Running a business from home in Singapore in 2026: approval before you register, up to two non-resident staff — and a S$20 one-time permit for HDB flats

Summary

Singapore lets small businesses run from homes under two schemes. The Home Office Scheme covers office-type work, such as accountancy, consultancy, design or a real estate agency's administration, and lets up to two non-residents work at the home. It needs registration with the Housing & Development Board (HDB) for a flat, or with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) for a private home. HDB's permit costs S$20, including GST, is processed immediately and lasts as long as the business, according to the government's GoBusiness licence directory.

The Home-Based Business Scheme covers smaller businesses run by household members, such as home baking, hairdressing or tuition for up to three students. In a private home it needs no URA approval as long as its conditions are met, according to URA guidelines updated in June 2026.

What this means for home owners, tenants and pros

The two schemes compared

Sources: URA, Home Office Scheme and Home Based Businesses (updated 23 Jun 2026); HDB, Home Business; GoBusiness Licensing, Home Office Scheme (HDB); SFA, Home-based Food Businesses (updated 27 Mar 2026).

Home office rules in private homes

URA's conditions include:

• The business must be run by the owner, a registered occupier or a tenant, the unit must remain a home, and the work must stay wholly within the premises.
• No more than two non-residents, counting employees, partners and directors, may work there.
• URA states that "no clients or customers are allowed to visit the residential premises". There must also be no soliciting, such as flyers or door-to-door visits, and no selling of physical goods in or around the home.
• No advertisements, signs or posters may be displayed at the premises.
• Electricity use and structural load must stay within the normal residential load, and storing or using dangerous chemicals is prohibited.
• The office area needs at least an 8A/34B ABC dry chemical powder fire extinguisher and a single-station, battery-operated smoke detector.
• A tenant or occupier who is not the owner needs the owner's written consent before registering.

URA describes the permit as a one-time permit, valid for as long as the home office runs. Registration may be cancelled, and the home office use must stop, if any condition is breached.

Businesses URA does not allow

URA's list of businesses not permitted includes beauty, hair and massage services, contractors, car trading, commercial schools, courier services, clinics and pharmacies, food catering, funeral services, maid and employment agencies, manufacturing, money lending, repair work and shops. For property professionals the split is clear: real estate agency work is on the permitted list, while contractors are on the excluded list, so a contracting business cannot be registered at a private home under the scheme.

HDB flats

HDB runs its own Home Office Scheme for flats, also with up to two non-residents. Only owners, or occupiers and tenants that HDB has approved to live in the flat, can apply, according to GoBusiness, and HDB's conditions differ for residential flats and for living quarters in HDB commercial properties. The application takes about 10 minutes, and the S$20 fee is forfeited if you withdraw it after submitting. HDB publishes its own list of permitted and non-permitted businesses, so check that list rather than URA's. Its examples of permitted businesses include accountancy, architectural and consultancy services; its non-permitted examples include beauty, hairdressing or massage services, contractors' businesses, car trading and fortune telling. Even a non-permitted business can use the flat as an administrative office or as its address for ACRA registration, provided the business activities are carried out elsewhere and no clients or customers visit the flat, HDB says.

Home-based businesses

In a private home, URA's conditions for a home-based business are:

• Only owners, registered occupants, or tenants with the owner's consent may run it; third parties may not.
• No non-resident employee may work at the premises, and no advertisements or signs may be displayed.
• There must be no large-scale storage, no frequent loading and unloading of goods, no use as a distribution centre, and no heavy equipment or appliances not meant for domestic use.
• A business that cannot comply must stop, or move to other premises such as commercial units.

Home-based food businesses must comply with food safety laws enforced by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA). They may not sell to SFA-licensed food retailers, such as restaurants, coffee shops or hawker stalls, or offer ready-to-eat raw seafood such as sashimi or raw oysters, according to SFA guidance updated in March 2026.

Registering the business

The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) says a sole proprietor can use a home address under the Home Office Scheme, but approval from HDB or URA must come before the business is registered (guidance updated March 2026). Companies should check ACRA's separate rules for a registered office address.

For landlords and condo owners

If you rent out a private home, your tenant needs your written consent to register a home office there. In a condo, check the development's by-laws as well as URA's conditions.

FAQ

Do I need approval to sell home-baked food? Not from HDB or URA, if you meet all the Home-Based Business Scheme's requirements, SFA says. Food safety laws still apply.

Can clients visit a home office? Not in a private home: URA's conditions bar client and customer visits.

Does a home office permit need renewing? No. URA's guidelines and HDB's GoBusiness listing both describe a one-time permit that lasts as long as the business, though it can be revoked if the conditions are breached.

Education only — not legal advice. Check the current conditions with HDB or URA before you start trading from home.

What to do next

• Match your business to a scheme, and check the permitted and non-permitted lists first.
• If you rent, get the owner's written consent before you apply.
• Apply on GoBusiness Licensing before you register a sole proprietorship at your home address.
• In a private-home office, fit the fire extinguisher and smoke detector that URA requires.
• Property professionals: apply for a verified ProprKey Pro listing: https://proprkey.com/en/onboarding
• Find verified property professionals: https://proprkey.com/en/pros