Editor's note: People are strangers in a foreign land, and it is inevitable that they will encounter some difficulties and inconveniences in the process of studying and working. Renting is a big problem, in addition to the price and location in all aspects, but also depends on how the landlord is. Netizen Serra shared her experience of being harassed by the landlord and the arduous road of rights protection in the "Singapore Eye" APP. "Singapore Eye" also sorted out the popular science of the small claims court and the precautions for renting.
On April 1, 2021, I moved into a HDB house in Sengkang District and lived with my landlord. The landlord is a Singapore citizen, a woman around 50 years old, Josephine. The landlord lived alone and didn't see her friends or family visiting in the eight months I had been renting.
This HDB house is an old-fashioned three-bedroom, one-living room, one kitchen and two bathrooms, with a lot of space. The landlord lived in the master bedroom, and the remaining two rooms were rented to me and another Burmese girl. The burmese girl checked in earlier than I did, and she moved away not long after I moved in. The landlord had complained to me several times that the girl was not a good person and had broken her things. So I guess it was the landlord who moved in. I just listened, not to my heart.
To my surprise, however, it wasn't long before the same thing happened to me.
In the beginning, we got along well, and the landlord would share some food with me from time to time, and I would give back. Receiving such kindness and care in a foreign country makes me very grateful and feels like I have met a good landlord. However, it didn't take long for reality to punch me in the face.
(Source: pixabay/12019)
Not long after the Burmese girl moved away, the landlord talked to me about the hygiene of the house. I have always been very hygienic, cleaning the bathroom every time I use it, and often helping her clean the living room, and I hope to make a good impression on the landlord by doing so.
Once, she blamed me for a misunderstanding and threatened to go to my place of work and report it. Later, when she realized that it was her mistake, she didn't apologize, and it was as if it hadn't happened. I was very depressed, and I realized from this incident that she was very egotistical, would not think differently, and would not reflect on herself.
Later, she rented another room to a boy. I don't understand that. When I first wanted to rent her house, she hated my poor working hours and recommended her friend's house for me to live in. Instead of giving me her friend's contact information, she made an appointment with me to take me to see it. After she met me in person and communicated, she decided to rent her room to me. This incident shows that she is very cautious in her dealings with people, and this has been verified in the process of my relationship with her. Now renting an entire empty room for a single woman to a man is unbelievable.
From time to time, she sent messages to get in trouble, such as sending messages asking who had soiled the kitchen sink, whether she had taken her hangers, and the most exaggerated one was when she said that her socks had broken a big hole, which she thought was one of us. Her logic was that there were only three of us in this suite, and if she didn't get it herself, it must be someone else. Events like this left me speechless, and even for a long time, when I heard a message coming in from my phone, I had to take a deep breath, hoping it wasn't her.
She was also very suspicious at home, and even if she went to the kitchen for so little time, she had to lock her door to prevent people from being like thieves. She had two cameras in her living room, and once when she asked me again, I told her you could look at the surveillance. I thought it was easy and could dispel the suspicion, but I didn't expect it to provoke her and make her very unhappy.
Once she suspected that I had stolen her cell phone, and when she came to question me, I kindly helped her find it, called her phone and it rang, and the phone was in her room. I'd rather believe that she was older and forgetful than that she was deliberately trying to embarrass me.
(Source: pixabay/geralt)
For some time afterwards, I was extremely unhappy. The landlord always troubled me, and the man next door also came to join in the fun, telling me that he was lonely and wanted to find someone to talk to. He said he could massage and asked me if I wanted to try his craft? I am very troubled by this kind of harassment.
In addition, every night at about ten o'clock, the residents who live upstairs will start to work out. This fitness master first jumped, intermittently for fifteen minutes, and then various equipment, and I could hear the sound of iron objects like barbells "banging" on the ground.
I admit that I was in a bad state of mind and also tried to find a new place to move, but gave up because of the price and location.
Until one day, she suddenly sent me a message asking me to move out before the end of the month. As I was cleaning up, she came in and out of my room several times, but she couldn't fault anything. After leaving the room door, she said, "I can't refund your deposit." "And claimed that I had damaged her stuff, but I couldn't say what it was or what she called surveillance video "evidence."
In desperation, I chose to call the police. After some investigation, the police told me that I could not enforce it and that if I wanted to recover the deposit, I would have to go to the Small Claims Tribunal.
The next day I went to the address of the court provided by the police, and first consulted the free legal aid on the negative floor, telling me how to go through the process to get the money. The process is as follows:
First go to a place similar to the Housing Authority to buy the owner information of the house (including its name, ID number and accurate address), and then go to the small claims court on the second floor to report the case, provide materials (including the owner's information, rental contract, stamp duty certificate, relevant pictures and audio-visual materials, etc.), choose a date for the trial, and wait for the result.
I did not finish the above process, during which I met a small partner who had the same experience in rights protection, and the two of us made an appointment to defend our rights together.
Then I began to prepare the appeal materials, and when I first got a clue, I saw a video of a rights defender blogger in a similar situation to me, who had been on the road to defending his rights for more than half a year, and was forced to give up at the last step. The situation is like this:
He prepared all the materials, and the second landlord did not appear in court at the time of the trial. The judge said to him, even if you win the case, you may not get the money. If the landlord refuses to repay the money within one month of the judgment taking effect, he needs to ask a lawyer to write a "compulsory" document letter, which must be written by a lawyer, and the cost of hiring a lawyer is often three or four thousand Singapore dollars, which is much higher than the amount of money you require, and the gain is not worth the loss.
