a) Be grateful that the LL was willing to accept any tenant that you found. You will see many stories here where the LL refuses absolutely every single proposed replacement tenant.joiedevivre22 wrote:I am a EP holder, employed in Singapore for the last 4 years. Had rented a 3 bedroom fully furnished HDB apartment and stayed with friends.We are the no-issues kind of tenants. Spent for petty stuff on our own, rarely had issues with the house. We also maintained good relations with the owner by taking efforts to pass his letters etc. Now, this apartment is quite pretty - well furnished with wooden interiors, excellent furniture, wooden floors. Also, it has a home proud owner. We initially rented in 2012 and have been renewing since. Rental was initially at $3,200 until 2013. Later, we negotiated with the owner and got it to $3000. The deposit remained at $3200. In this area, rentals have dropped considerably. The average is at $2700 for a 3BHK.
In Feb 2015, two of my friends relocated to AU and I planned to move out too.. Contract was until June 2015. So, we spoke to the owner and was given two options - either pay up until June or find a replacement tenant! Obviously, we did the latter. After crazy advertising ( yep, we did all that a agent does and even employed an agent on our end) we found a replacement tenant who was willing to take up only at $2900. Rental rates have fallen down in the area but my owner refuses to acknowledge it. Fearing any further issues, we compensated the rest to the new tenant so that the rental remains at 3K to the owner.
You found this place direct vs the owner? I.e. you did not have an agent of your own?joiedevivre22 wrote: Now, all problems began during the handover. The owner came in and checked. He had SO many issues - some extremely insane. Here are some examples of the problems he had.
- A corner of the wooden skirting was chipped off. So, I need to replace the entire skirting.
- A small portion of the foyer's wood cupboard was chipped. So, I need to change the whole wall.
- The stainless steel backing behind the kitchen hob is scratched ( hell, its obvious stainless steel gets scratched). Note, this is not broken or chipped. It looks perfect but he wants to replace the whole thing.
- Two dining chairs were broken. We got it fixed but it was not to his satisfaction. He wants to replace the whole set!
- Only the main door, gate, letter box and gas meter keys were given to us. He is now asking for keys for every single draw and door in the house. These were kept in a corner box and remained there until we moved out. Obviously, we have no clue on it.
That is NOT a valid excuse! You can see how the LL expects to see this situation panning out => he keeps all your money.joiedevivre22 wrote:According to my contract, he has to refund the deposit in 14 days. We had the handover on March 1st. I called him last week to check on the status of the refund. Note, the new tenant has already moved in and has started using the apartment. He mentioned - he is yet to get a quote from his handyman and will keep me posted.
Is this a copy of a formal quote, on the contractors headed company paper?joiedevivre22 wrote:Yesterday, I received an email with a quote for a crazy amount. He not only plans to keep the deposit but wants to fork out more. Some of the stuff on his quote -
- New flooring - $1100
- New stainless steel backing - $1000
- New skirting - $450
- Plumbing - $600 ( we have no clue why! everything was working fine when we left!)
- New cupboards ( couple were stained, but he wants to replace all 4 cupboards) - $2200
- New dining table - $600 ( apparently, it's worth thrice this amount and he is being considerate).
- Cleaning the unit - stuff like windows are dirty - $1100
Changing the lock-barrel is usually a simple DIY job. How is the new tenant retrieving their post in the meanwhile?joiedevivre22 wrote:To add to our woes, the letter box key got misplaced and was shipped off to AU ( stupid, I know). Even more insane that the owner doensn't have a spare. We are of course willing to pay up for this. So, that's another $50 I guess.
A reduction doesn’t come into it. You should only be liable for what is reasonably due.joiedevivre22 wrote:He also says he will consider reduction but still wants us to fork out. He doesn't plan to get any of these really replaced and is just getting quotes to make us pay. This is something he told us on his own.
But that was what was contractually required anyway right?joiedevivre22 wrote:Before moving out, we spent to get the chairs fixed, all curtains and sofa covers dry cleaned, entire unit cleaned with two maids, all wooden furniture polished, bulbs changed, AC's serviced. We spent about $600 and have bills for it.
