I think it is pretty common.joiedevivre22 wrote:OK, once he gets back with the final bills ( his current one stands at $6750 + $900), I will do that. He has mentioned that he will reduce the amount, but frankly, I expect him to ask us at least another $2K. If we don't agree to pay, he will surely threaten to get it from us legally. This is a bit of a bummer to him because he cannot legally 'sue' me. I am not the contract holder. In the country I come from, this automatically puts him on a legal disadvantage and any lawyer worth his salt will advise him against taking it any further. But, SG might have different rules and a 'occupant' can probably be sued. No idea, though.
I overlooked this part. I believe it is the same in Singapore (so you are not a party of the legal agreement). So what was the legal ground for you to live there? Verbal agreement? Did the LL formally agreed for you to stay there?
If you are not a legal party of the TA would you be comfortable responding to the LL that you are not a legal party of the TA and his demands directed to you have no legal ground? Obviously I am asking about your relation to the formal tenant or whether the main tenant would be ok with you doing this.
Pardon me for the ultra silly question. Is it okay if he knows where I live now?
It's not a silly question. I don't know. On one hand, providing the address means you are open, fair and willing to solve the problem, on the other hand it makes you more vulnerable and may encourage the LL to take some actions. Would it be easy for the LL to determine your address if you are not going to provide it?
I would hate a legal suit. My present agent advised me not to share where we live as he may use it against us. We had a delivery of curtains from dry cleaning after we moved out and she advises us to drop it at the old place than have it delivered to my place! Made little sense, but we agreed as it was easier anyway.
IIRC we had one case described on this forum where the tenant had troubles suing the LL because the LL did not provide the address. It was in the Small Claim Tribunal IIRC.
On a side note ( and since this is an expats forum) - is it this common to hear statements like - you will be sued or i'll take legal action etc to get things done here? I have lived here for last 5 years ( studied as well) and been hearing this only off late.
In this particular case, the LL gave only a PO Box address and it is not admissible for Small Claims Tribunal. So OP, make sure it is a valid address, not a PO Box address.x9200 wrote:joiedevivre22 wrote: I would hate a legal suit. My present agent advised me not to share where we live as he may use it against us. We had a delivery of curtains from dry cleaning after we moved out and she advises us to drop it at the old place than have it delivered to my place! Made little sense, but we agreed as it was easier anyway.
IIRC we had one case described on this forum where the tenant had troubles suing the LL because the LL did not provide the address. It was in the Small Claim Tribunal IIRC.
joiedevivre22 wrote: 1. Can he sue me legally? As mentioned - I am not on contract. If he does, what can he sue on? Can someone let me know of the exact legal charges he can pull against us? . He doesn't know where I live but does know where I work ( have given IC earlier).
Anybody can sue everybody so in principle he can, but if he does it on the TA ground then you are not a party so it should be dismissed. If he does it on a different ground (e.g. property damage), then he would need a proof that it was you who damaged the property and also document the damages and prove the costs of renovation/repairs.
If he goes to your work place and tells there something defamatory he will not be able to prove then he may be in more serious troubles.
2. We don't need the money but we don't need his calls, mails etc. A lot of my friends are advising me to change my number, block his email id and it's all over. Should I go to this extreme?
As long as you are going to talk to him it would make little sense, but once you come to a conclusion that there is not much more that could be done, why not.
3.I was also told by friends to file a case against him for verbal harassment. I don't want to do this, but is it a possibility?
Yes, there is.
4. Is not informing of an occupant a SERIOUS offence? Can he sue on this ground, after I have moved out?
No, it's not an offence at all. It may be just a minor breach of the TA.
Is he doing all this just to hold to the deposit? If yes, it is indeed ridiculous when I have already told him he can.
He is doing it to milk you further.
I know this isn't relevant or helpful - but all this is causing way too much stress for me. I am scared, annoyed and feel helpless. After losing close to 4.5K, we are totally lost on what needs to be done for closure. Hell, I am losing sleep over this! His calls were that disturbing.
On another note, I am so tempted and motivated to study law here and start a proper, legal way to help foreigners like me.
Unless you are going to do it pro bono it will help nobody.
Having said that, there are no lawyers on this forum so if you want to be absolutely sure I suggest you spend $70-150 and visit one for your own piece of mind.
Do you have any answer for the other questions?x9200 wrote:I could go point by point but it would not make any good so just general remarks.
1) if your company wants you to relocate they should compensate for any loses related to it - I don't mean there is a law making them do it, but you should have taken care of it before you agreed for such relocation.
Yes i know but it's like that. Let's say that I didn't have the choice.
2) why do you talk to the LL's agent if you have your own? Why this agent supposed to do anything for you (i.e. looking for the replacement tenant)? Do you have any written agreement with the agent? I am not sure if this is even legal (double representation).
No, i dont have any written agreement. I'm talking to the LL agent as i'm in relation with him as he come to do some visits.
3) at the end of the day it comes down to the pragmatics: who are you going to sue and how are you going to recover anything if you are leaving the country? Are you ready to pay a few S$1k to a lawyer who would act on your behalf once you are left from Singapore?
I totally agree and that's why i'm not keen to sue anybody. I know that it's a nightmare if you are not there.
Overall, if you could prove what you said above from your communication with the LL's agent (agreement to advertise, LOIs rejected etc) I would just send a letter pointing that you had done what is reasonable to prevent the LL from any losses related to you breaching the contract and rejecting the replacement tenants by him was not reasonable. You will lose your deposit and this would likely be the end of the story.
Yes, i'll lose my deposit. But my concern is that if we look at the TA, then i'm obliged to pay the rent until the 12+2 months. The LL can sue me i guess.
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