Terminate Tenancy Agreement

[sundaymorningstaple]

Tell the agent if he was party to the fraudulent digital signing of the lease without verifying physically the residency of the renter, there is a very good possibility that he will lose his license at the least and possibly be fined as well for knowingly assisting in the commission of a fraudulent rental to a person without legal residency and the next step will be the SCT (Small Claim Tribunal)
https://www.statecourts.gov.sg/cws/Smal ... ation.aspx

[snehaltendulkar]

Tell the agent if he was party to the fraudulent digital signing of the lease without verifying physically the residency of the renter, there is a very good possibility that he will lose his license at the least and possibly be fined as well for knowingly assisting in the commission of a fraudulent rental to a person without legal residency and the next step will be the SCT (Small Claim Tribunal)
https://www.statecourts.gov.sg/cws/Smal ... ation.aspx

Thank you so much for your reply. I'm considering SCT as my next step now.

[PNGMK]

The EP has not yet been approved and issued yet. He has no residency therefore he cannot rent legally. As long as all he holds is the IPA then he is not yet resident (the IPA is good for a maximum of 6 months I believe and if not taken up by then it is withdrawn). You have to be present in Singapore in order for the IPA to be approved and the EP issued. The IPA, in case the OP doesn't know, stands for In-Principal Approval. it does not mean the EP has been approved. OP must be present in person for the IPA to be converted to the EP. Hope that helps.

Oh true. EP not yet issued, in which case stamp duty couldn't have yet been paid, in which case the lease shouldn't be valid.

OP, you could perhaps just ask for the deposit back since the lease is invalid. Write up a scary sounding letter about how the lease isn't valid and hint at taking legal action. Threaten to go to ICA and IRAS. With any luck, landlord will yield. Or, offer a quick 50/50 settlement for their troubles.

We haven't paid the stamp duties and the agreement hasn't been physically signed yet. However, the agent told me that even if it's digitally signed, it still holds.
We are yet to submit the EP and might not even submit it, since we don't plan to move here anyways. I think it'd be wise to get in touch with a lawyer and try to sort the matter out.
Thanks for your response.

If there is no stamp duty it's not registered. This is a factor that is useful to both parties.

[snehaltendulkar]

Thank you PNGNK. I'll look into it.