Replying re: the above main Q’s will help fill in the overall picture.joiedevivre22 wrote:I need to know how to proceed on this. Everyone around me says he is simply being greedy and it's atrocious to ask the tenant money for his renovation. But, how do I deal with this?
- Can I just ignore his email, calls and accept that the deposit is gone?. I really don't want to take this route as this ignoring mania isn't easy. He will call from different numbers etc.
- Can I simply deny and ask for some other vendor to provide a quote?
- Am I eligible to take it to the small courts tribunal?
I generally agree with what JR8 wrote so far except for the legalities. Unless I misunderstood something tragically or you start threatening the LL there is no way there could be any criminal record out of this mess. All what you may face is to be required to pay, what would need to be executed by a bailiff etc etc. It's not an easy and cost-free process so, with the characteristic of the LL and other details you provided, personally I doubt he would do anything about it if he keeps the deposit.joiedevivre22 wrote:The risk re: 2 is you leave, he files a case against you, it is ‘found’ against you in/due to your absence and then you have a SGn criminal record.
- You need to determine what would be reasonable first. Also one suspects that there is a danger that he won’t accept any other quote that he has not arranged himself
Your point no 1 is my fear. He might simply say I am ignoring his email and take it legal. That's the last thing I want to face. And yes, he won't accept another quote so easily. also, on the legal bit - I am not on the contract. I am an occupant only. The main contract holder is no longer in Singapore.
Ha, there is nothing on my end to threaten him. I wouldn't as well. In fact, if at all - he can keep asking me for money. I highly doubt if they will have the interest to take it legal and pay the costs, but there is a mild doubt in how he reacts to certain situations, so I have to keep guard. In the past, he has openly stated that we are foreigners and should keep guard of our status, I usually ignore such statements as these are mere threats used here to get stuff done ( sorry, folks - but it is true). Doesn't bother much, but does happen.x9200 wrote:I generally agree with what JR8 wrote so far except for the legalities. Unless I misunderstood something tragically or you start threatening the LL there is no way there could be any criminal record out of this mess. All what you may face is to be required to pay, what would need to be executed by a bailiff etc etc. It's not an easy and cost-free process so, with the characteristic of the LL and other details you provided, personally I doubt he would do anything about it if he keeps the deposit.joiedevivre22 wrote:The risk re: 2 is you leave, he files a case against you, it is ‘found’ against you in/due to your absence and then you have a SGn criminal record.
- You need to determine what would be reasonable first. Also one suspects that there is a danger that he won’t accept any other quote that he has not arranged himself
Your point no 1 is my fear. He might simply say I am ignoring his email and take it legal. That's the last thing I want to face. And yes, he won't accept another quote so easily. also, on the legal bit - I am not on the contract. I am an occupant only. The main contract holder is no longer in Singapore.
I disagree that there is 'no way' a criminal record could result from this. Maybe the nuance between criminal and civil crime is causing confusion? In the UK any person's police record is referred to as your 'criminal record', and indeed you have a right to get a copy of it on demand from the Criminal Records Bureau. It records both criminal and civil crimes.x9200 wrote:I generally agree with what JR8 wrote so far except for the legalities. Unless I misunderstood something tragically or you start threatening the LL there is no way there could be any criminal record out of this mess. All what you may face is to be required to pay, what would need to be executed by a bailiff etc etc. It's not an easy and cost-free process so, with the characteristic of the LL and other details you provided, personally I doubt he would do anything about it if he keeps the deposit.joiedevivre22 wrote:The risk re: 2 is you leave, he files a case against you, it is ‘found’ against you in/due to your absence and then you have a SGn criminal record.
- You need to determine what would be reasonable first. Also one suspects that there is a danger that he won’t accept any other quote that he has not arranged himself
Your point no 1 is my fear. He might simply say I am ignoring his email and take it legal. That's the last thing I want to face. And yes, he won't accept another quote so easily. also, on the legal bit - I am not on the contract. I am an occupant only. The main contract holder is no longer in Singapore.
