Landlord furniture issue

[castie]

I am wondering what options I have here.

I began rent of an apartment in June.
Although the furniture provided is new it does not appear suitable.

An example being the bed broke after the first night.
I am a big enough western guy at 115kg.
The bed was replaced after 5 days!!

Now the dining room table and chairs are not looking sturdy either.
I checked IKEA and the entire set costs 99 dollars.

I notified my agent of the issue but repeatedly all I get back is that furniture is new so landlord doesn't have to replace.
My agent seems totally useless and seems to be feeding me excuses for the landlord instead of settling my issues. (she is not the landlords agent either as I have also met them)

So now it seems like even though I am paying a lot for the apartment to be furnished the landlord gets to buy cheap unsuitable furniture.

Do I have any case under the furniture not being in tenantable condition?
Or can they just say its bought new from a store?

Other issues I have


curtains not blackout curtains so bedrooms very bright. (ground floor)
kitchen has no curtains.
living room chairs have a wooden beam running up the back of them so if you sit on the left or right hand side the beam sticks into your back.

At my wits end here with all the issues so hope someone can give me some helpful advice.

[beppi]

You rent as seen, not as imagined.
I fail to see why commercially available furniture that is new, undamaged and obviously fit for use by others, should not be fit for use by you.
Of course, if your standards are higher, you can put the LL's stuff into storage and buy your own, only to restore the old stuff to its place when moving out.

[offshoreoildude]

Unfortunatelyav you have learnt a bitter lesson. Furnished apartments in Singapore consist generally of junk furniture or the LL cast offs. When you sign or renew a lease that is the time to push for certain items to be replaced or supplied, not after you've paid the useless agent his commission.

I never rented furnished apartments after I learnt this either,

[castie]

You rent as seen, not as imagined.
I fail to see why commercially available furniture that is new, undamaged and obviously fit for use by others, should not be fit for use by you.
Of course, if your standards are higher, you can put the LL's stuff into storage and buy your own, only to restore the old stuff to its place when moving out.

We were never shown the apartment furnished as the agent said the owner was only taking over ownership the following week and would furnish it then.

Im not looking for a higher standard of furniture than normal.
I dont think its unreasonable to ask for dining chairs that do not creak when people sit on them. They are getting less sturdy as the days go by.

Then I bet if they break landlord will blame me...

[sundaymorningstaple]

One had to remember that furniture sold in Singapore, just like clothes bought in Singapore, are designed for the Asian body mass. Which apparently is considerably less than your mass by almost half. That could be part of the problem. Just sayin' .........

But if you are from the last of "Upsize Me" then most furniture is designed for the average Aussie, American, Brit, etc.

[JayCee]

Rookie mistake, never rent a place if the furniture isn't already there for you to look at, just negotiate a lower rent for unfurnished and buy your own stuff, it works out cheaper over the course of 2 years anyway.

Unfortunately there's probably not much you can do about it, you signed the contract, so either buy some new furniture and put the landlord's stuff in the spare room or go on a diet...

[nutnut]

I'm a big chap too, I made a similar mistake in my first apartment, second apartment I rented unfurnished and bought my own stuff! Much better!

[x9200]

Im not looking for a higher standard of furniture than normal.
I dont think its unreasonable to ask for dining chairs that do not creak when people sit on them. They are getting less sturdy as the days go by.

Then I bet if they break landlord will blame me...

Probably, but I think you are above the average weight and may need some not really a better standard but more heavy duty stuff. As the other says, probably you have no other choice but call it a lesson. Alternatively get down to 80kg and if it still creaks sue the bastard

[Strong Eagle]

Ya know, I really have a lot of sympathy for the OP. This is not about how much somebody weighs or what size they are. This is, once again, a demonstration of the reprehensible behavior and lack of ethics/integrity that far too many Singaporeans possess.

