Singaporeans Buying Property in Malaysia: 2026 State Rules

The short answer

If you are a Singapore citizen, or a Singapore PR who does not hold Malaysian citizenship, you buy in Malaysia as a foreign buyer. Every purchase needs approval (State Authority approval in the states, and consent from the land authority in Kuala Lumpur), and each state sets its own minimum price and its own fee:

• Kuala Lumpur: RM 1,000,000, with consent from the land authority.
• Selangor (main districts): RM 2,000,000, strata only, with State Authority approval.
• Johor: RM 1,000,000; approval levy of 3% of the price or RM 30,000, whichever is higher.
• Penang: RM 1,000,000 for strata on the island, RM 3,000,000 for landed on the island; levy from 1.5% to 3%.

From 1 January 2026 you also pay 8% stamp duty on a home. On the Singapore side, IRAS does not count a Malaysian home for ABSD, HDB does not let you buy one during your flat's Minimum Occupation Period, and CPF savings cannot be used for it.

To match a budget to the state rules, WhatsApp Shyan Yee at +60 17-279 8932.

If you are only looking at Johor Bahru, the four-part JB series goes deeper: the step-by-step process, the costs on top of the price, the RTS Link status and JB new launches by buyer type. This page is the whole-Malaysia view. Want me to work it out for your own case? WhatsApp +60 17-279 8932.

The questions Singaporeans ask

These are the questions that come up in almost every first call. Each one is answered below from the government body that sets the rule.

Who counts as a foreign buyer

Section 433B of the National Land Code says a non-citizen may acquire land only with the approval of the State Authority. Each state then sets its own price floor and fees on top of it.

• Singapore citizen: foreign buyer.
• Singapore PR who is a Malaysian citizen: buys as a Malaysian. Malaysia looks at your Malaysian citizenship, not your address.
• Singapore PR who is a citizen of another country: foreign buyer. Johor's definition of a foreign interest is any individual who is not a Malaysian citizen.
• Buying through a company: a different set of rules. Johor counts a local company more than 50% controlled by foreigners as a foreign interest, and Penang charges companies a higher application fee than individuals. Talk to a lawyer first.

A common case: a Malaysian who has worked in Singapore for years, holds Singapore PR and has kept the Malaysian passport. She buys as a Malaysian. She needs no state approval as a foreigner and pays the Malaysian stamp duty scale instead of 8%. The RM 1,000,000 floor does not apply to her either, so the RM 519,000 entry unit at Stellaris @ Riana Dutamas in Kuala Lumpur is open to her. Her Singapore-citizen husband, buying alone, could take only the units at RM 1,000,000 or more in the same project.

The four states side by side

Those are the four markets most Singaporeans look at. For Melaka and the other states, see the state-by-state minimum price guide.

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur uses the federal RM 1,000,000 figure, with consent from the land authority for the Federal Territory. The floor applies to landed and strata homes alike. The federal exclusions apply too: no Malay reserve land, no units set aside for Bumiputera buyers, and no low-cost or low-medium-cost homes.

For a condominium or serviced residence, the price is the test that matters. At Park Green Pavilion in Bukit Jalil, which starts at RM 1,209,100, every unit clears the line. At Stellaris @ Riana Dutamas in Segambut, the range in our database is RM 519,000 to RM 1,270,800. Only units priced at RM 1,000,000 or more are open to you.

Selangor

Selangor is the strictest of the four, under its land office circular Bil. 1/2014.

• Zones 1 and 2: RM 2,000,000, strata only. Zone 1 is Petaling, Gombak, Hulu Langat, Sepang and Klang, so Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya, Shah Alam, Puchong and Cyberjaya all sit here.
• Zone 3 (Hulu Selangor, Sabak Bernam): RM 1,000,000, strata only.
• Landed: homes on an individual title are not open to foreign buyers. Landed strata inside a strata scheme can be.
• Share of a project: foreign buyers may take at most 10% of a project's non-Bumiputera units.
• Approval: every purchase needs State Authority approval, with a RM 200 processing fee and no percentage levy. The approval is valid for 2 years.

