Evil landlord

[Kareena]

hi everyone,
we moved in 2 months ago and from the beginning the kichen tap/pipe had a leak...asked the landlord to fix it and she bought her husband over to fix it (he's not a plumber). her husband messed with the pipes changed a pipe and said everythings ok. now after that i thought the leak is gone so i never checked and turns out something else was leaking all along and then told landlord again and she sent over "a freelancer" who i think was actually her uncle or something. then he did something changed a pipe and said its fixed. now by this time the water had seeped into the cabinet and the whole cabinet is ruined. then we told her that and she bought over a contractor who said that the problem wasnt the pipes but the kichen "tap"....then the next day she calls and says the whole cabinet and tap have to be changed and we have to pay ...is this fair?...my husband and i are having arguements because of this as we really cant afford this. any suggestions welcome thanks.

[QRM]

What does the tenancy agreement say? Over here the tenant normally have to pay for the first few hundred bucks of any repair.

[durain]

i thought for the first month, if anything need fixing, it is the landlord's responsibility. btw, did you contact the agent and let them know?

[Kareena]

i know but we've been here 2- 1/2 months. well the contract says we have to pay 200 per item and she says its 2 items...so we pay 400...plus we already paid 50 for the pipe.

[k1w1]

Unfortunately, this is a very difficult place to get any help in situations like this. However, I would tell the LL you are not paying to repair her cabinets and pipes, as they were not broken by you.

Make sure you have recorded times/dates etc of when the contractors have come to look at the property, and when you have had contact with the owner in case this gets ugly - but I really think she's just trying to see what she can get away with. I don't know if CASE actually get involved in cases like this, but I threatened a past landlord with it, and she backed right off.

Also, owners are only allowed to deduct money from a deposit (if she starts threatening this) for actual damages done. You can take her to small claims court if she unlawfully takes money from your deposit - again, don't be scared to say you'll do this. It costs $50 to lodge a claim there and they DO deal with tenancy disputes.

I would call her bluff - tell her you aren't paying, and she is breaking the Tenancy Agreement by not seeing to repairs in a "fair and reasonable" timeframe - most TA's have a clause along these lines. Also, did you mention this in the first month, and it's still ongoing? Still the same issue since then, and it still hasn't been fixed? Still not your problem. You have to be tough!

[durain]

CASE wont help as CASE is for consumer product like if the kettle you bought is not boiling the water to 100 degree.

you can seek legal advise via pro bono. they are run by the singapore law society. do a google to find out if there's one near your area.

[QRM]

I am no legal expert but you can try this poker face, find an address of a local lawyer, and give them a buzz and see if they deal with this sort of thing.

Write a formal letter to the landlord and agent and say you are cc-ing the letter to Lawyer XYZ, Unless they repair it to your satisfaction you will start to forward your rental payment to the lawyers who will hold it. That way they cant say you are not really paying rent.

Make sure you note they have broken the terms of the lease and you are seeking legal advice.

You must give them a way out, as in state what you want to be done to stop legal proceedings.

That should scare them, but be prepared to actually cc the letter to the lawyers, the landlords may be pretty good poker players.

[canely1983]

i guess you can call the C&C number. 6325 1600. They in charge of dispute over neighbourhood happened in HDB. try to call them, free advice.