How-to guide
How StudentStay SG works
Short, numbered guides for everything on the site — for students hunting for a room and flatmates, and for landlords listing one. Each step links straight to the screen it's talking about.
I'm looking for a room
Search near campus, check the real move-in cost, and tour with a group.
I'm listing a room
Post it in one sitting, host group viewings, and rate tenants you've had.
Get set up
Five minutes once, and everything else on the site works better.
- 1
Create your account
Use the Google button, or sign up with an email and password. If a Google email matches an account you already made, we'll ask you to merge the two instead of creating a duplicate.
Sign in or join free - 2
Say what you're here for
Onboarding asks you to pick "I'm looking for housing" or "I'm a landlord or agent". If you're looking, it also asks whether you're an undergrad, postgrad, exchange student or staff — that decides which tools you see. The extra details on the next step are optional, and you can press "Skip for now" at the end.
Open onboarding - 3
Verify your university
Type your student or staff email (for example you@u.nus.edu) and press "Send verification link", then open the link you're given. Once it's confirmed, a "Verified student" badge with the date shows on your profile for other students and hosts to see.
Verify now - 4
Take the lifestyle quiz
Six quick questions — when you sleep, how tidy you keep shared spaces, noise, guests, cooking and where you study. Sleep and tidiness count most. Afterwards every flatmate card shows a % match with a short note on what you agree on and what's worth discussing.
Answer six questions - 5
Fill in your profile
Add a photo, budget, move-in date, the neighbourhoods you're after and a few lifestyle tags. These are what other students filter and match on, so a half-empty profile means fewer messages.
Edit profile
Find a room
Search, compare the real cost, and save the ones worth a viewing.
- 1
Search and filter
Type a neighbourhood, MRT station or keyword, then narrow with University, Room type, MRT line, "Move in by" and the price range sliders (S$500 to S$3,500). Pick a university and a travel-time slider appears — "≤ 20 min to NUS", for example. Switch between "Grid" and "Map" whenever you like.
Browse rooms - 2
Save the search
Press "Save search", name it, and we'll tell you when a room matching those filters appears, so you don't have to keep checking. You need to be signed in.
Save a search - 3
Read the room properly
Open a listing for photos, "About this place", "What's included" (bills, wifi, furnishing) and "House rules". The price card shows rent, deposit and what you'd pay up front.
- 4
Work out the true move-in cost
Under "Costs & tenancy tools", the "Move-in cost calculator" takes lease length (6 mo, 1 yr, 2 yr), "HDB" or "Condo / private", and whether it's "Via agent", "Utilities included" and "Aircon". It totals the deposit, advance rent, agent fee and IRAS stamp duty (0.4% of total rent) so you know what to have ready.
- 5
Check how far it really is
The "Where you'll be" section shows the map, estimated travel times to the major campuses, and a "Get directions" button that opens Apple Maps or Google Maps from where you're standing.
- 6
Ask the host in public
Use "Questions & answers" on the listing. Every question and answer is visible to other renters, so one good reply saves everyone an email.
- 7
Keep a shortlist
Save rooms with the heart button. They collect under "Saved listings" on your dashboard, beside your saved searches.
See saved rooms
Tour a room together
Group viewings: pick a slot, RSVP, chat with the others going.
- 1
Join a slot
On any listing, the "Group viewings" section highlights the soonest upcoming slot with a "Quick RSVP" button, and lists the rest with "RSVP". It turns to "You're going" once you're in — press it again if you change your mind.
- 2
Ask for a time that suits you
If nothing fits, press "Request to schedule viewing" and the host is notified. Hosts can add a slot themselves — see the landlord section below.
- 3
Put it in your calendar
Every upcoming slot has "Add to calendar": "Google Calendar" opens a pre-filled event, or pick "Apple / Outlook (.ics)" to download one.
- 4
Chat with the group
After you RSVP, "Group chat" opens on the listing page so you can message the host and everyone else attending. "Hide chat" closes it again.
- 5
Go with your own group
Press "Tour with my group" on a listing and choose one of your groups. The room goes on that group's shortlist and everyone in it is RSVP'd to the next available viewing.
Open your groups
Find flatmates and friends
Match on lifestyle, then keep the good ones as friends.
- 1
Browse flatmates
Search by name, neighbourhood or a vibe like "quiet" or "cooks", and filter by university and role. Cards show your % match; open a profile for their quiz answers and verification badges.
Browse flatmates - 2
Send a friend request
Press "Add friend" on a card or profile. It reads "Sent · Cancel" while you wait, and "Friends · Remove" once they accept.
- 3
Answer requests and chat
Your friends page shows "Requests received" with Accept and Decline, "Requests sent" you can cancel, and "Suggested for you". Press "Chat" on any friend to message them right there.
Open friends - 4
Search everyone
Press "Directory" to open the friends directory, where you can search and filter students by university, a neighbourhood you both like, or shared lifestyle tags.