A worked case: Stellar Damansara in Damansara Jaya starts at RM 1,858,800, above Kuala Lumpur's line but below Selangor's, so a Singaporean can only take its units from RM 2,000,000.

Johor

Johor's rules come from three land office circulars, the newest being Bil. 03/2025, signed on 13 June 2025 and in force from 1 July 2025.

• Minimum price: RM 1,000,000, whether you buy from a developer or on the subsale market.
• Allowed: terrace, cluster, semi-detached and detached homes of two storeys or more; apartments, serviced apartments and holiday homes.
• Project quotas: 20% for terrace and cluster homes, 30% for semi-detached and detached homes, 50% for apartments, serviced apartments and holiday homes.
• Not allowed: low-cost and low-medium-cost homes; single-storey and one-and-a-half-storey terraces; shop units under three storeys; Bumiputera-quota units unless released; auction property; Malay reserve land; heritage-gazetted property.
• Fees: RM 2,000 application fee per title, plus an approval levy. From a developer, the levy is 3% of the price in the stamped SPA, or RM 30,000, whichever is higher. On a subsale, it is 3% of the JPPH valuation or the SPA price, whichever is higher, with the same RM 30,000 minimum. Before 1 July 2025 the levy was 2% or RM 20,000, so older articles may show the old figure.
• Below RM 1,000,000: a serviced apartment can be sold to a foreigner below RM 1,000,000 only with special State Authority approval, with a levy of at least RM 50,000.

On Arden Serviced Residence's RM 1,078,000 entry unit, that means a RM 32,340 levy plus the RM 2,000 fee, on top of the 8% stamp duty. The JB process guide walks through each step.

Penang

Penang's land office guideline was last updated on 1 August 2024.

• Island strata: RM 1,000,000.
• Island landed and landed strata: RM 3,000,000 since 1 April 2017.
• Seberang Perai strata: RM 500,000 for foreign individuals since 28 April 2017. Penang's own guideline sets this lower figure, and Penang, not the federal government, approves the purchase.
• Seberang Perai landed: RM 1,000,000.
• Not allowed: low-cost, low-medium-cost and medium-cost homes, Bumiputera-quota units and auction property.
• Application: only through a lawyer, at the Penang land office. The fee is RM 10,000 per title for an individual.
• Approval levy: landed, 3%. Strata below RM 1,000,000, 3%. Strata from RM 1,000,000 to RM 1,500,000, 1.5% on the island and 3% in Seberang Perai. Strata above RM 1,500,000, 3%. The levy must be paid within 30 days of the approval letter.
• Selling: not before three years from the date of the SPA.

On Lumina Residence Georgetown's RM 1,176,450 entry unit, the island strata levy is 1.5%, RM 17,646.75, half of Johor's 3% at the same price. Add the RM 10,000 application fee and Penang's total is RM 27,646.75, against RM 37,293.50 in Johor (RM 35,293.50 plus RM 2,000), or about three-quarters.

What Singapore's rules say

Singapore does not regulate a Malaysian purchase, but several of its rules change what the purchase means for you.

In other words:

• ABSD. A Malaysian home does not push your next Singapore purchase into the second-property rate. For reference, a Singapore citizen pays 20% ABSD on a second Singapore home and a Singapore PR pays 30%, under the rates in force since 27 April 2023.
• HDB, during the MOP. Wait until the MOP ends, and that includes signing a booking form. The rule is the same for a flat bought new from HDB: owners must finish the MOP before buying private residential property, in Singapore or overseas.
• HDB, the reverse case. If you already own a Malaysian home and then buy an HDB resale flat, the Malaysian home must be sold within 6 months of the resale completion.
• HDB, PR households. Letting out the whole flat to fund a Malaysian loan is not an option for a PR household, even after the MOP.
• CPF. CPF covers Singapore property only, so fund the purchase from cash or a Malaysian loan.
• Tax. Malaysia taxes the rent; Singapore, per IRAS, does not tax it again when an individual brings it home. Malaysia and Singapore also have a comprehensive double taxation agreement in force since 13 February 2006.

