Is double rent calculated on the old rent or the current market rent?
In UDL Marine (Singapore) Pte Ltd v Jurong Town Corp [2013] SGHC 236, as summarised in the Singapore Academy of Law Annual Review, the High Court took the view that statutory double rent is based on the rent last paid by the tenant, not the rent payable for the holding-over period. The alternative statutory measure, double value, looks at the value of the premises. A lease clause may set its own measure, for example double the prevailing rent.
From the RRD Field Guide, checked against the sources cited in The True Cost of a Late Handback: Holding Over, Double Rent and Mesne Profits in Singapore. General information, not advice for your project.
The fuller picture
If a tenant stays in possession after its Singapore lease ends, section 28(4) of the Civil Law Act 1909 lets the landlord charge double rent or double value for the holding-over period, and many leases add their own terms. With CBD Grade A rents around S$12 to S$13 psf a month in Q3 2026, a 5,000 sq ft office can cost over S$4,000 a day in double rent alone.
More questions on this topic
- Is double rent automatic if I hand back my Singapore office late?
- Does the tenant have to be deliberately overstaying for double rent to apply?
- What are mesne profits?
- If I have moved out but reinstatement is unfinished, am I holding over?
- Can the landlord keep my security deposit if I hand back late?
- How do I estimate my own exposure?
- Is it better to negotiate an extension than to overstay?