In 2001, Singapore abolished the Control of Rent Act—a move that changed the landscape for commercial tenants.
In 2025, a beloved Japanese-inspired bakery named Flor Patisserie announced the closure of its Siglap Drive outlet after facing a 57% rent increase upon lease renewal.
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Flor’s landlord demanded $8,500 monthly for a location 21 minutes from the nearest MRT with limited parking and visibility
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As Flor told us when we reached out for comment: “Our next door neighbour at #44 renewed their rent just this January for $4,500, and the next most recent transaction is Classic Cakes at #52, renewed in November 2024 at $3,900.”
Their landlord’s justification for the dramatic increase? According to Flor, he cited that “the rental market has moved up significantly since 3 years ago” and that his “cost to service the mortgage for the place has similarly gone up with interest rates.”
What’s particularly revealing is the landlord’s benchmark for “market rate”, not the actual transaction prices of similar nearby units, but “the current asking rents of the empty units along the Siglap drive stretch. They are all empty.”
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The relationship between Flor and their unit reveals another troubling pattern in Singapore’s commercial property market: the shift from long-term landlord-tenant relationships to investment-driven ownership.
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This trajectory illustrates how commercial properties are increasingly viewed not as spaces for businesses to operate, but as investment vehicles where rental yields directly impact potential resale value, often at the expense of business sustainability.
Landlord are the most cho boh wan. Just lie flat and earn money not much costs involved. Rental hikes are the most unjustified.
Why change the Act when it has stabilized businesses nd inflation across the board?I remember in the past different type of business has different structure of rental rates. LK Y ensured all different business can have the their own pie to eat. Now become rojak.
Landlord service mortgage loan is called landlord? Knn ... Not mortgagee meh
The bakery suggested an interesting solution on their Instagram: “Implementing a grace period in which a commercial property can be empty for. We suggest a cap of 6 months. After which, the landlord will be fined 50% of the asking rent every additional month that it’s on the market.”
Would it work? Maybe not. But it acknowledges a reality many tenant businesses face—landlords often prefer to leave properties empty while waiting for their ideal rental rate rather than negotiate with existing tenants.
Since Rambutan Days, he has started scheming to falsify data and upturn the property market. Demand and Supply is mere cover- up to attain PaP’s Wealth Driven agenda to make consumers undergo more distress. This is what the people voted for.
so according to the article
pap used to have a rental control act.
but they abolish it in 2002
which minister did that?
which greedy cb pap minister did that
he must have own a lot of rental properties
so he can raise the rent without restriction...
dont want to control inflation then say bo pian global market increase mah
global my foot ah