Just asking to learn - on what grounds can be file a case?JR8 wrote:I disagree that there is 'no way' a criminal record could result from this. Maybe the nuance between criminal and civil crime is causing confusion? In the UK any person's police record is referred to as your 'criminal record', and indeed you have a right to get a copy of it on demand from the Criminal Records Bureau. It records both criminal and civil crimes.x9200 wrote:I generally agree with what JR8 wrote so far except for the legalities. Unless I misunderstood something tragically or you start threatening the LL there is no way there could be any criminal record out of this mess. All what you may face is to be required to pay, what would need to be executed by a bailiff etc etc. It's not an easy and cost-free process so, with the characteristic of the LL and other details you provided, personally I doubt he would do anything about it if he keeps the deposit.joiedevivre22 wrote:The risk re: 2 is you leave, he files a case against you, it is ‘found’ against you in/due to your absence and then you have a SGn criminal record.
- You need to determine what would be reasonable first. Also one suspects that there is a danger that he won’t accept any other quote that he has not arranged himself
Your point no 1 is my fear. He might simply say I am ignoring his email and take it legal. That's the last thing I want to face. And yes, he won't accept another quote so easily. also, on the legal bit - I am not on the contract. I am an occupant only. The main contract holder is no longer in Singapore.
So a landlord can file action against a tenant, and the risk (as I consciously worded it) is that in the tenant's absence, summary judgement will be 'found' against them. Hence such an individual would have a SGn 'criminal record'. And if they have left the country, they might never know.
Anyway, hopefully I will have time to go back to the substantive issues in the OPs original and follow-up posts.
Sure, here it goes.JR8 wrote:@X9
Perhaps you would like to go through the OPs posts and give her the benefit of your knowledge. Since it appears everything I say is wrong, and hence there is no point me participating in this discussion.
Over to you.
I am not sure if there is much you could do. After you receive all the demands I would just write a formal paper letter sent to both him and your agent (info about cc included in both) via registered mail where you should address one by one all his demands, propose something different or reject the demand always giving reasons.joiedevivre22 wrote:Hi - not so much on the legal side, but I still invite suggestions and need help on how to negotiate on this. I am expecting more bills from him the coming week
Thank you. Any specific reason why registered mail is better than email?x9200 wrote:I am not sure if there is much you could do. After you receive all the demands I would just write a formal paper letter sent to both him and your agent (info about cc included in both) via registered mail where you should address one by one all his demands, propose something different or reject the demand always giving reasons.joiedevivre22 wrote:Hi - not so much on the legal side, but I still invite suggestions and need help on how to negotiate on this. I am expecting more bills from him the coming week
For some of your issues, you may consider the following: if the damage is small it is unreasonable to demand the repair (de facto replacement) of the whole item. E.g., a small dent in the parquet should not be a reason for sanding off the whole place. But such defects may require some compensation (propose some adequate amount of money).
If you think some total repairs/replacement may be justified, find out some SG based contractors and ask them for quotations. If much cheaper, include them to the letter as some evidence supporting your stand points.
Because it can show proof of receipt.joiedevivre22 wrote:Thank you. Any specific reason why registered mail is better than email?x9200 wrote:I am not sure if there is much you could do. After you receive all the demands I would just write a formal paper letter sent to both him and your agent (info about cc included in both) via registered mail where you should address one by one all his demands, propose something different or reject the demand always giving reasons.joiedevivre22 wrote:Hi - not so much on the legal side, but I still invite suggestions and need help on how to negotiate on this. I am expecting more bills from him the coming week
For some of your issues, you may consider the following: if the damage is small it is unreasonable to demand the repair (de facto replacement) of the whole item. E.g., a small dent in the parquet should not be a reason for sanding off the whole place. But such defects may require some compensation (propose some adequate amount of money).
If you think some total repairs/replacement may be justified, find out some SG based contractors and ask them for quotations. If much cheaper, include them to the letter as some evidence supporting your stand points.
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