Who Pays for Aircon Servicing in a Singapore Rental? A Tenant’s Guide

Air-conditioning is essential in Singapore’s climate, so it is one of the most common sources of friction between landlords and tenants. There is no law that says who pays for servicing or repairs — the answer lives entirely in your tenancy agreement. That said, the market has settled on a fairly consistent split, and knowing it helps you read a contract and avoid an unfair bill.

The standard split

In most private rentals, the tenant keeps the units maintained through routine servicing, while the landlord remains responsible for the equipment itself when it fails through normal ageing rather than neglect.

The minor repair clause

Most agreements include a minor repair clause: the tenant covers repair costs up to a set threshold per item — commonly between S$150 and S$300 — and the landlord pays anything above it. If your threshold is S$200 and a repair costs S$250, you pay S$200 and the landlord pays the remaining S$50. Always check the figure and whether it applies per repair or per month.

What “fair wear and tear” means

Fair wear and tear is the natural deterioration of equipment through normal use. The practical test is your servicing record. If you have kept up the agreed schedule and can show the receipts, the failure of a major part is generally treated as fair wear and tear, and the landlord pays. A unit that needs gas top-ups every few months is leaking — that is a defect, not maintenance, and it is the landlord’s responsibility to fix.

A tenant’s checklist

• Confirm the servicing frequency named in your tenancy agreement — quarterly is typical.
• Keep every servicing receipt; it is your evidence for fair wear and tear.
• Report faults in writing as soon as they appear, not at move-out.
• Check the minor repair cap and how it is applied.
• Photograph each unit at move-in and note any existing issues.

Aircon and your deposit at move-out

Aircon is one of the items landlords scrutinise most at the end of a tenancy, because servicing history is easy to evidence and easy to dispute. If you skipped the agreed servicing, a landlord can reasonably charge for the resulting damage and deduct it from your security deposit. If you kept the schedule, normal deterioration is fair wear and tear and is not chargeable. The single best protection is a tidy folder of dated servicing receipts from the start of the lease to the end.

Can a landlord deduct aircon repairs from my deposit?

Only for damage caused by misuse or missed servicing, or for costs that fall under your share of the minor repair clause. Deductions should be itemised, and fair wear and tear cannot be charged back to you. Keep your receipts and a written record of any faults you reported during the lease.

How often should aircon be serviced in a rental?

Quarterly — roughly every three months — is the norm, and many agreements write this in. Regular servicing also protects you: it is the difference between a landlord-paid repair and a bill you absorb.

Do I have to arrange aircon servicing in co-living?

Usually not. In managed all-inclusive co-living, maintenance is typically handled by the operator as part of the rent. Figment’s fully furnished co-living homes and wider co-living in Singapore are managed by the team, so residents generally do not deal with servicing schedules or repair caps across our collection of heritage homes.