A dated case: you completed the purchase of a resale flat and took the keys in March 2023. Its 5-year MOP runs to March 2028, so no Malaysian booking form before then.

What you pay in Malaysia

Stamp duty: 8% from 2026

For a residential property sold to a person who is neither a Malaysian citizen nor a Malaysian permanent resident, the transfer is stamped at RM 8 for every RM 100, on the price or market value, whichever is higher. LHDN has clarified two points that matter to Singaporeans:

• Date: the 8% applies to SPAs signed from 1 January 2026.
• Joint names: if you buy with a Malaysian spouse, each owner's share is stamped at that owner's rate.

Serviced apartments and SOHOs. The Finance Act 2025 defines a residential property as "a house, condominium, apartment, flat, service apartment or small office home office solely to be used as a dwelling house". So a serviced apartment or SOHO that you buy to live in, or to let out as a home, is stamped at 8%. One used for anything else falls under the existing foreigner rate for other property, RM 4 for every RM 100, or 4%.

On the RM 1,209,100 starting unit at Park Green Pavilion in Kuala Lumpur, 8% is RM 96,728, due when the transfer is stamped. The worked example further down sets it beside Johor and Penang.

Add 0.5% of your loan for the loan agreement. Malaysian buyers pay a tiered scale instead; the stamp duty guide has it.

Real property gains tax when you sell

A worked case. Say you sell in your fourth year and the chargeable gain, after allowable costs, is RM 200,000. Individuals get an exemption of RM 10,000 or 10% of the chargeable gain, whichever is greater, so RM 20,000 comes off; LHDN states this exemption is for individuals, with no citizenship condition. The remaining RM 180,000 is taxed at 30%: RM 54,000. Sell the same way from the sixth year and the rate is 10%: RM 18,000. The private residence exemption, by contrast, is only for Malaysian citizens and permanent residents.

The tax is on the gain, not the price. When you sell, the buyer must hold back 7% of the price for a non-citizen seller and pay it to LHDN within 60 days. This is a holding sum, not the tax itself, and your lawyer settles it against the RPGT you actually owe. More in the RPGT guide.

Tax on rent

LHDN taxes a non-resident individual's rental income at 30%, from year of assessment 2020, with no personal reliefs. You are generally a non-resident for the year if you spend less than 182 days in Malaysia.

• What you can deduct: LHDN's public ruling on rental income lists assessment tax and quit rent, interest on the loan for the let property, fire insurance, rent-collection costs, the costs of renewing a tenancy, and ordinary repairs. Costs before the first letting are not deductible. These include the first agent's fee, the first tenancy agreement and the stamp duty on the purchase.
• The form and the date: a non-resident files Form M (e-M), due 30 April when there is no business income.
• A worked case: if the rent left after those expenses is RM 24,000 for the year, the tax is 30% of it, RM 7,200.

Loans and moving money

Borrowing. You can borrow ringgit, in any amount, from a Malaysian bank to buy a home. The only exclusion is land you will not build on. You may also borrow any amount, in ringgit or foreign currency, from immediate family members. Bank Negara's published loan-to-value rule is a 70% cap on an individual's third and later housing loans. Whether a bank lends to a foreign borrower, and how much, is that bank's decision. See the foreign buyer home loan guide.

Bringing money in and taking it out. Bank Negara's foreign exchange policy lets non-residents invest in any form of ringgit asset, properties included, and remit out divestment proceeds, profits and income from those investments, as long as the money leaves in foreign currency. A non-resident needs an External Account with a Malaysian bank to receive ringgit. Keep every transfer record from the booking fee onwards.

The currency. The price, the loan, the rent and the stamp duty are all in ringgit; your income is in Singapore dollars. At Bank Negara's 12:00 middle rate on 20 October 2026, S$1 = RM 3.1930, so a RM 1,000,000 home is about S$313,200 and the RM 86,240 stamp duty on Arden's starting price is about S$27,000. I tell clients to buy only what they would still buy at a worse exchange rate.

Borrow in ringgit and collect rent in ringgit, and less of the deal moves with the exchange rate.

