Tenancy agreements/leases and your rights as a tenant

[x9200]

It is legal. There is no government regulation or any related law restricting it. More-over, there is no 1 month notice regarding the tenancy in any law I am aware of in Singapore so I am not sure what is the base of your claim.
Besides, you rent from the landlord, not the agent so it would be safer to communicate with the first one.

[PNGMK]

Hi,
I am a tenant and been renting a Studio. The agreement in for 1year with a clause for minimum stay of 6months.
I have stayed for 8 months now and am eligible to vacate.
I called the agent for 2 days continuously and had no response from agent.
Finally on 9th March i messaged the Agent that i tried calling him multiple times, and haven't had any response.
I want to vacate the house on 9/10 of April, and consider this as my 1 Month notice, as pet the tenancy agreement.

The Agent messaged me back with snapshot of tenancy agreement that i need to inform them before 7th of the month and the vacating date will be end of the same month.

Since then the agent has not been picking my call, and just only texting to my messages.

I want to know if this is legal or illegal to have such clause in tenancy agreement mentioned in Brackets?
As per the Govt rules in Singapore, it is a simple 1 month notice which i have to serve.

I will be grateful if anybody can enlighten me if this is legal or illegal to have such clause which states that i have to give notice before 7th of the month?

also my billing cycle is 20th -20th, as i took the studio on 20th of August.

When did you sms/call the agent? On the 7th? or the 6th? Does the T/A say the notice must be in writing? I bet it did so why didn't you follow the instructions? If you had written a letter in time, sent it registered post - you'd have reason to whine.

As the other poster said - there is no tenancy act or tribunal in Singapore. Your T/A is a contract and you have to abide by it.

You're going to be a min of one month rent out of pocket. I can't see you getting around this. Your T/A appears to have laid out what you should do and you chose to ignore it.

[j4ckyus]

Hi
I am renting HDB and the rent will expire two months from now. My Employment Pass will expire mid next month.

If the ICA does not approve or there is a delay in renewal application, will my agreement automatically break?

To my understanding i may not stay in HDB if my permit is expired. So if i need to leave the house, will i be charged to pay penalties for remaining months rental?

[x9200]

Hi
I am renting HDB and the rent will expire two months from now. My Employment Pass will expire mid next month.

If the ICA does not approve or there is a delay in renewal application, will my agreement automatically break?

No unless it is specified so in your tenancy agreement.

To my understanding i may not stay in HDB if my permit is expired. So if i need to leave the house, will i be charged to pay penalties for remaining months rental?

Yes, likely.

[clar147]

Hi all, I need some advice. I'm moving out of Singapore soon for a new opportunity before my TA expires (6 mths left in a 2 yrs contract). The problem is, the diplomatic clause was struck out, and I don't even remember why I agreed to it/whether anyone explained to me what it means. I definitely won't be able to afford paying 6 months' rent that's left, and my agent has bee unhelpful.

I'm going to try talking to the LL directly first, since we've been living here for 4 yrs & have been good tenants. But just worried that greedy owner will insist on the 6 months' rent! Any other advice on what to do in this situation?

[beppi]

Finding him a new tenant at the (probably increased) rent he wants is probably the only way out for you.
Or hope that he is understanding and will let you off with only three months left to pay ...

[danosx]

Hello Singapore Expats!

Just wanted to say that we just signed our lease for an apartment in Singapore and all without an agent thanks to all the great tips in both this topic and others.

thank you for all the help.
D

[sundaymorningstaple]

[AussieSkater]

Hi, I have a question and hope it can be answered. Our current 2 year lease on our condo is due to expire on the 15th Feb, but we want to move closer to our sons school, and would like to terminate it around the 1st Dec.

We have the standard contract and it has a section called 'reimbursement of commission', " In the event that the Tenant should terminate this tenancy prematurely, the Tenant shall undertake to reimburse the Landlord on a pro-rats basis, the commission paid to any estate agency for the brokerage services rendered"

There is nothing else in the contract about early termination or number of months notice only the DP section which we aren't invoking.

So can we terminate early?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts

[beppi]

Unless there is a diplomatic clause (and you fulfill the requirements - i.e. are leaving Singapore) or you find a mutually agreed solution with the landlord, fixed-term rental contracts in Singapore cannot be terminated early by any side.
Try to talk to the landlord and offer to meet him half-way!

[AussieSkater]

Thanks for the reply, so what are the consequences of early termination then? We are going to contact him but wanted to be prepared with what our options are. So what is the point of the section that details early termination, just for show?

[sundaymorningstaple]

Thanks for the reply, so what are the consequences of early termination then? We are going to contact him but wanted to be prepared with what our options are. So what is the point of the section that details early termination, just for show?

What it means is if you want to terminate the contract early, then you will, without a dip clause in the T&A, be liable for all the rent till the end of the lease AND a prorate share of the commission that was paid by the landlord to his agent (which was covering the term of the lease. If you can negotiate (the LL holds ALL the cards if there is not a dip clause) something between nothing and the full amount you will be doing good, but the agents commission will not be able to be adjusted.

[JR8]

Thanks for the reply, so what are the consequences of early termination then? We are going to contact him but wanted to be prepared with what our options are. So what is the point of the section that details early termination, just for show?

The lease needs to specifically provide for how you can terminate it early. If it has a Diplomatic clause, and nothing else, then you cannot terminate early if not leaving the country. Or if you do, you're on the hook for 100% of the rent due to the end of the term, (or what you might negotiate for earlier release, but baseline the LL is entitled to 100%, so you won't make much if any headway on that).

Does that answer fit with the paperwork in front of you?

[AussieSkater]

Thanks for the clarification, we aren't leaving the country so not invoking dip clause, and the landlord didn't use an agent 2 years ago when we renewed the lease.

Thanks for the clarification, will see how things go with him, we have rented the place for the last 6 years, 5 of those years with the current landlord. Hopefully he will allow us to leave early, due to the circumstances of wanting to move closer to our boys secondary school, as it takes them an hour to get to and from school.

[JR8]

As a long-time landlord (back home), I'd usually be happy to help a long-time tenant to move on to their next home, even when it's not perfectly aligned with the lease terms. The fact is it's happening one way or another, so I can be an ar$e or do something, honestly pretty minimal, to give a hand.

There comes a point, IME at around 3, and + years, where a tenant like that who stays becomes something to cherish. There's no move-in/out drama. Everything has settled. For them it really is home, more than just a stop-gap. The longer they stay the more that applies.

I've had tenants stay for 10 years (unheard of from young profs in central London). After 6 years in your current place, I'd really hope that you are afforded the same respect and flexibility.