Canary Tower (TTDI) office for rent in KL: what you'll actually pay in 2026
Canary Tower is a 248,376 sq ft NLA, 24-storey Grade A office tower at No. 1, Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail (TTDI), originally built in 1985 as IBM Plaza and now owned by Pelaburan Hartanah Nasional Berhad (PHNB), with asking rent of RM 4.50–5.50 psf/month (central tendency RM 4.50, verified 2026-08-06) and MRT TTDI Station 400 m / 7-minute walk away.
Fast facts: Canary Tower (TTDI)
| Field | Value | Source / Date |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | A (broker-attributed) | theboutiqueoffice, searchofficekl, JLL listing, 2025-2026 |
| Completed | 1985 (original as IBM Plaza, Hamzah & Yeang); 2016 major landlord refurbishment; 2017 5-storey annexe extension | trhamzahyeang.com (architect of record); PHNB property page, 2026-08-06 |
| NLA | 248,376 sq ft (landlord's own figure) | PHNB property page, 2026-08-06 |
| Typical floor plate | ~9,900 sq ft | a dated broker listing Plaza VADS fact sheet, 2025 |
| Asking rent | RM 4.50–5.50 psf/mo (mode RM 4.50 on bulk 9,180 sf plates; RM 5.50 on 4,000 sf subdivided units) | a dated broker listing / a dated broker listing, 2025-02 to 2026 |
| Service charge | not disclosed in the sources reviewed in any listing, landlord source, or broker research consulted — building management call required | PHNB leasing desk, 2026-08-06 |
| Parking | 1 bay per 1,000 sq ft leased; 431 bays total (4-level podium + 3-level basement); reserved RM 153/bay/mo, non-reserved (season) RM 93/bay/mo | a dated broker listing, 2025 |
| AC OT | Mon–Fri RM 100/hr, Sat RM 130/hr, Sun RM 160/hr (after-office-hours split-unit AC) | a dated broker listing Plaza VADS / Canary Tower listings, 2025 |
| MD/MSC status | Not disclosed in any consulted source | Building management call required |
| Green cert | Not disclosed in any consulted source despite 2016 refurb and 2017 annexe | — |
| Anchor tenant | VADS Berhad (wholly-owned subsidiary of Telekom Malaysia Berhad), Level 15 | TM Annual Report 2013; searchofficekl.com, 2026 |
| Nearest rail | MRT TTDI Station (Sungai Buloh–Kajang Line) — 400 m / 7-min walk per PHNB official source | phnb.com.my, 2026-08-06 |
| Backup power | not disclosed in the sources reviewed | Building management call required |
| Verified date | 2026-08-06 | This page |
What you'll actually pay: 5,000 sq ft TCO at Canary Tower
A 5,000 sq ft unit at Canary Tower at the central-tendency RM 4.50 psf costs approximately RM 22,500/month in base rent — one of the cheapest Grade A addresses in mature KL with direct MRT access, and roughly 15% below the Knight Frank Q1 2025 TTDI/Mont'Kiara/Dutamas average of RM 5.26 psf (The Edge, 2025-Q1). The all-in TCO at 5,000 sq ft:
| Line item | RM / month | RM psf/mo | Source / Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base rent (5,000 sf × RM 4.50 psf) | 22,500 | 4.50 | a dated broker listing / a dated broker listing, 2025-2026 |
| Service charge | not itemised in the sources reviewed — building management call required | — | PHNB does not publish RM psf for any tenant type |
| Car park (5 bays × RM 153/mo reserved, per 1:1,000 sf ratio) | 765 | 0.15 | a dated broker listing, 2025-05-15 |
| AC OT (estimate 30 hr/mo at RM 100/hr Mon-Fri) | 3,000 | 0.60 | a dated broker listing Plaza VADS listing, 2025 |
| Utilities (estimate) | 2,000 | 0.40 | Tenant-reported KL Grade A norm |
| Sub-total before tax | ~28,265 | ~5.65 | — |
| SST 8% on rent + service charge portion (assume service charge RM 0.80 psf placeholder) | ~2,016 | ~0.40 | LHDN SST Order 2025 — 8% expanded scope from 1 Jul 2025 |
| Total all-in (estimated) | ~30,281 | ~6.06 | — |
For 5,000 sq ft at Canary Tower, expect a true first-month occupancy cost of approximately RM 30,281 at the central-tendency asking rent — about 35% above the headline RM 22,500 base rent once service charge, parking, AC OT, utilities and SST 8% are added. The single biggest unknown is the per-psf service charge; PHNB does not publish a per-psf figure for any tenant. The AC OT rate is the cleanest disclosure across the three buildings in this wave — Saturday OT at RM 130/hour and Sunday OT at RM 160/hour are explicit numbers a tenant can budget against (vs TRX 106 and CP Tower, which leave AC OT to building-management call).