Buying new from a developer: what the law gives you

If you buy new, the Housing Development Act's standard sale and purchase agreements (Schedules G and H, in force from 1 July 2015) fix these points for every purchaser, whatever the nationality:

What the late-delivery rule is worth: on Park Green Pavilion's RM 1,209,100 starting price, 10% a year is RM 120,910. If the keys come three months after the deadline, a quarter of that is due to you, about RM 30,228.

How long state approval takes. Each land office publishes a client charter, counted from a complete application filed by your lawyer. Johor promises 2 to 3 weeks for a purchase of RM 10 million or less (1 to 3 months if a valuation report is needed). Penang promises 14 working days and Selangor 4 weeks.

Owning it: the yearly bills

• Quit rent (cukai tanah): set by the state and paid once a year to the land office; it falls into arrears on 1 June. Johor charges strata parcel rent (cukai petak) on strata titles in place of quit rent from 2025.
• Assessment tax (cukai pintu): set by the local council. In Kuala Lumpur, DBKL charges the annual value times 4% for a residential building, so a home with an annual value of RM 30,000 pays RM 1,200 a year.
• Maintenance fee and sinking fund: paid to the building's management. Under the 2015 strata regulations, where a managing agent fixes the charges, the sinking fund is 10% of the maintenance charge. See maintenance fees and the sinking fund.

Two examples from our database. Park Green Pavilion lists RM 0.44 psf a month, sinking fund included, so its smallest 1,201 sq ft unit pays about RM 528 a month. Orion Residence lists RM 1.20 psf plus a 10% sinking fund, RM 1.32 psf in all: the 10% rule at work.

MM2H and the RTS Link

MM2H. You do not need MM2H to buy. MM2H is Malaysia's long-term stay pass, and it brings its own minimum home price. The home has to clear whichever is higher, the MM2H minimum or the state minimum:

• Kuala Lumpur and Johor: on Silver (RM 600,000) you still need RM 1,000,000. In Johor the one exception is a serviced apartment below RM 1,000,000, which needs special state approval and a levy of at least RM 50,000.
• Selangor: you still need RM 2,000,000 in the main districts. Selangor's circular adds its own MM2H conditions in Appendix B: you buy only from a developer, only in areas the state designates, and only one home.
• Penang: Penang's guideline sets RM 500,000 for MM2H participants, for residential property only and at most two units. Silver's own minimum is higher, so in Penang a Silver holder needs RM 600,000.
• Johor's special economic zone category: the fixed deposit is USD 65,000 for applicants aged 21 to 49, or USD 32,000 from age 50. The home must be bought new from the developer in Forest City, and it must still clear Johor's RM 1,000,000 state minimum, with the same serviced-apartment exception.

If you want to spend long stretches here, read the MM2H guide before you pick the home.

RTS Link. The RTS Link runs from Bukit Chagar in Johor Bahru to Woodlands North in Singapore, about five minutes, and you clear both immigrations once, at the station you leave from. On 2 October 2026 the two governments said passenger service is expected to start in February 2027, subject to independent safety certification and final approvals. Fares have not been officially announced. Details in the RTS Link status article.

Examples from our database

Prices below are the developer price ranges in our database. Use them to see which rule bites, not as a quote.

A worked example: stamp duty and approval levy at the starting price

The stamp duty figures assume each home is used as a dwelling. A unit used for anything else would be stamped at 4%.

The stamp duty follows the price; the approval levy follows the state. Lumina is priced higher than Arden, yet its Penang levy is about half of Arden's Johor levy. The lawyer's fee row uses the 2023 scale for a purchase from a developer: 1.25% of the first RM 500,000 and 1% after, and above RM 1,000,000 the whole fee is halved.

