What Is a Condo in Singapore? Life Beyond the Apartment

When we arrived in Singapore, a condominium (or ‘condo’) was the most practical choice for us. A condo is a residential development (sometimes a single building) with private apartments, shared grounds and a set of facilities.

Facilities can include swimming pools, gyms, work rooms, libraries, barbecue areas, saunas, car parks, playgrounds and playrooms, pavilions for events, and tennis courts. I’ve seen condos that had, for example, water slides or handed out towels at the pool or offered breakfast every day. The sky’s the limit.

You rent an apartment in a condo, live there and use all the facilities. For instance, in our condo you can “rent” tennis courts, barbecue areas, and event pavilions a few times a month for free. The gym and pools did not require the same bookings. These were our condo’s arrangements, rather than a promise about every development.

The facilities also come with a shared life beyond the apartment door. In June 2022, I photographed our outdoor seating areas at about eight in the evening: plenty of places to gather, hardly anyone using them. I liked the idea of going downstairs to meet friends by the pool; a facility on a brochure does not automatically create that evening.

Management kept residents informed through notices, then an app, then a screen near the lift. We made the bulletin ourselves after paper planes were launched from our balcony. The private apartment was ours to live in; what came out of the balcony concerned other people too.

Later, moving between condos taught us how much the practical rules matter. A pool is easy to notice at a viewing. Delivery access, booking arrangements and moving slots deserve attention as well.