Will my team fit at Canary Tower? Three headcount scenarios
Canary Tower's ~9,900 sq ft floor plates work for SME / mid-market tenants. A continuous 5-floor block (45,862 sf, L12A-L17) is on the market at RM 5.00 psf (a dated broker listing 100499490), giving a single-tenant multi-floor option. Three worked scenarios at RM 4.50 psf base rent + estimated 0.80 psf service charge + 1 bay per 1,000 sf parking:
- 20 pax (lean 100 sf/person = 2,000 sf): a partial floor; rent RM 9,000/mo, all-in ~RM 11,800/mo. Common size in 2025-2026 listings.
- 50 pax (standard 150 sf/person = 7,500 sf): three-quarters of a floor; rent RM 33,750/mo, all-in ~RM 44,500/mo. Plentiful 6,000-9,000 sf subdivided units.
- 100 pax (standard 150 sf/person = 15,000 sf): a full floor plus partial; rent RM 67,500/mo, all-in ~RM 89,000/mo. The 5-floor continuous block (45,862 sf) is sized for a 100-pax tenant with growth room.
The 2016 major refurbishment and 2017 5-storey annexe extension (with retail and food court) mean a 2026 tenant is not signing up for a 1985-vintage stock — the tower has been brought to current Grade A specification by the original architect (Hamzah & Yeang stayed engaged).
Transit reality at Canary Tower
Canary Tower is one of the most transit-connected Grade A addresses in the KL Fringe. MRT TTDI Station (Sungai Buloh–Kajang Line) is a 400 m / 7-minute walk per the PHNB official property page (phnb.com.my, 2026-08-06); a dated broker listing and Chestertons listings put it at 5-6 minutes. The variance reflects which exit/entrance the walk is measured from. The walk is along Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad — residential, with pavement — so the morning commute is sheltered except during the 3pm KL thunderstorm. By car, the building is accessible via the Damansara-Puchong Expressway (LDP), SPRINT Expressway, and NKVE (PHNB property page; theboutiqueoffice, 2025). E-hail pickup: ground-floor drop-off with main lobby fronting Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad (theboutiqueoffice listing, 2025). The tower has 4 levels of podium parking plus 3 levels of basement (431 bays total) — sufficient for the 1:1,000 sf allocation at full occupancy. Car park queue at 8:45am not documented in public sources; reserved bays are the practical answer for staff on US/EU hours.
Who's in the building: confirmed tenants
Canary Tower's post-2017 floor-by-floor tenant list is not disclosed in the sources reviewed. Two anchors are documented:
- VADS Berhad (wholly-owned subsidiary of Telekom Malaysia Berhad / TM) — Level 15, the building's namesake anchor. VADS was established in 1991 as a joint venture between IBM Global Network Services and Telekom Malaysia; became fully-owned by TM post-2010. Source: TM Annual Report 2013 (https://cdn1.i3investor.com/my/files/st88k/4863_TM/annual/2013-12-31/4863_TM_AnnualReport_2013-12-31_TM-Page%20201%20to%20ProxyForm_-1403528378.pdf, 2013-12-31, reit_filing); searchofficekl.com (2026).