Who should buy where

It depends on what the home is for:

• You want to use it every week, or commute. Johor Bahru, and only within honest walking distance of Bukit Chagar if the RTS is the reason. Accept the 3% levy as part of the price of proximity.
• You want a city home that you rent out between visits. Kuala Lumpur. In our database it has the widest choice of homes above RM 1,000,000, and my preference is a city-centre building, where the tenant pool is not tied to one employer. Budget the 30% tax on net rent.
• You want a quieter base for holidays or retirement. Penang Island, for strata above RM 1,000,000. The 1.5% levy band helps, but remember the three-year no-sale rule, and landed on the island starts at RM 3,000,000.
• You only want Petaling Jaya or Subang Jaya. Then your floor is RM 2,000,000 and strata only. With that budget, my view is that you get more home in Kuala Lumpur.
• You might sell within five years. Rethink. RPGT for non-citizens is 30% of the gain up to the fifth year and 10% from the sixth, so selling early hands 30% of the gain to LHDN.

Own-stay or rental, the rules are the same; what changes is the building. For own-stay, pick the location you will actually use. For rental, pick the building a tenant would choose without the brochure.

Common mistakes

1. Booking during the HDB MOP. A booking form is the start of a purchase. Clear the MOP first, and count 10 years for a PLH flat.
2. Buying in Malaysia first, then an HDB resale flat. The Malaysian home must then be sold within 6 months of the resale completion.
3. Using a Johor figure for another state. A RM 1,500,000 Petaling Jaya condominium is not open to you; the same price in Johor or Kuala Lumpur is.
4. Forgetting the levy. Stamp duty is national; the approval levy is state by state.
5. Assuming a Malaysian spouse makes the whole home Malaysian. Stamp duty is split by share.
6. Treating MM2H as a buying permit. It is a stay pass with its own minimum price.

Official sources

The figures above were checked on 21 October 2026 against:

• Ministry of Economy: guideline on the acquisition of properties (in force 13 July 2022; RM 1,000,000 floor and federal exclusions)
• Bank Negara Malaysia: Foreign Exchange Notices (Notice 2, ringgit borrowing by non-residents) and 70% LTV on the third housing loan
• Bank Negara Malaysia: exchange rates (S$1 = RM 3.1930, 12:00 middle rate, 20 October 2026)
• LHDN: RPGT exemptions and public ruling 12/2018 on rental income
• Housing Development (Control and Licensing) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (Schedules G and H)
• Land office client charters: Johor, Penang, Selangor
• Johor: strata parcel rent and DBKL assessment tax
• Johor Land and Mines Office: circular Bil. 03/2025 (signed 13 June 2025, in force 1 July 2025; levy in paragraph 4.2.2)
• Johor Land and Mines Office: property acquisition by foreign interests and application checklist (August 2025)
• Penang Land and Mines Office: guideline for acquisition by non-citizens (updated 1 August 2024)
• Selangor Land and Mines Office: circular Bil. 1/2014 (including Appendix B on MM2H)
• Finance Act 2025 (Act 874) (section 26, definition of residential property; section 29, the 8% item) and the Stamp Act 1949 (item 32(aa), 4% on other property)
• LHDN: response to the joint memorandum on Budget 2026 and the Tax Bills 2025 (joint ownership, SPA date)
• Ministry of Finance: Budget 2026 tax measures
• LHDN: RPGT rates (last updated 23 June 2026) and retention by the acquirer (25 May 2026)
• LHDN: non-resident individuals (last updated 26 May 2026)
• LHDN: comprehensive double taxation agreements (last updated 15 October 2026)
• Bank Negara Malaysia: foreign exchange policy for non-residents investing in Malaysia and FAQ for non-residents (updated 11 February 2019)
• MM2H: category overview (last updated 10 February 2026; special economic zone category)
• IRAS: Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty) (last updated 27 August 2026)
• IRAS: income received from overseas (last updated 2 March 2026)
• HDB: terms and conditions of sale and purchase of a resale flat (updated 7 September 2026; clause 29.5)
• Council for Estate Agencies: HDB's MOP rules and the PLH model
• CPF Board: using your CPF to buy a home (last updated 6 July 2026)
• Singapore Ministry of Transport and Malaysia's Ministry of Transport: joint release on the first RTS Link train (30 June 2025)
• Land Transport Authority: RTS Link service targeted for February 2027 (2 October 2026)

When you are ready to look at homes that clear your state's line, WhatsApp Shyan Yee (REN 46305, IQI Realty) at +60 17-279 8932.