Singapore worker dormitory rents up 81.5% since 2019 as demand and costs grow: report
Year on year, rents rise 8.9% in H1 2025 to an average of S$490 per bed per month
[SINGAPORE] Rents of worker dormitories in Singapore increased by 81.5 per cent in the past six years, as demand grew steadily and costs rose amid inflationary pressures, and are expected to rise further with ramped-up construction demand.
Rental rates in a commercial dormitory averaged S$490 per bed per month (pb pm) in the first half of 2025, up from their trough of S$270 pb pm in H1 2019, indicated a market report released by property consultancy Knight Frank and Dormitory Association of Singapore Ltd (DASL) on Monday (Sep 8).
Rents ranged from S$445 to S$530 pb pm in H1 2025, and on average were 6.5 per cent higher than in the previous six-month period. Year on year, rents were up 8.9 per cent.
Even with more supply coming on to the market, Knight Frank and DASL forecast that rents will have risen around 10 per cent for the full year of 2025, similar to the 10.8 per cent increase witnessed in 2024.
Dormitory rates are likely to stay elevated over the medium to long term, the report said, with increasing demand for construction due to infrastructure projects such as the continued development of Tuas Port, Changi Airport Terminal 5, the expansion of Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa.
Knight Frank and DASL attributed the recent increase in rents to not only strong and steady demand for beds, but also higher operating and maintenance costs due to widespread inflation over the past few years.
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At the same time, they noted that more dormitories are included in DASL’s basket of class four purpose-built dormitories – that is, those with 1,000 or more beds – at 60 to date, with a total of 274,000 beds. This accounts for 62.3 per cent of total beds islandwide.
New standards
Furthermore, existing dormitories must be refurbished to meet new standards set by authorities by 2030. This includes ensuring that each resident has at least 3.6 sq m of living space, excluding shared facilities. By 2040, that figure has to increase to 4.2 sq m or more.
“Dormitory operators that have started to improve their facilities will increasingly factor in the cost into bed rents to finance the mandatory upgrades, and those who have yet to initiate (them) are expected to also follow suit,” said the report.
The priciest rents were found in central locations, at an average of S$530 pb pm. This was followed by those in the east at S$515 pb pm on average. In the west, where the highest number of dormitories and beds are located, rents averaged at S$445 pb pm.
Looking ahead, Knight Frank and DASL expect Singapore’s stock of dormitory beds to rise by around 9,200 in 2025, with the completion of Wee Hur’s second phase of Pioneer Lodge Dormitory and Centurion Corporation’s Westlite Toh Guan.
In 2026, Centurion’s Westlite Mandai will bring another 3,696 new beds to the market. Two dormitories developed by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will also give 2,400 beds in that year, and another 7,200 beds in 2028.
“It remains to be seen how this will impact the dormitory market in future, given the difference in the type of ownership structure between the MOM developed dormitories and the rest of the industry,” said the report.
Authorities have five new purpose-built dormitories in the pipeline as well, with an estimated total of around 35,000 beds added to the market over the next few years.
Rents are likely to stay elevated over the medium to long term, driven by capital expenditure being committed to modify facilities to the new standard prescribed by authorities and overall higher operating expenses, they said.
Demand for dorm beds will continue to be supported and may even rise on the back of domestic construction volume, despite heightened macroeconomic uncertainty caused by US trade policies.
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