Open directory - 5
Ask the community
The forums have boards per university and per neighbourhood. Press "Start a thread", add a title and your question, then "Post thread". Replies appear underneath.
Open forums - 6
Keep one inbox
Listing enquiries, viewing requests and friend chats all arrive in Messages, so you're not digging through five pages.
Open messages
Form a roommate group
Set your budget and dates, invite people, hunt as a team.
- 1
Start a group
Give it a name, write what you're after under "What you're looking for", set "Budget min" and "Budget max" per person, list preferred neighbourhoods and a target move-in date, then choose "Public — anyone can join" or "Private — invite only". Press "Create group".
Create a group - 2
Invite people
Use "Invite by email or username" and type an email or the person's display name — usernames work even for people who signed in with Google. Suggestions appear as you type, and you'll get a clear message if nobody matches. Invites you've sent show as pending or expired, with countdowns and a way to resend.
- 3
Shortlist rooms together
Press "Tour with my group" on any room to put it on the group's shared shortlist and book the next viewing together, then talk it over in the group chat.
- 4
Join someone else's group
The groups page lists "Open groups to join". Open one that fits your budget and dates and press "Accept invite" or request to join — public groups let anyone in.
See groups - 5
Talk it over
Group chats live in Messages, so a group conversation sits alongside your direct chats instead of a separate app.
Open messages
Move in safely
The Singapore rules, and how to keep a deposit.
- 1
Read the safety checklist
Never pay before viewing, check an agent's CEA registration, get a signed tenancy agreement, and pay stamp duty within 14 days. Keep early chats on StudentStay SG so we can help.
Read safety tips - 2
Use the move-in checklist
On a listing, the tenancy tools have a "Move-in checklist" of ten things — photograph existing defects with timestamps, note meter readings, count keys. Tick them off and press "Download" to keep the list. It's saved on your device for that room.
- 3
Know the rules before signing
The same panel shows "Singapore rental rules" for that property: the minimum stay, the six-person limit per home, break clauses and stamp duty, so nothing in the agreement surprises you.
- 4
Report anything suspicious
Use the Report button on any listing, profile or message. Reports are reviewed within 24 hours.
- 5
Furnish, and hand over
The move-out marketplace is where students sell desks, fridges and books they can't ship home — press "List an item", add a price (0 for free), pickup area and photo, then "List item". Leaving early? "Post a sublet" on the sublets page lets someone take over your lease.
Open marketplace
For landlords and hosts
Post a room, host group viewings, rate the tenants you've had.
- 1
Post a listing
You need the landlord role (ask an admin if you don't have it). Fill in title, description, neighbourhood and MRT, rent, deposit, minimum stay, room type, furnishing, availability, amenities and house rules. Photos are required — at least one, up to 5 MB each, and the first becomes the cover.
Post a listing - 2
Preview before it goes live
"Preview listing" shows the room exactly as renters will see it. Go back with "Back to edit", or press "Publish listing" to put it live straight away. Everything you type autosaves as a draft, so a closed tab doesn't cost you an hour, and "Discard draft" clears it.
- 3
Host a group viewing
On your own listing, press "Propose a time", set the date and time, add a note like "Meet at the lobby, bring ID", then "Propose slot". Students RSVP, and each slot has its own chat so you can answer questions before the day.
- 4
Answer public questions
Questions left on your listing appear under "Questions & answers". One reply there answers it for every prospective tenant.
- 5
Rate someone after a viewing
On your dashboard, "Tenant ratings" has an "After viewings" list of people who came along, each with a "Rate" button for whether they showed up and how their communication was.
Open dashboard - 6
Record a tenancy and rate the tenant
In "Past tenants", add the listing, the tenant's email and the start and end dates, then press "Add". You can then rate cleanliness, payment timeliness and whether you'd rent to them again, with an optional comment, and press "Submit rating".
- 7
Ratings go on their profile
A tenant's landlord ratings appear under "Landlord ratings" on their flatmate profile, visible to other landlords — so the next host can see they paid on time and looked after the place.
- 8
Manage what's live
"Your listings" on the dashboard is where you edit, pause or remove a room.
Account and settings
Change your details, or turn emails off.
- 1
Edit your profile
Photo, display name, bio, university, budget, move-in date, the neighbourhoods you're looking in and lifestyle tags all live in one place. Landlords can also add an agency name and CEA number. Press "Save profile" when you're done.
Edit profile - 2
Pick which emails you get
Below the form, the Email notifications section has a switch for "Friend request accepted" and a separate one for "New direct message". Each saves the moment you flip it — no need to press Save again.
Notification settings - 3
Check your verification
Your profile shows what was verified and when. If it's missing or wrong, run verification again from the verification page.
Verification page - 4
Something broken or missing?
Tell us in the forums and we'll fix it. If you need a role changed, an admin can do it from the manage-roles page.
Still stuck?
Ask in the forums — students and hosts answer faster than we do, and a moderator will pick up anything that looks like a fault. If something on a listing or profile looks wrong, use the Report button on it.