Own a unit at Rica Residence (or buying one)? Run it whole-unit, furnished. The 2-bed is the money plate: asking RM2,000-2,200 against a RM435,000-480,000 ask cluster — about 5.5-6.1% a year gross, asking-side numbers on a building with no clean transacted record. Rooms have no measured rate here, and short-stay has zero building-named units. Supply is deep — 67 rentals listed — so the listing that moves is the furnished, zero-deposit one.
Three ways to run your unit
Pick a model card, tell the tool which unit you own, then put in your own numbers. The answer updates as you type, and the charts show the trade-offs.
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What can you earn?
The measured ladder, read live on 12 Oct 2026 from 34 in-building cards: 1-bed 657 sqft at RM1,500 fully furnished, 2-bed 800 sqft at RM2,000-2,200, 3-bed 1,064 sqft at RM2,500-2,600, and the top 1,238 sqft plate at RM2,900. A second portal carries the same band independently, and the building profile holds 67 live rental listings — the ladder is multi-source agreement, not one agent's ask.
Worked out on the 2-bed: RM2,100 x 12 = RM25,200 divided by RM480,000 = 5.3% a year gross at that card; across the band it runs 5.5-6.1%. The 3-bed is the weaker plate: RM2,500-2,600 over RM795,000-850,000 asks is 3.5-3.9%. All of it is asking-side — the transacted record conflicts (a snippet median of RM696k over 116 sales sits ABOVE the live ask cluster, which fails the smell test; treat it as unsourced until reproduced) — so buy on the price you actually negotiate, not a median.
Rooms: no measured market. No Rica room card exists on any channel this sweep — the corridor's room machine (The Tamarind at RM850-1,150, MiNest at RM700) is other buildings. On corridor arithmetic a 2-bed split lands about RM1,400-2,300 against the RM2,000-2,200 whole ask — a wash before the extra work, and it is not a Rica measurement. SPEEDHOME coliving is cat-friendly, and pet-friendly rooms earn about 15-20% more where they exist.
Short-stay: zero building-named units. The Sentul corridor sells nights at RM539-2,110, which proves the pocket, not your permission — the management's written rules decide, and Malaysia's top court has confirmed a management can ban short-stay outright.
Why whole-unit wins here
Rica is the newest tower on this Sentul belt — completed 2021, freehold, one 39-storey stack of 473 units, MRT Sentul Barat about 400 m away. New stock plus deep supply is the combination that punishes generic listings: with 67 rentals competing, an unfurnished ask blends in; a furnished 2-bed at the measured band with zero deposit is the differentiated card. Our own board's one dedicated Rica listing has been asking RM2,250 for over five years with 67 lifetime chat requests — a long, low-velocity record that says priced-right-and-furnished beats waiting.
The demand anchors sit next door: The Tamarind's whole-unit card drew 157 chat requests and The Fennel's RM1,600 card drew 105 — the Sentul pocket rents when the offer is sharp. And in a KL service apartment, the split question is closed by law, not by opinion: DBKL bans carving new bedrooms in commercial-strata buildings, so the bedrooms already on the plan are the ones you have.
Honest gaps: maintenance and quit rent are not published (a reported fee of about RM0.35 psf is unverified — do not underwrite on it), and the management's pet and short-stay positions are not public. The calculator's running-cost field stays a placeholder until your statement says otherwise.
5 checks before you buy
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Get the real land title document — not the agent's ad. A service residence on commercial land has its own conditions. Done: you hold the title copy.
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Get the management's rules in writing — short-stay, room rental, pets. One letter answers all three. Done: you have the letter.
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Get the real running costs — management fee, sinking fund, quit rent. Nothing is published here, so ask. Done: a number on paper. See the real cost of self-managing a rental.
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Show your renovation plan to DBKL before you sign anything. This is a Kuala Lumpur service apartment: new bedroom walls in commercial-strata buildings are banned, so furniture yes, walls no. Done: the council tells you in writing.
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Until checks 1 and 2 are done, buy nothing you cannot undo. A reversible SPEEDRENO rental fit-out converts the unit back to normal in a day.
FAQ
Can you rent rooms at Rica Residence?
No in-building room rate has been measured — the nearest room markets are The Tamarind and MiNest next door. On corridor arithmetic a 2-bed split grosses about RM1,400-2,300 against the RM2,000-2,200 whole ask: a wash, not a Rica number. Any split still needs the management's written OK. See the room rental and co-living guide.
What yield does Rica Residence give?
About 5.5-6.1% a year gross on the 2-bed asking pair (RM2,000-2,200 over RM435,000-480,000 asks); the 3-bed runs 3.5-3.9%. These are asking-side figures — the transacted record conflicts and maintenance is unpublished — so your real return is lower. Run your own numbers in the calculator above.
Is short-stay allowed at Rica Residence?
Zero building-named short-stay units exist today, and only the management's current written by-laws can grant permission — Malaysia's top court confirmed a management can ban it (Verve Suites ruling, 2020). Get the letter before spending money.
Are pets allowed at Rica Residence?
The building's rules are not public. SPEEDHOME coliving is cat-friendly — cats welcome in our coliving rooms — and pet-friendly rooms earn about 15-20% more. The offer is SPEEDHOME policy; building rules can vary.
What running it looks like
Setup is the two documents: title and the management's letter. The work is one tenant whole-unit — a young worker or small household on the Sentul belt — with the cycle of one listing, viewings, a stamped tenancy agreement, then rent day. In a 473-unit tower with 67 competing cards, turnover moves for the furnished zero-deposit offer; SPEEDHOME runs the listing, the viewings and the screening, and you approve the tenant before the agreement is signed. Keep the fit-out reversible, and treat short-stay as a bonus the letter may never grant.
Ready? List your unit with SPEEDHOME — zero deposit, we run the viewings, you approve the tenant.
All figures are asking rents and prices read on 12 Oct 2026 from live in-building cards, the building profile and portal search captures. Running costs are not published. More: the landlord investment decision guide.
