Black-and-white houses: A Singaporean architectural legacy

Black-and-white colonial houses were recently thrust in the public eye after opposition politician Kenneth Jeyaretnam raised questions over ministers K Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan’s leases on such properties managed by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA). The agency issued a statement on the matter, parliamentary questions have been filed, and an inquiry has commenced, with answers promised in the next Parliament sitting in July.

Here, we dive into what these properties are, where they are, how big they are, what their rents are, as well as the pros and cons to renting one.

What qualifies as a black and white house in Singapore?

Built between the 1900s to 1950s, these houses share a few key features like whitewashed walls, and door and window frames painted in black. They also have tiled flooring to keep cool and wide verandas with roof eaves for shade. High ceilings and pitched roofs keep the insides cool and ventilated.

Some are also built on stilts to deter termites and protect against flash floods.

Where are Singapore’s black and white houses?

They are clustered in prime neighbourhoods, and also areas near where the British had air and naval bases. These include Sembawang and Seletar in the north, Mount Pleasant, Alexandra Park, Mount Faber, Gillman Barracks, Adam Park, Ridley Park, Goodwood Hill, Chancery Lane, and Dempsey in the south and central areas, Nepal Hill, Rochester Park, Portsdown and Fifth avenue in the west and Changi in the east.

Quite a number were once privately owned (and over time, demolished and replaced with more bang-for-buck built-up real estate), while others were lived in by top British civil servants and military officers. These latter houses were eventually handed over to the Singapore government when the British left.

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A good number have since 1991 been treated as conservation properties by SLA, which currently manages about 500 of them.

Can you buy a black and white house?

No, but you can rent them. They’re popular with expats hoping to re-create a bit of country living, with space for their kids to run around. Apart from standalone houses, there are also many terrace-style black & whites popular with locals as the rents are lower given the smaller built-up and plot sizes. The SLA typically grants two-year leases each time.

How much does it cost to rent a black and white house?

Based on a recent batch of bidding results on the State Property Information Online (SPIO) web portal, a two-bedroom intermediate terrace house (2,163.56 sq ft gross floor area) on Upavon Road in Loyang drew a highest bid of over S$6,000 per month:

In Seletar, also a non-prime location, black and white bungalows and semi-detached units of about 2,500 sq ft come with monthly rentals of between S$6,500 to S$7,500, while much smaller 2-bedroom terrace units are being leased for just over S$4,000.

In a recently-closed tender, a three-bedroom (4,312 sq ft gross floor area) bungalow on Hyderabad Road, off the Ayer Rajah Expressway, drew a winning bid of S$25,500. The house (pictured below) stands on a 14,563.57 sq ft plot of land:

But rents may take a quantum leap in coveted prime areas like Stevens and Adam Roads, or Chancery Lane, not just for the location but because some units in these areas come with a huge land size.

For instance, the Ridout Road property rented to Minister Balakrishnan (No. 31) has a land area of 136,101 sq ft (12,664 sq m). As for No. 26 Ridout Road, the property leased to Minister Shanmugam, information could only be found on a land lot that included 24 and 31 Ridout Road, which possessed a plot size of 525,171 sq ft (48,790 sq m).

What do these black and white houses look like on the inside?

Here are some pictures of the inside of the S$25,500 per month Hyderabad bungalow:

As the photos show, black and white properties come mostly unfurnished apart from basic bathroom fittings and some kitchen cabinets. Which means potential tenants need to work in the costs of furnishing and white goods like air-conditioning, heaters, fans, washers, cookers and more.

This brings us to...

What’s good – and bad – about renting a black and white house to live in?

The good:

• Some nice garden space for children and/or pets to run around.

• Unique design that offers room for creativity among the house-proud.

• Large and airy rooms.

• In some cases, very good location.

• A home nestled in nature - many of them are surrounded by greenery - and privacy for those units sited on large grounds.

• Finally, a chance to experience bungalow living without having to fork out millions to buy a similar private property.

The bad:

• A short lease period means the prospect of a rent hike every two years.

• The huge amount sunk into the house before moving in makes it difficult to move out even if the rent keeps rising.

• Whether it’s a pool, car porch or decking, you’ll have to pay to reinstate the property to its original state when you decide not to renew your lease any more.

• Unlike privately-owned rental properties, many black-and-white leases come with clauses that make the tenant responsible for maintaining parts of the house and the surrounding land area – this means the trees on the property are your business too, should they fall from lightning or rot and cause structural damage to the property, for instance.

• Being old – some are 100 years old – and situated near nature, many of these properties have unique problems that come with the territory. Spalling concrete, leaky roofs, sewage pipes choked by tree roots are not uncommon. So too, wildlife venturing into the house (think huge monitor lizards, cobras, bees, bats and wild boars).

Still undaunted? Here’s how to rent a bungalow from the SLA:

1. Camp on SPIO for residential listings, and browse from what’s available.

2. If you like a listing, call up the managing agent, whose contact details are on the listing, and arrange a viewing of the house.

3. If you like what you see, put in a bid during the bidding window (this process isn’t as straightforward as it sounds though – you need a list of documents detailed on the website). Note: SLA advises that your income should be at least three times the rent you plan to pay.

4. SLA will contact you if your bid is the highest. Bidders are not identified, but the number and value of the bids are shown on the site.