Read your tenancy first, before anything else. The notice period for renewal (or non-renewal) is whatever your existing agreement says it is, and that overrides any general norm. Look for clauses titled 'Renewal', 'Option to Renew', 'Notice', or 'Termination'. Most Singapore tenancies say 2 months written notice before the expiry date, but some are 1 month and some are 3 months. If your contract is silent on notice, the 2-month convention is the practical default, but the absence of a clause weakens your position if there's a dispute.

2 months written notice before the existing tenancy expires. This applies in both directions — landlord telling tenant they want to renew (and at what rent), and tenant telling landlord whether they intend to stay. The 2-month window gives both sides enough time to negotiate the new rent, agree on terms, sign the new agreement, and stamp it with IRAS within the 14-day window. Anything shorter than 2 months tends to leave one side scrambling.

No. Residential tenancy in Singapore is contract-driven. There's no Tenancy Reform Act or rent control statute that imposes a minimum notice period, the way some jurisdictions do. The UK and parts of Australia have statutory minimums for residential tenancies, Singapore does not. What you and your counterparty signed is what governs. The Conveyancing and Law of Property Act covers some aspects of leases, but it doesn't override your contract on notice.

Usually the same notice period applies, since the renewal carries forward the original terms unless you change them. If your original tenancy required 2 months notice for non-renewal, the renewal will too, unless you negotiate a different clause into the new agreement. If you want a shorter notice period in the renewal (say 1 month, for flexibility), raise it during renewal negotiation and write it into the new tenancy explicitly. Don't assume it carries over from a verbal conversation.

This creates an implied periodic tenancy, usually month-to-month, on the same terms as the expired agreement except for the duration. The tenant continues paying rent, the landlord continues accepting it, and either side can terminate by giving notice equal to the rental period (so 1 month for monthly rent). It's legal but messy. The original agreement's protections — diplomatic clause, fixed rent, deposit handling — all carry over by implication, but you have no signed document to point to if there's a dispute.

Default is a month-to-month rolling arrangement on the original terms. The tenant pays, the landlord accepts, and the tenancy continues by conduct. The risk is that everything is implied. If the landlord later wants to raise rent, sell the unit, or move back in, they can give 1 month notice and end it, and the tenant has limited grounds to push back. From a tenant's view, you also lose the security of a fixed term. From a landlord's view, your insurance and tax positions might shift if the unit is technically not under a registered lease. Sign something.

Email is fine in 2026. Most tenancies say 'written notice', and email satisfies that, since it's written and creates a paper trail. What matters is proof of delivery — send to the email address listed in the tenancy as the contact, keep the sent copy, and ideally get a reply acknowledging receipt. If your contract specifically says 'by registered post' or 'by hand', follow that to the letter. Some older agreements still require physical delivery, and you don't want to argue this in court.

Once notice is given and accepted, the tenancy is set to end on the notice date. The landlord may have already started looking for a new tenant, scheduled viewings, or accepted another offer. The tenant can ask to retract the notice, but the landlord isn't obligated to agree. If both sides agree to retract and renew instead, do it in writing — a short addendum signed by both, or a fresh renewal agreement. Don't rely on a WhatsApp 'ok lah' to reverse a formal notice.