Landlord's right to hold a key to my condo unit

[medwed]

As a tenant, I just moved into a condo unit owned by a private landlord. As I do not know who has a key to the unit (eg, I know that contractors had a key when they worked there, and they might have copied it), I changed the lock.

Is this illegal? Is there any legal basis in Singapore allowing the landlord to request that I give him a key of the new lock?

[Bafana]

Pretty sure you need to give them a key. It's their property after all.

[carteki]

I'm not sure that that is the case. You are the legal occupier of the premises (assuming you have a rental agreement), which usually states that he can only have access after having contacted you. Granted, if he needs to call a locksmith to obtain access to the premises after you have departed, then he can claim that expense back from you.

[medwed]

Thanks for your swift replies. From a European legal perspective, I would agree with carteki - what is the legal situation in Singapore, though?

[jpatokal]

Thanks for your swift replies. From a European legal perspective, I would agree with carteki - what is the legal situation in Singapore, though?

In a nutshell, tenants have no rights whatsoever, aside from those explicitly enumerated in your contract.

[irvine]

I don't know about what you think, but everywhere I've rented, I have put an extra padlock that only me and my roommates have the key to it.

Further to that, if the landlord wish to come over to check things out, I think s/he should call first. Check your contract perhaps?