Monitoring of and Investigations into Illegal Short-term Rental Listings on Online Platforms

Mr Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether the Ministry conducts active monitoring of illegal short-term rental listings on online platforms; and (b) how many public reports were received and investigated by the Ministry regarding suspected illegal short-term rentals since 2017; and (c) how many of these cases have led to prosecution.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) actively monitors rental listings on online platforms. Depending on the severity of the case, URA takes a range of enforcement actions against illegal short-term rentals in private residential properties, including Court prosecution for egregious cases.

Since 2017, URA has investigated about 3,600 cases of illegal short-term rentals and prosecuted 35 offenders in Court.