Renting in Malaysia
Renting in KL, step by step.
Renting a home in Kuala Lumpur takes five steps, and foreigners follow the same ones as Malaysians, with a passport and a valid pass in place of an identity card. No law sets the deposits or protects them yet, so most disputes come down to what the tenancy agreement says.
From offer to handover.
- 1
Offer and booking fee
Once you've chosen a unit, you sign a letter of offer and pay a booking fee, often a month's rent, to hold it while the agreement is drawn up. The letter should say when you'd get the fee back.
What the booking fee covers - 2
Read the tenancy agreement
Malaysia has no standard tenancy agreement and no residential tenancy law yet, so the clauses you sign are your protection. Check the diplomatic clause, repairs and when the deposit comes back.
The clauses to check - 3
Pay the deposits and first month
Most landlords ask for two months' rent as a security deposit, half a month for utilities and the first month's rent in advance, written as 2 + ½ + 1.
What you pay upfront - 4
Stamp the agreement
The agreement has to be stamped within 30 days of signing. On a one-year lease at RM2,500 a month, the duty is RM120, and you can pay it online.
Work out your stamp duty - 5
Move out and get your deposit back
Hand over against the inventory and your move-in photos, then ask in writing for the balance and an itemised list of anything deducted.
Getting your deposit back
The renting guides
Rental deposits
What 2 + ½ + 1 means, what can be deducted and how to get it back.
Tenancy agreement checklist
The clauses to read before you sign, from the diplomatic clause to repairs.
Stamp duty calculator
What it costs to stamp your agreement at 2026 rates, and how to do it online.
New to Malaysia? Start with whether foreigners can rent and the other guides.