Hi all,
I have been a passive browser of the SE for quite some time now, but this is the first time I have an issue that I need advice on.
My wife and I have been renting this room since last May from an Indonesian couple. The landlord speaks passable English but the landlady does not. This is also the first time (according to them) they are renting out their room.
The issue is that, at the time of the contract, no mention was made of any PUB topup and it's not spelled out in the contract. I should note that the rent I am paying is inclusive of the PUB bills. With the current bill (which should be the first bill since we moved in) they just came up with a ceiling of $50 per person and are demanding that we topup the rest of the amount to them or they will deduct it from our deposit. These demands are made by their agent as the landlord himself doesn't really engage us for almost any issue. The agent claims that this is standard practice and even the $50 per person limit is standard; that she was really not bound to tell us beforehand and that we should be compassionate to the landlord.
We also have a very useless agent (a co-broke) who acts like she is actually representing the landlord; she agrees to everything the landlord's agent asks behind our backs and then kinda forces it on us that these are standard industry practices etc.
We have had rented a few rooms earlier too and never ever had such a problem before. Everything was either spelled out in the contract or told to us verbally at the time the contract was being signed. This time the PUB topup is neither in the contract nor it was told to us when the contract was signed, not even when we were moving in (we signed the contract one month before we moved in), only after a month and a half when we moved in. Even then their agent said that we all should agree on a limit and if the bill is above the limit, then we are supposed to cut down on our PUB usage.
I have even gone so far (as I understand my landlord's financial problems) to propose that since it was not conveyed to us properly, we are not paying the topup for this month, but are ready to topup starting from next month.
Now their agent wants us to pay the 50 or so dollars for this month or she will deduct it from our deposit. What I need advice on is:
1. Am I bound to honour this and pay the topup when it is not in the contract neither it was told to us by any of the agents nor by the owners?
2. What should our position be on their claims of "standard practices" which are not spelled out in the contract but they come up with every now and then?
3. What should I do with my agent who seems to be representing the owners rather than us, and actually argues with us to accept whatever the landlord's agent says?
4. What is the limit on one person's PUB usage for a month, since both the agents seem to be adamant that a $50 limit is industry practice and is "standard". They even go as far as to quote the SP Services on it. Does this even have any legal value?
5. How is the topup amount usually split? Why do we pay ALL the amount above the limit when the landlord could suddenly jack up their PUB usage and claim everything on us?
We have so far had a great time living with different people in Singapore, and we still have good relations with all of our previous owners/landlords. This is the first time we are having this problem and it is definitely taking a toll on us.
Thanks in advance.