Best Portals For Direct-Landlord Rental Listings in Singapore

Listing on portals, replying messages and arranging viewings might look simple on the surface. In reality, a lot can go wrong if you are new. That is why so many landlords still choose to work with agents even when there are free listing options online.

Before you DIY: why first time landlords should consider an agent

A good property agent does much more than “post on PropertyGuru”.

They are trained professionals, backed by an estate agency, with experience in:

• Pricing your unit correctly for current market conditions
• Handling floods of enquiries, and filtering out obvious timewasters, or worse, scammers!
• Screening tenants and spotting red flags early
• Coordinating viewings, keys and access without disrupting your life
• Negotiating terms so they are fair and realistic
• Preparing tenancy documents, inventory lists and handover checklists
• Guiding you on your rights and obligations as a landlord

They also act as a very useful buffer between you and the tenant. If there is a tough negotiation, a delayed payment or an uncomfortable conversation, your agent is the one in the middle fighting for your interest. You do not have to be “the bad guy” directly with your tenant.

If any of these apply to you, an agent is probably worth the commission:

• You are renting out for the first time
• You live overseas or far from the unit
• You are busy and cannot take calls or do viewings freely
• The property is high value and you want to minimise mistakes
• You value your time and headspace more than the commission you save from handling rental in a DIY manner

So even though this article compares portals for direct-landlord listings, it is important to say this clearly:

If you still prefer to list your own rental and manage everything yourself, then the rest of this guide is for you.

Why you cannot use PropertyGuru or 99.co as a DIY landlord

The moment you try to sign up as an owner on PropertyGuru, you will notice something interesting. The platform is built around paid subscriptions for property agents. As a direct landlord, you cannot simply create a free listing and publish it to renters. You will be pushed to engage an agent instead.

99.co has an “Owner listing” feature, but it is mainly designed so agents can contact you and represent you. It is not a pure “DIY direct landlord to renter” experience on the same level as what agents get.

So if your plan is:

“I will just DIY on PropertyGuru or 99.co and save agent fees”

that option is not really available in the straightforward way most landlords imagine.

Your realistic DIY portals in Singapore are:

• Hozuko
• Carousell
• rentinsingapore.com.sg
• Facebook Marketplace
• Telegram rental groups

Let us walk through how each one works for a direct landlord, and where Hozuko fits in.

Quick comparison: which portal is best for what?

• Hozuko - Best all round for direct-landlord rentals, with strong focus on trust, verification and rental-only traffic.
• Carousell - Huge general audience, good for extra visibility, but very noisy and mixed with non-property content.
• rentinsingapore.com.sg - Established room-rental site with decent volume, but some features sit behind paid membership.
• Facebook Marketplace - Massive reach, but also a hotspot for scams and impersonation.
• Telegram rental groups - Fast, informal and free, but extremely chaotic and your listing gets buried quickly.

Hozuko: Singapore’s direct-landlord rental portal (recommended primary)

Hozuko is built specifically for rentals in Singapore. Not sales, not random classifieds. Just people trying to rent out or find a place to live.

What matters to you as a landlord:

• Direct landlord friendly You can list directly as a landlord. Renters can see clearly whether a listing is from a landlord, agent or operator.

• Verification and trust Landlords can verify themselves. Many listings are verified, which gives renters confidence and usually leads to more serious enquiries instead of endless “Still available?” messages.

• Rental-only audience Almost everyone browsing Hozuko is in rental mode. You are not competing with bikes, phones and random items for attention.

• Safer communication Hozuko encourages in-platform chat, with scam mitigation systems in place. This makes it harder for scammers to impersonate others and helps protect both sides.

• Growing traffic, affordable for landlords The platform is focused on growing renter traffic while keeping it affordable for landlords to list. You do not need to pay expensive agent-style subscriptions just to put your unit online.

Honest downside:

• Hozuko is still younger than the legacy portals. Traffic is growing quickly but the absolute numbers will not match PropertyGuru’s agent side yet. The trade off is that your listing sits in a cleaner, rental-focused environment and you are not buried under thousands of agent reposts.

Best use case: Make Hozuko your main “home base” listing. Then add one or two extra channels if you want more reach.

Carousell: big audience, but very noisy

Carousell is Singapore’s default marketplace app. It has a property rental category.

Pros:

• Huge user base, especially on mobile
• Easy and quick to list
• Free to start, with optional boosts

Cons:

• High noise - your rental appears next to everything from phones to furniture
• Renter intent is mixed - some are just browsing

Best use case: Use Carousell as a secondary channel for more casual eyeballs, but keep your serious enquiries and full details anchored on Hozuko.

rentinsingapore.com.sg: long-running room-rental site

rentinsingapore.com.sg focuses heavily on room rentals and housemates.

Pros:

• Strong niche for rooms and shared apartments
• Filters for room type, gender preferences and more
• Owners and even tenants can post ads

Cons:

• Some useful contact features and phone visibility are gated behind paid memberships
• Interface feels more old-school
• Less emphasis on verification and scam prevention compared to newer platforms

Best use case: Good additional channel for rooms or budget rentals, paired with a clearer primary listing on Hozuko.

Facebook Marketplace: huge reach, high scam risk

Facebook Marketplace and property groups can generate views quickly, but they are also known to be fertile ground for scams.

Pros:

• Very large audience in Singapore
• Easy to share and repost in groups
• Free to list

Cons:

• High rate of fake or misleading listings
• Limited verification of landlord identity
• Messages get messy across chat, comments and multiple groups
• Visibility depends on Facebook’s algorithm

Best use case: Optional extra reach. If you use it, always insist on physical viewings and never accept deposits before proper checks and paperwork. Whenever possible, link your Hozuko listing so renters can see verified details.

Telegram rental groups: fast but chaotic

Telegram is full of rental groups where people drop room and unit ads.

Pros:

• Fast exposure within active groups
• Free and casual
• Useful for last-minute or very niche cases

Cons:

• Listings disappear up the chat history within minutes
• No real search, filters or verification
• You must manually manage each conversation and keep reposting

Best use case: Treat Telegram as a broadcast tool. Use it to share the link to your main Hozuko listing rather than trying to manage the full process inside the group.

Side-by-side comparison for direct-landlord rentals

How I would list if I were a landlord today

Putting it all together:

1. Decide if you really want to DIY- If this is your first time and you feel unsure, talk to a few agents. Get a sense of their service and fees. Use one if you value your time and peace of mind.

2. If you choose DIY, start with Hozuko- Create a detailed listing with clear photos and realistic pricing - Complete verification so renters know you are legitimate

3. Cross-post to one or two extra channels- Carousell for extra discovery

   • rentinsingapore.com.sg for room or budget rentals - Optionally Facebook or Telegram for “broadcast”, but always point back to your main Hozuko listing

4. Centralise serious conversations on Hozuko That way, you keep all chats, documents and verification in one place. It is easier to track who is genuine and to move smoothly from enquiry to viewing to signed tenancy.

You do not have to choose between “only agents” or “only DIY portals forever”. You can start with an agent for your first rental, learn the ropes, then move to DIY later with Hozuko as your anchor platform when you feel more confident.