plan15 Ross Avenue offers a rare house—with just two years to call it home
The State property near the Botanic Gardens has expansive grounds and period details, but its short reported lease changes the calculation for renters.
A two-storey house near the Singapore Botanic Gardens is being offered for residential use, but its next occupant would get just two years there. The property is 15 Ross Avenue, which the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) reportedly listed for lease on 18 October 2026.
That short tenure is what makes the offer unusual for a renter. Anyone drawn to the house’s generous grounds and period character would be choosing a 24-month chapter—not the open-ended stability people often associate with making a landed house their home.
What is being offered
The reported listing describes a 3,208 sq ft house on 9,418 sq ft of land. It is for residential use only, with a lease term of two years.
The two-storey house reportedly has high ceilings, large windows, a verandah and an upper-floor balcony. More distinctive details include star-shaped and floral window grilles, as well as scrollwork around the balcony.
These features give the property a historic feel, but that wording matters: the available evidence does not establish that 15 Ross Avenue has formal conservation status. It is safer to describe it as a characterful State-owned house than to assume it carries a particular legal or planning designation.
The address also comes with an academic connection. The surrounding area reportedly once housed university educators, and a former head of the University of Singapore School of Architecture lived in the house. The available report does not identify that former resident, so there is no sound basis for attaching a name to this part of the property’s history.
The real choice is space versus time
On paper, the land area is nearly three times the stated built-up area. That comparison does not reveal how much usable garden or outdoor space the tenant would actually have—the built-up figure may span more than one floor—but it does convey the scale of the grounds around this house.
The harder number is two years. A tenant has to fit moving in, settling down and eventually moving out into a 24-month window. If the home needs furniture, repairs or alterations to suit a household, the time and money involved matter more when there is a fixed and relatively near end date.
That does not automatically make the lease unattractive. It could suit someone who wants an unusual home for a defined period, perhaps while waiting for another property or living in Singapore on a time-limited arrangement. But it is a different proposition from renting a conventional landed home with an expectation—though never a guarantee—that the tenancy might continue.
SLA’s general guidance says alterations to State properties require its prior written approval and approval from the relevant authorities. This is general guidance, not confirmation of the exact conditions for 15 Ross Avenue; the property’s own tenancy documents would determine what applies there.
Why SLA rents out State properties
SLA manages State land and buildings in Singapore. The agency explains that properties not immediately required for development may be rented out in the interim, allowing them to remain in use rather than sit empty.
“Interim” is the useful word here. A State lease can provide access to a type of home that seldom appears in ordinary rental listings, but the tenure may reflect the Government’s longer-term plans for the site. SLA also notes that tenancy terms vary from one property to another.
This means renters should not carry assumptions from another black-and-white bungalow, terrace house or State property into this offer. Even where two buildings look similar, their permitted use, lease period and obligations may differ.
The missing details matter
Several practical facts could not be confirmed from an accessible copy of the underlying State Property Information Online listing or tenancy papers. These include the rent or bidding basis, application deadline, whether renewal is possible, and any property-specific repair, alteration or reinstatement duties.
Those are not minor administrative details. For a house with distinctive fittings and a short lease, they determine how freely a tenant can adapt the space, what must be preserved and what may have to be restored before leaving. SLA’s general tender guidance provides a broad framework, but it cannot substitute for the documents governing this address.
For now, the clearest picture is also the simplest: 15 Ross Avenue is reportedly a spacious, characterful State property offered for residential use for two years. Its appeal lies in getting to live somewhere uncommon near the Botanic Gardens; its central trade-off is having to plan the goodbye almost from the day the keys arrive.
