Yet another cheating landlord

[blue_thunder]

Here it goes.

My coworker had signed an tenancy agreement mid December for 1 BR HDB unit in blk 149, Toa Payoh. It was actually a 2BR unit with 1BR locked. The owner had signed the lease agreement and accepted the move in date as 27 Dec. It was being occupied by the owner & his 2 sons.
Total amount paid was 2900 including 1st month rental/security deposit & PUB transfer charges.
My coworker went to collect the keys for the unit on Dec 26 and the owner had not moved out of the unit by then.
The owner & his sons assaulted my coworkers & sons using bicycle rod , fortunately there were no major injuries.

So then police were called in & a complaint was made for assault & cheating. They informed my coworker that there are 2 similar complaints on the same owner cheating 2 other tenants of 5k. So then the owner had cancelled the tenancy agreement and signed a letter to refund the amount by 31/Dec/2009.
Till date the owner had not refunded the money & my coworker was told by the police yesterday that the owner does not have any money & they cannot be held responsible if the owner doesnt return the money.

I did warn my coworker to be careful,even before signing the agreement as I had heard many stories like this. but then he was in a hurry to move out of his current unit.

Now the agent as well is not reachable on phone.

I have adviced my coworker to file a complaint at the Small claims tribunal/Sub Court. I need some information on filing the same. Will these documents be sufficient enough or do we still need any other supporting documents along with the application form.

1. Tenancy agreement
2. Proof Online transfer of money
3. Written receipt for payment made to Owner & agent with signature of both the parties.
4. Signed document for refunding the money by 31/Dec 2009 .

I know that the cops wont be of much help in this type of cheating cases.

Do we have to consult any lawyer before filing the case with Small Claims ?

I m not sure whether the cops had recorded a complaint for assaulting. I have asked my coworker to check with the cops on the same.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Bloody sad situation B_T, but it sounds like, document wise, you/he is in pretty good shape. However, I'm not sure you can take this to the SCT. Seems that question was brought up recently in the other thread (have had time to search for it) and someone pointed this out. If that's the case then the only alternative is civil court. Then, the cost of a lawyer could outweigh the rewards unless the court awards costs as well.

A lawyer might be the best place to start with though (cost him probably a C note for the advice, but might be cheaper in the long run).

[blue_thunder]

Yes I read the similar thread in MBA section and was advised to take it up to SCT.

What on earth is a C note ?

[x9200]

I would wait a bit till your coworker finally settles in her/his new place and then include to the claim all the expenses encountered due to the contract violation.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Roman numeral 'C" = $100

[Saint]

What on earth is a C note ?

$100

[blue_thunder]

What on earth is a C note ?

$100

I thought Credit note ..my bad

[blue_thunder]

Roman numeral 'C" = $100

It should not be problem if the costs are under 10C..

[Addadude]

Your friend might also want to contact the HDB and show them copies of the ad, contract etc. HDB does NOT allow owners to rent out their flat with "one room locked". If it is clear that the owner has done this before (or conned people into thinking he was doing it) he could well be kicked out of his flat. If you want to rent a HDB flat as an expat, make sure the flat is listed as "approved" for expat rental. This is usually stated VERY clearly in the classifieds.

[ksl]

Small Claims Court is good for under 20k you have enough documentation, so the SCC office will evaluate the evidence before they will make any judgement on a case. I realise some say you cannot take it to the SCC if the contract isn't stamped, though i believe that to be hearsay until i hear it from the horses mouth. So go to their office with the documentation.

[blue_thunder]

Small Claims Court is good for under 20k you have enough documentation, so the SCC office will evaluate the evidence before they will make any judgement on a case. I realise some say you cannot take it to the SCC if the contract isn't stamped, though i believe that to be hearsay until i hear it from the horses mouth. So go to their office with the documentation.

Yes the agreement is not stamped. Will try our best at SCC.

[ev-disinfection]

B T, sad to hear about your co-worker's predicament, perhaps he should call the local newspaper hotline and tell them about the stupid landlord, (Giving the locals a bad name, i hate these people) and hope that they publish it, so as to warn others. Has your co-worker settled in yet? sigh

[macaroonie]

Sorry to hear about your co-workers plight! Surely something can be done and i am surprised that the police can't help?!! why is that? isn't this an assault and cheating case? Can we also inform the local government member ? There are so many rental problems on this forum, surely if the government is serious about expats coming to work here they would do something about the atrocious rental market (from landlords to agents!).

Keep us informed of the outcome, i hope your co-worker is able to get his money back! And get some sort of justice for the assault.

[blue_thunder]

Today the case would be filed with the SCT and the policer are yet to come back on the assault case.

[zodiac09]

the only way to stop things like this is to make them as public as possible. Name and shame ! Get the papers involved - they usually eat up stories like this and will love the assault angle too.

Put up posters around the locality naming the cheating bstd.

and if your poor mate has any thugs for acquaintences, get them to go round there and give the gits a taste of their own medicine.

although, that is only theory, of course lol