank fields are a red flag.
Exclusive agreements can make you liable even if you later close “yourself” with a party the agent introduced during the validity window — read the exclusive vs non-exclusive table on CEA’s consumer pages.

Market practice often lands around half a month to one month of rent for a successful tenant-side placement, but that is custom, not law. Negotiate.

The renewal commission trap

Forum heat spikes when year-two renewals arrive with a surprise invoice. Typical failure modes:

Estate agency agreement already says ½ month per 12 months (or similar) on renewal — you signed it on day one
Agent claims “industry standard” with no written clause — push back; CEA says rates are negotiable and must be agreed
You renew directly with the landlord to save fees while still bound by a written renewal clause — that is a contract fight, not a CEA morality play

If you want free renewals, strike the renewal commission line before you sign the agency agreement. Do not wait until month 22.

Stamp duty is not “agent commission”

Lease duty to IRAS is separate. Agents may help stamp and then bill reimbursement — CEA notes agents must not collect the stamp fee from clients before stamping. Keep the Stamp Certificate. Full rates: renting process / stamp duty.

When an agent still earns their fee

First landing, school radius, and HDB eligibility confusion
Multi-offer weekends where LOI hygiene matters
Landlords who rewrite TAs away from CEA templates

An agent is not a lawyer and is not your ongoing repair desk after handover — inventory and fair-wear fights live in the TA: inventory / fair wear and diplomatic clause / deposits.

Practical checklist

Do	Don’t
Verify CEA registration	Pay “friends of friends” unlicensed finders
Get commission + renewal in writing	Assume landlord’s agent works for you
Pay the agency with a receipt	Dual-pay the same agent “under the table”
Stamp the TA within IRAS clocks	Treat stamp duty as optional

Next: LOI → TA → deposits and moving within Singapore when you change units without replaying year-one fees.

Family note: agent viewing Sundays often land on helper rest days — name the coverage adult before you agree to a full-day viewing crawl.

Sources & citations

Admin and policy details change. Prefer the official page when making decisions; we cite primary sources for Singapore government and statutory guidance.