Employer due diligence
Employers must check the requirements for the actual housing type. Failure can lead to prosecution and loss of permission to hire foreign employees. Accommodation availability alone is not evidence that it is approved for the worker category.
Purpose-built and factory-converted dormitories
PBDs are designed for workers with amenities, cooking, laundry/remittance and recreation facilities. MOM recommends written tenancy terms and a problem-reporting/rectification process. FCDs partly convert industrial/warehouse buildings. Ancillary FCDs may house the owner/lessee’s or subcontractors’ workers on or off site, or workers on site. Single-employer secondary FCDs established from 22 June 2020 house the employer’s own or subcontractors’ workers on or off site, with that employer not the factory owner/lessee.
Construction and farm quarters
CTQ standalone structures on a construction site will ultimately be removed or demolished and house foreign construction workers on that project. TOL quarters use government-land temporary occupation licences near a project, in prefabricated or refurbished buildings, for that project’s construction workers. Farm quarters house workers employed by the farm owner on farm premises.
HDB eligibility and occupancy
HDB permits approved whole-flat or bedroom rentals. Eligible employees include EP, EntrePass, PEP and S Pass holders, and Work Permit holders who are Malaysian or in services. Non-Malaysian manufacturing workers may rent bedrooms only, not a whole flat. Flats rented directly from HDB cannot be sublet. The table distinguishes full-flat occupants and bedroom limits, including the dated temporary higher cap.
| Flat type | Whole-flat maximum occupants | Bedrooms rentable |
|---|---|---|
| 1- or 2-room | 4 | Bedrooms cannot be rented |
| 3-room | 6 | 1 bedroom |
| 4-room or larger | 6 normally; 8 from 22 Jan 2024 to 31 Dec 2028 | 2 bedrooms |
HDB registration and checks
The owner must register workers with HDB before move-in and before OFWAS/EP eService address registration; workers can check registration in HDB eService. Obtain the rental approval, recommend a written tenancy, inspect regularly using the checklist and explain standards. Provide ways to report problems and coordinate repairs. Disclose cameras and protect sleeping/bathroom privacy. Verify an agent’s mobile number in CEA’s registry to avoid fake-listing/impersonation scams.
Private residential premises
PRPs include condominiums, landed houses and residential shophouse units, and can house all foreign employees. Owners do not register tenants with URA but first-time landlords complete a one-off FWTES declaration. The normal cap is six unrelated people and includes subletting. Family members and domestic helpers form one family unit: a family of six with helpers is not capped in the same way; under the ordinary six-person rule a family of four may add two unrelated people. From 22 January 2024 to 31 December 2028, properties of at least 90 square metres may have eight occupants with URA approval. The higher approved load can take five working days to reach MOM records.
Private-home address updates and safeguarding
If OFWAS/EP eService rejects an update, ask the owner to remove departed pass holders in FWTES, then update. Recommend written tenancy agreements, regular overcrowding/condition checks and URA Space verification of approved use. Explain standards, provide reporting/repair arrangements, disclose cameras without compromising privacy, and verify property agents through CEA as for HDB housing.
Official source
Written independently from official MOM source material.