- Pelaburan Hartanah Nasional Berhad (PHNB) — building owner / asset manager; wholly-owned subsidiary of Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), the Malaysian government's main investment vehicle. Source: PHNB property page, 2026-08-06.
- IBM (historical anchor 1985–1991) — original anchor; the original name "IBM Plaza" derived from this tenant. Source: T.R. Hamzah & Yeang project page, 2026-08-06.
For a v2 article, the post-2017 third-party tenant list is not enumerated in the sources reviewed — name VADS + PHNB and treat the rest of the building as a mix of SMEs, professional firms, and TTDI-area consumer-facing businesses until the leasing desk confirms. Building rebrand history: IBM Plaza (1985) → Plaza VADS (post-1991 when VADS Berhad became anchor) → Canary Tower (circa 2017 after 2016 refurbishment and 2017 annexe). The Taman Tun Dr. Ismail Wikipedia article still refers to the building as "VADS Plaza" / "Plaza VADS" — an old name a tenant may still see in directories and on Google Maps.
Lease risk and exit mechanics at Canary Tower
PHNB does not publish a standard lease-clause set for Canary Tower in any source consulted. Two inferred, three unconfirmed:
- Reinstatement cost at exit: not disclosed in the sources reviewed. KL Grade A market norm is RM 5–15 psf for bare-shell reinstatement. Building management call required for the Canary Tower-specific scope and cost.
- Break clause: Not disclosed. By negotiation only — to be confirmed with the PHNB leasing desk.
- Diplomatic clause: Not disclosed. By negotiation only — assignment/sublet rights subject to landlord consent. The mechanic that lets a foreign tenant exit early without deposit forfeiture (typically 12-month lock-in before invocable, 2-month notice plus documentary evidence, tenant still liable for rent during notice period, no offset against deposit) is general Malaysian commercial-lease practice but is not building-specific; verify against your own Letter of Offer before acting on it.
- Bank guarantee in lieu of cash deposit: Not standardly disclosed at Canary Tower. Some KL Grade A landlords accept a bank guarantee in place of a cash security deposit, preserving working capital — but this is by negotiation, not a stated right, and building management call required.
- Rent escalation: not disclosed in the sources reviewed. KL Grade A norm is fixed 5–8% per annum or 0% over a 3-year fixed term with 3-yearly market review. Building management call required for the Canary Tower figure.
The first-person ZH account of the standard MY commercial-lease trap remains the strongest single quote for the practical mechanics: "如果你签完合同，中途不做了……没收你的押金，你还需要继续把剩余的租金付完" (thepaper.cn, 2024-11-12) — early exit on a multi-year commercial lease in Malaysia forfeits the deposit AND leaves the tenant liable for the remaining term's rent. Photographic move-in/move-out inventory is the practical protection against "fair wear and tear vs damage" disputes at exit.
MD / MSC status box: Canary Tower
MD/MSC status for Canary Tower is not in any consulted public source. PHNB does not publish the field on its property page; a dated broker listing and a dated broker listing do not state it; the property.phb.com.my schema leaves the "MSC status" field empty for the listing. Verified 2026-08-06 as not disclosed in public sources. A tenant should treat this as "unknown — building management call required" rather than assume the building is or is not MD-certified. A quick framing: Malaysia Digital (MD) status since 25 March 2022 is company-activity-based, not building-based — the tax incentive (0% on qualifying IP income, 5–10% on non-qualifying) is yours by virtue of what your company does, not where it sits. Roughly 35% of Malaysia's purpose-built office stock is MD-certified; only ~13% of MD companies actually sit in MD-certified premises (Kimi cross-verified research, 2026-07-30).
Compare: TTDI / Damansara submarket peer buildings
Canary Tower is one of the cheapest Grade A addresses in the TTDI / Damansara Utama cluster. Three other buildings in the immediate TTDI submarket:
- Menara TTDI (Plaza TTDI area) — walking distance from MRT TTDI; KL Fringe Grade A addressing the same SME / mid-market tenant pool at comparable psf.
