Subject : HELP PLEASE...HOUSE OWNER ELUDING TO RETURN THE DE

[Shashidhar]

Hi,

I am stuck in a peculiar situation. Please advise me on how to tackle this difficult situation.

My problem :
1. I am all set to leave Singapore and go back to India on 29th Dec'07.
2. My house (unapproved HDB unit) contract (not legally valid) is getting over on 31st Dec'07.
3. On 1st Dec'07, I informed my owner of my decision to vacate & hand over the house by end of Dec'07.
4. Since after knowing of my intention to vacate, my house owner or his wife have become not reachable on their mobile no. Either the mobile rings and stops after a while or the owner deliberately cuts the call. All my SMS'es too are not responded. Even the agent is telling that he's not able to contact the owner in any way.
5. I strongly suspect that my house owner does not want to return me back the deposit amount and is just waiting for me to leave the house without the deposit so that he can break open the lock & occupy the house.
6. I don't know of the whereabouts of the owner other than his citizenship.id and mobile.no's.

My worries :
1. What to do with the keys of the house if my owner does not contact me till my date of flying. Leaving the house along with the keys does not sound ok to me as it can create other problems later.
2. How to trace the owner some how ?

Eagerly looking for some help....

Regards,
Shashi.

[jpatokal]

Well, as your contract is not legally valid, you're basically screwed. But if you do have a written contract with the owner's signature, NRIC and everything, you could threaten to report him to HDB for doing an unapproved lease, which is a much bigger problem for the owner than the tenant.

On the upside, the owner can't do anything about you either, so I'd have a giant housetrashing party on the last night and tack the house keys on the notice board at the local NTUC Fairprice along with an invitation for people to come in and strip the plumbing fixtures. But maybe that's just me

[sundaymorningstaple]

JP, I've got a 12 lb sledgehammer. Want some help?

[durain]

sorry to hear you are in a mess.

have you try foning the owner in a payphone so your caller's ID doesnt show up? not sure if supported in singapore mobile system but on nokia mobile fones, you can set the option to have a read receipt when sending sms. i suggest you test it with your friends, etc. if that works, sms the owner again. at least you know they got your message.

failing that, i think you might as well have a open party for xmas and new year, follow by "flat boot sales" to recoup back your deposit. not sure if i would do such thing... you never know... if i am in your shoes!

but seriously, try all you can to contact the owner before doing anything drastic. good luck.

[ksl]

I'd give him 2 hours to get the deposit back, or hand the keys, to the HDB board and tell them, the whole story, send him/her a text message, they will get the point!

Although you can bet your deposit is long gone! So I'd do what JP suggests!