As an employer of a foreign domestic helper in Singapore, you are required to ensure acceptable housing for your foreign workers and provide their addresses, according to Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower.
Acceptable housing standards
As an employer, you must ensure that your foreign workers have acceptable housing. This means that the housing must meet these standards:
- Proper land use as defined by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Housing Development Board (HDB) or Jurong Town Corporation (JTC).
- Building structural safety standards by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA).
- Fire and safety standards by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
- Environmental health requirements by the National Environment Agency (NEA).
- Drainage, sanitary and sewerage system standards by the Public Utilities Board (PUB).
Employers could be prosecuted if they do not ensure that their workers have acceptable housing. Their future Work Permit applications or renewals may also be affected.
To ensure that your foreign workers live in acceptable accommodation, you are advised to take following measures:
- Educate your foreign workers on the relevant housing standards.
- Provide channels for your foreign workers to regularly update you on their housing conditions and to quickly alert you of any problems with their accommodation, including overcrowding.
- Conduct regular checks at your foreign workers’ accommodation.
- Make necessary improvements to their accommodation.
- If your workers change residential address on their own, you must do the following within 5 days of being informed of the change:
- Check the new accommodation and make sure it complies with MOM‘s requirements.
- Update the new address using OFWAS.
Register a foreign worker’s address
You must update us with the residential addresses of your foreign workers within 5 calendar days of employment or change of address.
Types of approved housing
The types of approved housing include the following:
Purpose-built dormitories
Purpose-built dormitories are solely used to house foreign workers.
These dormitories usually managed and tendered out by Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and Jurong Town Council (JTC).
There are also commercially run dormitories located in various parts of Singapore for housing foreign workers.
Converted industrial premises
Industrial or warehouse developments can be partially converted to ancillary or secondary workers’ dormitories. You must first get URA’s planning approval for the conversion.
The design of the dormitory and conversion works must comply with the technical requirements of various agencies (such as SCDF, NEA, URA, PUB and BCA) to ensure the safety and well-being of the occupants.
Housing quarters on construction sites or temporary occupation licence sites
You can house construction workers on construction sites or temporary occupation licence (TOL) sites.
Housing quarters on construction sites
Only construction workers who are working at the construction site can be housed. These quarters have to meet the technical requirements of relevant government agencies, such as SCDF, NEA and BCA, to ensure safe and hygienic living conditions.
Housing quarters on TOL sites
Construction workers can be housed in temporary workers quarters on temporary occupation licence sites.
These quarters must:
- Be linked to a project and not meant to operate as commercial dormitories.
- Comply with the technical requirements of various agencies (such as SCDF, NEA, URA, PUB and BCA) to ensure the safety and well-being of the occupants.
Housing Development Board (HDB) flats
These foreign workers can be housed in HDB flats:
- Non-Malaysians from service or manufacturing sectors
- Malaysians
Private residential premises
Foreign workers can be housed in private residential premises, including condominiums or landed residential properties such as terrace, semi-detached houses and bungalows.
Under the URA’s guidelines for residential use:
- Such premises must be leased out on a long-term tenancy of 6 months or more.
- The maximum number of occupants is 8. Premises that house more than 8 workers are considered to have been illegally converted into a workers’ dormitory.
Workers’ quarters at farms
You can house foreign workers at farms. These quarters are meant for housing the site owner’s workers only. No subletting to other employers is allowed.
To house workers, you must get approval from the AVA.
Harbourcraft
If your workers are under the Harbour Craft Special Scheme (HSS), they can stay only on vessels or harbourcraft that are registered with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). These workers cannot stay on the mainland.
The conditions on the vessel or harbourcraft must be habitable and must not place the workers in any situations where their health, physical safety or life may be in danger.