Is this legal?

[Rental]

I have been living in a condo for a little over one year and just recently I re-upped the lease for one more year. My agent, at the signing, asked that I pay her for her "fees" which would amount to around $600. The thing is, I already paid her this amount when I first moved into the place so what I'm wondering is, why do I need to pay this all over again? It's not like I'm paying her to find me a place since I'm not going anywhere. So, at the time when I signed, I told her I would pay her at a later date which she agreed to. Is what she's doing legal? I can see paying her once but not twice, unless of course I'm screwed with no way out!

Thanks for the help!

[Bafana]

Check your lease - If you signed through an agent there may be a clause that says if you renew the lease again you need to pay the agent half of their original fees.

I know mine does but the owner and I never went back through the agent on renewal and he has'nt come a knocking for his cut yet - Touch wood...

[Guest]

Check your lease - If you signed through an agent there may be a clause that says if you renew the lease again you need to pay the agent half of their original fees.

I know mine does but the owner and I never went back through the agent on renewal and he has'nt come a knocking for his cut yet - Touch wood...

I also believe, that we have a contract for one year, and the fees have to be paid again is we wish to remain. it's only the same as getting re-occuring commission.

Which is how I work from UK, on commission basis only, so just because you purchase my product once, doesn't give you the right to get the product the following month commission free. right The agents are probably working on a commission basis.

So if you sit there another year, they would get no income, so I guess it is legal what they say. But it must state that in the contract. Otherwise you cannot legally be made to pay.

[ringo100]

What I find so strange is the tenant pays the agents fee. In the UK it is the owner as clearly the owner recruits an agent to find them a tenant, the agent doesn't come up with 10-20 different properties for me to look at, which is what I would expect for the S$800 that they expected me to pay to show me two properties.

It's not good because I pay agent fees in the UK and here as well.

[joop]

The rationale behind the agents fee from tenants is largely because there are many instances where there are 2 parties involved, the landlord's agents and the tenant's agents, the landlord would pay their agents for finding a tenant and the tenant would pay his/her agent for finding a property. Otherwise, the tenant's agents would be showing the properties for nothing earned.

HOWEVER, if the rental amount hits S$2,500 and above, the tenant doesn't have to pay the agent a cent for agency fee.

[ringo100]

I would agree if I employed an agent and they spent 3 - 4 days working full time on my behalf (about S$250 per day), but what I found was I would ring an agent who would have one or two properties spend an hour with me then expect a months rent i.e. earning S$800 from the one hour he spent with me. That's why generally elsewhere the agent is employeed by the landlord and then they do deserve the money as they may have to show ten plus people round on the landlords behalf.

[joop]

Well in Singapore it's not computed that way.

[Guest]

I would agree if I employed an agent and they spent 3 - 4 days working full time on my behalf (about S$250 per day), but what I found was I would ring an agent who would have one or two properties spend an hour with me then expect a months rent i.e. earning S$800 from the one hour he spent with me. That's why generally elsewhere the agent is employeed by the landlord and then they do deserve the money as they may have to show ten plus people round on the landlords behalf.

Please don't be silly making such presumptions. Imagine a so-called potential tenant goes around with his agent and views 10-15 properties, at the end of the day, the tenant RunnssSsS far far away obtaining a place with some other agents...

so how can we account for that? Get the tenant to compensate the agent for time spent? So please think of all consequences, that things may also turn the other way round.. the agent gets NOTHING in the end.

Pls stop analysing if you don't know how the industry or market made out to be like.

[Guest]

I agree with the previous posting. It is really unfair that u say agents don't do enough work for the commission of a month's rent.
Perhaps the agents do strike gold sometimes and close the deal with one or two viewings, but this is not often the case.
Personally, I have once helped a friend look for place, showed her close to forty places over a period of nearly 6 months, only to have her screw me over for another agent.
Some friend...
Life' a real shit sometimes foe agents so if its in the contract, don't begrudge it.

[ringo100]

I'm not saying agents shouldn't get paid it is just in most countries the contract is between the agent and the landlord as the bulk of work they carry out is for the landlord (i.e showing lots of different tenents round their apartment). It is the same with most sales agents in all different indutries the person selling the product employees the agent selling on their behalf and not the person buying.

No two agents had the same property on their books so the contract is definatly between landlord and the agent.

If I had only had to deal with one agent who had shown me 10-15 properties I would have been happy to pay but I had to deal with seven/eight different agents who each only showed me one/two different properties each, so not one of them deserved the one month's rent they were demanding and in fact they soon dropped to half a months rent when I said I wouldn't pay a full month, so even the agent must have beleived the service they provided was not worth the money they were demanding.

[leerling]

Dear Rental and others

It's very straightforward. LEGALLY speaking, just check your lease and any other documents the agent asked you to sign when you first took the lease. If it states that you have to pay them the fees, then you must. If it is not stated anywhere, you do not.

Whatever any agent tells you, it is not market practice in Singapore for the tenant to pay the agent any fees. Fees are usually paid by the Landlord and the agent usually already has a contract with the Landlord entitling him to be paid by the Landlord. If the agent finds you an apartment leased out by another agent's client, the 2 agents will split the fee paid by the Landlord. You pay NOTHING.

So unless you have actually signed something that requires you to pay the agent you do not have to. Likewise if the document states payment for the 1st tenancy, you do not have to pay for the extension.

Hope that helps.

[Helpful]

"Whatever any agent tells you, it is not market practice in Singapore for the tenant to pay the agent any fees. Fees are usually paid by the Landlord and the agent usually already has a contract with the Landlord entitling him to be paid by the Landlord. If the agent finds you an apartment leased out by another agent's client, the 2 agents will split the fee paid by the Landlord. You pay NOTHING." <--------ONLY applies if rental is above $2,500 a month.