It cannot be said that there is no hope for safeguarding rights, but only that the cost is too high.
Most of the time I will choose to rest in peace, and to be angry is to embarrass myself. But today I want to say it, because of the injustice of society, I need more people to speak up.
There was a movie in which there was a sentence that I remember very fondly to this day:
"The rampantness of bad people is because of the silence of good people. Sometimes silence is also a sin. ”
(Text from Singapore Eye APP netizen Serra)
Here are similar experiences shared by some netizens:
1. I met two landlords who did not refund the deposit
2. I have also encountered similar experiences, but not as serious as you, renting a house in Singapore must be remembered, especially the old single old Anti, how far to hide, do not be blinded by the good when she first met, once you live in, it will always be troublesome that you can't think of, there is nothing she can't do...
3. Enforceable, can go through the process I experienced for 1 year
4. I have also encountered once before, when the residence expires, you will move out, first go to the police station near your home to open a certificate (bring a deposit slip), the police will stamp the reason for the question, and then you will take these two certificates to prosecute, the police will tell you how to prosecute, as long as you have the deposit documents, the government department will give you a solution, don't be troublesome, just get justice for yourself
5. My situation is fine, I was deducted 80 yuan! Say that the air conditioner is broken by me, need to repair, also call the police, the situation is exactly the same as you, said that you can only let go to the small court! I looked, this leave to go to court, the loss is even greater, directly gave up, like eating a fly stuck in the throat eye, so disgusting! But when I was leaving, he was chatting with the other members of the waiting pair below, I used to scold ah, you can think of the spit fragrance I used, because he is 83 years old, and finally said that he has no money to spend, and left! I always feel that when you rent a house in Singapore and return the deposit, the landlord will always be unhappy, as if he has given you the money that belongs to him, and he will be distressed! This is definitely a disgrace to a civilized society in Singapore!
So, how to avoid this situation of being maliciously deducted from rent by the landlord? What is the Small Claims Tribunal and how to defend its rights?
Small Claims Tribunal
The Small Claims Tribunal is one of the courts of the National Court of Singapore, which was established to provide a fast and inexpensive platform for resolving small disputes between buyers and sellers. Located on the first floor of Singapore Courthouse, 1 Hele Plaza, 059724. Tel. 6435 5946. The maximum amount claimed by the Small Claims Tribunal is S$10,000, but the amount can be increased to S$20,000 if the parties agree.
(Source: pixabay/qimono)
Does the Small Claims Tribunal need a lawyer?
No, suing in the Small Claims Division is different from filing a lawsuit in court, the purpose is to resolve a small dispute, and the application fee is extremely low. The Small Claims Tribunal does not allow counsel to represent both parties, but may choose to consult a lawyer before appearing in court. Free legal aid is also available in the courts.
Small Claims Tribunal Rights Protection Process
1. Filing: Go to small court to prosecute. First fill in the form, upload the rental contract and related documents, and charge 10 yuan to complete the application.
2. Consultation: The defendant will receive a letter notification. The judge will mediate after asking about the situation.
3. Hearing: The judge will have both parties present, consider the documents or other evidence of both parties and the testimony of witnesses, and make a decision on the case in accordance with the law. The tribunal's order is legally binding and enforceable on both parties to the proceedings.
Once the claim is successful, the court will send you a document, usually in the form of a "money order" stating the amount that the other party must pay you.
However, if the other party still refuses to pay, it will be necessary to enforce the small claims tribunal's remittance slip against the other party. This is also the link of the lawyer's letter mentioned in the article. In fact, in the case mentioned in the article, the other party's non-appearance in court will be regarded as automatically winning the case. If the other party reaches this point or is still a rogue, there are several ways to enforce the remittance slip:
1. Seizure and Auction Orders
2. Seizure proceedings
3. Review of the debtor
All of the above require the assistance of a lawyer who can seek legal assistance in the courtroom. In fact, most unscrupulous landlords will also choose to compromise at this point, and can decide whether to continue to enforce it according to the actual situation.
Considerations for renting
In order not to be too passive, you should be fully prepared before renting, even if you are unlucky to meet an unscrupulous landlord, you can ensure that you have sufficient evidence at hand and have more confidence in defending your rights.
(Source: pixabay/Aymanejed)
1. Keep a record of the condition of the house before signing the contract. Take as many photos of the situation in the house as possible, in addition to furniture and appliances, floors, windows, countertops, lamps, etc. must be photographed, and if there is a dispute in the follow-up, there is evidence at hand to explain the situation. Don't bother.
2. Sometimes the landlord may withhold the deposit in the name of repairs, but there may be a case of overstatement of high prices. It is recommended to compare the offers of other channels yourself.
3. Carefully look at the terms of the contract when renting, especially the settlement clauses. Do not agree verbally, there is no legal effect. At the same time, it is also necessary to pay attention to whether there is an address of the landlord on the contract, and if it comes to the step of prosecution, the address of the defendant is required. All conditions should be recorded in black and white, preferably with a notary present.
The road to rights protection is not easy, and the process is time-consuming and laborious. In order to avoid the situation of malicious deduction of deposits but very passive when checking out, it is recommended to do enough work in all aspects before renting, take more photos, list the terms of the rental settlement and settlement in black and white, and maintain the spirit of the contract.