Worker dormitory rents rise 2.1% in H1

Average bed rents rose to $495 per bed/month.

Singapore’s Class 4 worker dormitory bed rents rose 2.1% to $495 per bed per month in the first half (H1) of 2026, driven by demand from the construction, marine shipyard, and process industries. 

According to a joint report by the Dormitory Association of Singapore Limited and Knight Frank Singapore, there were 60 Class 4 dormitories in Singapore as at H1 2026, offering 287,837 beds and making up 61.6% of the islandwide bed load. 

The total bed inventory grew 6.3% year-on-year, with 13,910 new Class 4 beds added between H1 2025 and H1 2026. Of these, NESST Tukang Dormitory (2,400 beds), Westlite Toh Guan (1,764 beds), and Westlite Mandai (3,696 beds) contributed a combined 7,860 new beds.

Occupancy pressure eased, with average islandwide occupancy declining 1.3 percentage points to 95.8% from 97.1% in H2 2025. The east zone saw the largest drop, falling 4.6 percentage points to 93.7%, while the central zone declined to 93.6%. The west zone recorded 98.3% occupancy, down from 99.0% six months earlier.

Average bed rents increased across all zones: up 1.9% to S$525 in the east, 2.9% to $535 in the central, and 4.5% to $460 in the west. Monthly bed rents have grown 83.3% since H1 2019, when they were $270. The report noted that the completion of NESST Tukang Dormitory, which fully complies with the New Dormitory Standards (NDS), likely contributed to the upward pull in the west zone’s average rent.

Government land tenders in 2026 saw higher land rates for new dormitory sites. S11 Ascendene Management won the Terusan Edge parcel for $105m ($32,812 per bed), whilst Centurion Corporation subsidiaries secured Kranji Close for $343m ($49,000 per bed) and Lok Yang Way for $221.7m ($44,333 per bed). The report said these rates are substantially higher than the $24,364 per bed awarded at Ubi Avenue 3 in January 2023. The Dormitory Transition Scheme, with its 2030 deadline, and the NDS scheme are expected to tighten supply and raise bed rents further.

These awarded sites, along with others, are expected to add around 40,200 beds before 2030, with at least six more purpose-built dormitories totalling about 47,000 beds in the pipeline, according to the Ministry of Manpower.

“Bed rents can be expected to increase by around 5% for the whole of 2026 after having risen 2.1% in the first half of the year,” said Leonard Tay, Head, Research, Knight Frank Singapore.