Come on y'all... tell me with a straight face that a $99 table and chairs from Ikea constitutes decent furniture. I don't care if you weigh 250 pounds... a bed that breaks with first use is shit. People buy this cheap shit when they are furnishing their first flat on a $2K pay check... it's most definitely not what goes into a $6K and up condo.

What we have here is a case of a new expat, negotiating in good faith, only to discover that the landlord is an asshole... no intention of treating the tenant fairly, every intention of screwing over as much as possible to maximize profit.

I've learned to NEVER trust that a deal will be carried through as promised... one must always see the final goods... otherwise, expect to be ripped off.

OP... take him to the small claims tribunal... at least threaten to do so. A scheisskopf like your landlord won't react to anything except the threat of the law.

And... if you think it's otherwise... you've been here too long.

[castie]

Ya know, I really have a lot of sympathy for the OP. This is not about how much somebody weighs or what size they are. This is, once again, a demonstration of the reprehensible behavior and lack of ethics/integrity that far too many Singaporeans possess.

Come on y'all... tell me with a straight face that a $99 table and chairs from Ikea constitutes decent furniture. I don't care if you weigh 250 pounds... a bed that breaks with first use is shit. People buy this cheap shit when they are furnishing their first flat on a $2K pay check... it's most definitely not what goes into a $6K and up condo.

What we have here is a case of a new expat, negotiating in good faith, only to discover that the landlord is an asshole... no intention of treating the tenant fairly, every intention of screwing over as much as possible to maximize profit.

I've learned to NEVER trust that a deal will be carried through as promised... one must always see the final goods... otherwise, expect to be ripped off.

OP... take him to the small claims tribunal... at least threaten to do so. A scheisskopf like your landlord won't react to anything except the threat of the law.

And... if you think it's otherwise... you've been here too long.

Yeah I think your 100% right there...
However since all I hear is from the agent how do I even know the agents are raising the issues with them?

[ScoobyDoes]

However since all I hear is from the agent how do I even know the agents are raising the issues with them?

You don't. Assume nothing, and everything....... if that makes sense

[sundaymorningstaple]

[zzm9980]

We were never shown the apartment furnished as the agent said the owner was only taking over ownership the following week and would furnish it then.

Im not looking for a higher standard of furniture than normal.
I dont think its unreasonable to ask for dining chairs that do not creak when people sit on them. They are getting less sturdy as the days go by.

Then I bet if they break landlord will blame me...

Are these the metal frame Ikea chairs with the plastic seat part the pops off? Probably, it seems standard LL-issue here, as the chairs are like $17 each.

Anyway, you need to tighten them up every few weeks. Hopefully the LL left the proper hex key that came with them!

[castie]

We were never shown the apartment furnished as the agent said the owner was only taking over ownership the following week and would furnish it then.

Im not looking for a higher standard of furniture than normal.
I dont think its unreasonable to ask for dining chairs that do not creak when people sit on them. They are getting less sturdy as the days go by.

Then I bet if they break landlord will blame me...

Are these the metal frame Ikea chairs with the plastic seat part the pops off? Probably, it seems standard LL-issue here, as the chairs are like $17 each.

Anyway, you need to tighten them up every few weeks. Hopefully the LL left the proper hex key that came with them!

They are wooden chairs with plastic kind of seat but I dont think it pops off and no key was left.
Had asked for it but again the landlords agent never answer.

[TweedleDum]

we've had similar issues with both furniture and agents, also having just moved here. in the end the landlords agent told us it was illegal to contact her directly with issues about the apartment (after telling us we had 30 days to bring up any issues and then magically disappearing for two weeks) and keeps saying "just remove the damaged item from the tenancy agreement". at this point the only "furnishings" left in our furnished apartment are a tv that usually works and a dining room table. the rest has been removed from the tenancy agreement and binned or put in the bomb shelter room. i guess chalk it up to being new here, but this is one of the most negative landlord experiences i've ever had; and i used to rent in egypt....