Hi, first of all, thanks for letting me join the forum. I need a piece of advice from the experienced expats here. Below is my current situation.
I’ve been staying here in Singapore for almost 6 months, I came and secured a job in August last year. The tenant agreement with my landlord has a clause that states that I must stay at his place for at least a year. Due to personal reason, I am thinking about moving to a better place. I had tried talking to him about my concern, and as expected, the outcome is that my security deposit will be forfeited for breach of contract.
I expressed my disappointment to some friends, and in our discussion, I was told about the stringent rules and regulations of leasing a HDB flat in Singapore. Upon checking with HDB e-service website, my FIN numbers aren’t even on their databases, the search result indicates that I’m not an authorized subtenant and I’m not allowed to stay at the flat.
It seems like I’ve been in the dark since day 1, leaving the place is my top priority now.
My questions are:
1. I see ray of hope, since I am not authorized to stay there, what would be the chance of me to turn the tables in this dispute? Would the violation of laws (by the landlord) be invalidating his contract that he has been using to bind me to the place?
2. My friends are unable to give me a better explanation as they too have never been put in such situation. In such a case that, if the violation is indeed recognized by the government authorities, what would be the consequence(s) to both parties (me and the landlord)?
3. If I were to report him to the authorities, what would be the relevant government departments/offices that I should approach? Would the authorities help me in winning back my money if they decide the landlord is at fault?
