London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

A British expat in Singapore is paying $7,000 a month to swim in a pool during quarantine

A British expat in Singapore is paying $7,000 a month to swim in a pool during quarantine

A British man living in Singapore was on the brink of losing access to his condominium pool due to social distancing guidelines. He decided to rent access to a neighbor’s pool at a vacant property for 10,000 Singapore dollars, or $7,040, a month, Bloomberg reported.
A British expat living in Singapore made a pricey purchase to avoid losing access to his condominium’s pool during the strict lockdown, Bloomberg reported.

The man, who is not named in the report, reached out to real estate agents to find a rental property with a pool. When he found a $30 million bungalow in Sentosa Cove, an upscale residential area on an island off Singapore’s south coast, he decided the $30,000 monthly rent a bit too high, real estate agent Lester Chen told Bloomberg.

“I asked the man why he wanted to rent the bungalow. Is it because of space restraint in his current home?” Chen told the outlet. “The man replied that he just wanted to use the pool because his was closed due to the lockdown.”

Since his client only wanted to use the pool in the Bali-themed house, Chen got creative to reach an agreement with the owner of the property in which he would lease out the pool and garden on a short-term basis of three months and would void the deal if someone else wanted to rent the entire bungalow.

“I’ve rented out offices, factories, apartments, and bungalows. But never just the amenities in a home,” he told Bloomberg. “This was a first.”

The man is now renting just the pool for $7,000 a month, which doesn’t grant him and his family access to the house itself but allows them to enter the pool area through a side gate.

Real estate agent Lester Chen told Bloomberg that the arrangement was “a first,” but he has been fielding requests from others looking to rent luxury bungalows for their private pools and gardens amid the city-state’s strict lockdown measures.

Chen told Bloomberg that this client isn’t alone in his quest for pool access during social distancing in Singapore, which is known for its billionaire residents, including real-estate magnates and investors. With gyms closed and public loitering banned, Chen has received requests from other individuals looking to rent bungalows in Sentosa Cove for their private pools and gardens.

Singapore’s quick response in the early days of the world’s coronavirus outbreak was initially lauded for being quick and efficient but has since seen a second wave in new coronavirus cases that sparked full lockdown orders until at least June 1.

As of Tuesday, the city-state had more than 14,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, but only 14 reported deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
×