- Menara LGB (Damansara Utama) — adjacent to TTDI; institutional Grade A in the same LDP/SPRINT corridor; mid-band asking rent in the same RM 4.50–5.50 psf range.
- Damansara Uptown Tower — Damansara Uptown cluster, the next submarket south of TTDI; mid-band Grade A with a different tenant mix (more consumer-facing retail and SME services).
All four buildings sit on the MRT Kajang Line and serve the KL Fringe / western KL corporate market at the RM 4.50–5.50 psf band — roughly half the cost of KLCC Grade A (RM 6–12.5 psf, per the v2 spec) and a quarter of Singapore CBD Grade A (S$8–14 psf = RM 28–49 psf at current rates). The Knight Frank Q1 2025 submarket average for the TTDI / Mont'Kiara / Dutamas cluster is RM 5.26 psf — Canary Tower's RM 4.50 psf is ~15% below that average.
FAQ: Canary Tower (TTDI)
Is Canary Tower Malaysia Digital / MSC-status?
Not disclosed in any consulted public source (PHNB, a dated broker listing, a dated broker listing, JLL, theboutiqueoffice, searchofficekl) as of 2026-08-06. MD status since 25 March 2022 is company-activity-based, not building-based — the building designation is ecosystem signal, not a tax event for the tenant.
What is the service charge at Canary Tower?
not disclosed in the sources reviewed in any listing, landlord source, or broker research consulted. Building management contact: Noel ([email protected], 019-478-5766) and Zaileen ([email protected], 03-2035-1651) at PHNB. Budget RM 0.80 psf as a placeholder for early modelling.
How much is a 5,000 sq ft office at Canary Tower per month?
At the central-tendency asking rent of RM 4.50 psf, base rent is RM 22,500/month. All-in (estimated service charge + 5 parking bays + 30 hrs/mo AC OT + utilities + SST 8%) lands at approximately RM 30,281/month — about 35% above the headline rent, but still one of the cheapest Grade A TCOs in mature KL with direct MRT access.
What is the floor plate size at Canary Tower?
~9,900 sq ft per floor across a 24-storey tower (4-level podium + 3-level basement car park). A continuous 5-floor block (45,862 sf, L12A-L17) is on the market at RM 5.00 psf for a tenant that needs a single multi-floor address.
Is Canary Tower green certified?
Not disclosed in any consulted source despite the 2016 major refurbishment and 2017 5-storey annexe extension (both by Hamzah & Yeang, the original architect). Building management call required for the current green-cert status.
How far is Canary Tower from the nearest MRT/LRT?
MRT TTDI Station (Sungai Buloh–Kajang Line) is a 400 m / 7-minute walk per the PHNB official property page (2026-08-06); a dated broker listing and Chestertons listings put it at 5-6 minutes. Walk is along Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad, residential pavement, sheltered except during KL's 3pm thunderstorm.
What is the car park ratio at Canary Tower?
1 bay per 1,000 sq ft leased (a dated broker listing fact sheet, 2025); 431 bays total across 4 podium + 3 basement levels. Reserved parking RM 153/bay/month; non-reserved (season) parking RM 93/bay/month. The 1:1,000 ratio is the most generous parking allocation in this wave's three buildings.
What is the minimum lease term at Canary Tower?
Not disclosed in any consulted source. KL Grade A market norm is 3 years minimum with a 2+1+0.5 deposit structure (~3.5 months cash). Building management call required for the Canary Tower-specific minimum.
Verified stamp: Rent, parking, AC OT, anchor tenant and completion year verified 2026-08-06 by SPEEDHOME. Service charge, MD/MSC status, green cert, break clause, diplomatic clause, reinstatement cost, and rent escalation rate are not in public sources — building management call required (PHNB leasing desk, +60 3-2035-1651, noel/zaileen @pnb.com.my).
Compare more KL offices
Start with the KL office leasing guide. Then compare Menara 1 Dutamas and Menara 1 Sentrum before shortlisting a building.