Tenancy agreements/leases and your rights as a tenant

[macaroonie]

Poor coachtravel - doesn't it seem ridiculous? Surely with an IC and the name of the landlords the government would have their address recorded and filed somewhere... this is ridiculous! DO NOT GIVE UP!!! Keep us posted ok

[jpatokal]

Poor coachtravel - doesn't it seem ridiculous? Surely with an IC and the name of the landlords the government would have their address recorded and filed somewhere...

Of course it does, it's just not handed out for privacy reasons. What amazes me is that this is the same country where I'm expected to write down my NRIC number in a public register every time I take a towel at my gym

coachtravel, have you checked with condo management? They will almost certainly have the landlord's contact details, and while they may not give them to you directly, they should be willing to forward a letter. Or ask a private investigator, who can probably dig up the info for you for a small fee.

[cattwl77]

My landlord has requested that the contract be terminated earlier (3 months). What sort of compensation am I entitled to ? Thanks

[jpatokal]

Unless the lease allows them to do that (and it should not!), then you do not have to accept their request. If you do, then the compensation for breaking the contract is a matter for you and the landlord to decide.

[jjk]

what about viewings by potential tenants / buyers? I know there's a clause in the TA that says we should make reasonable efforts to allow viewing at reasonable pre-arranged timings. What is considered reasonable? Maybe I'm really not free, but it is construed to be unreasonable...how? will landlord sue me?

[SpecialK]

Hi,

Am i right in thinking agents fees can be bore by tenant or landlord depending on the agent/ Letter of Intent etc.

I was a little naive on this one.

Are there any rules/laws on this that I can check?

Thanks

[KindClare]

Hi SpecialK,
Our agent told us that for a 2 year lease the agent gets 1 month's rent paid by landlord. If we choose a 1 year lease, the fee is 50% of one month's rent, paid by tenant.

Not sure if this is common practice or not, but that is what we were told.

[SpecialK]

Cheers, heard that too. Our agent was acting for us and had I read all of this on the expats web id have had more savvy! bit the bullet n paid it and we love the place we found. I will learn next time ;o)

[jjk]

Hi SpecialK,

We were told that for rental amounts above S$2,500, landlord will bear the agent fees, regardless if it's 1 yr or 2 yr lease. If it's below S$2,500, then for a 2 yr lease, tenant also have to pay 1 mth's rent as fees. Ours is a 2 yrs and > $2.5k, so....no issue there for us. Only issue is the monthly amount! haha. Even though agent was acting for us, I think our agent had to get a share from the landlord's agent...

[megha]

Just to update all those who were reading my post earlier..we did file a claim for 1000$. First time the landlord did not turn up so we won the case by default. Then the landlord contested it on the ground that she was not in Singapore..and we had to go again..second time she sent the real estate agent who did not agree to come to a compromise...again we were called third time..again the real estate came and this time strangely the Registrar did not allow her and said that agents cannot represent the case..strange coz last time he allowed her...and case was adjourned, by the time it was the fourth time, we were kind of losing the enthusiam to fight for 1000 bucks and so we agreed to close the case at $375...

Thats the story..I guess no win no lose...coz not happy that the landlord got away with our money but then again something is better than getting back nothing:)

For other tenants in similar situation, good news is that the Registrar sympathised with us and spoke with respect while the landlords agent was treated like dirt...actually that was our best compensation:)

[x9200]

...we were kind of losing the enthusiam to fight for 1000 bucks and so we agreed to close the case at $375...

Thanks for the update! Could you please elaborate a bit how did it end up with this particular number?

[sundaymorningstaple]

...we were kind of losing the enthusiam to fight for 1000 bucks and so we agreed to close the case at $375...

Thanks for the update! Could you please elaborate a bit how did it end up with this particular number?

And did you fart? Scratch your bum while you were there?

[megha]

haha..very funny

Anyway...to answer the relevant qs...The Registrar asked each of us how much we were ready to compromise at..we said 600 and they said 150..so the Registrar just halve the amount..so our 300 + their 75 = 375...

So if you are in a subordinate court..remember to ask for more:)

[larsson]

Hello I was reading through the thread hoping for some more information about my situation..

I have signed a 2-year contract to rent the flat last August 2009. So i paid the agent fee of 1 month since it was on a 2-year contract.

A few days ago, the landlord called me saying he wants to sell his flat and he only intends for us to finish the 1-year + approx. 2 months instead. So i asked him who should give us the refund for the half-month's rent since he intends to only finish one year in our contract.

Now, my agent called me saying the landlord should bear the cost for refunding it, however, since he only intends to let us move out after 1 year and 2 months, he is not bound to pay the refund for the agent fee. And if nobody buys the house, then we can stay there longer but he said he will increase the rental for a few more hundred dollars after one year.

I think something is not right here.. it's like he can just kick us out anytime without taking responsibility of paying us back the halfmonth's agent fee we paid, and he has the freedom of increasing the rent when we have signed a contract for a specific amount supposed to be good for 2 years..

That's why i want to know what can i do and what are my rights before i talk to him again... I hope someone could help me here...

Thank you.

[macaroonie]

Sounds strange Larsson - i don't think they can increase the rent before 2 years if you have signed a 2 year contract. Don't be bullied by them. Go and get some proper legal advice!

Good luck