Tenant loses deposit for refusing to mend already-damaged floor
A rental company allegedly demands videos of tenants with their passports and withholds deposits from those who refused to submit the video.
At least five tenants have filed a police report.
Ms Han, a 29-year-old who works in the construction industry told Shin Min Daily News she saw on an international student service platform an advertisement for a rental bedroom at Jalan Kemaman in Balestier.
She rented it for $1,885 per month and three months' rental up front plus a month's worth of rent as security deposit. Ms Han also paid $300 for utility bills and $150 as security deposit for the room key card.
After she moved in, Ms Han received a message from an "agent", asking her to record a video of herself holding her passport and saying her name and address.
The man sent Ms Han a sample video, claiming that the video was for verification by the immigration office. He warned her that she would be evicted if she did not send him the video.
"I refused because I was worried that the video might be used for illegal purposes, but he said that if I didn't take the video, I would have to move out," she said.
Ms Han made a police report and requested that her lease be terminated but the rental company allegedly refused to refund her money.
She continued staying in her rental room for three months before moving out but failed to receive her one month's security deposit.
Ms Han also claimed that a stranger had entered her room without permission on June 22. The man had said he was there to teach her how to operate the door.
She added that there were at least three other instances where someone entered her room without permission.
When she moved out, the rental company demanded that she restore the damaged floor, which she claimed was already damaged when she moved in and she had alerted the company about it.
The company claimed the floor was more damaged than before, threatening to charge her an extra $50 and not refund her security deposit if she failed to restore the floor.
Another tenant, 34-year-old Huang, faced the same situation with the rental company.
She was renting a master bedroom at Upper Paya Lebar, paying a monthly rent of $2,620, $150 for parking space, $68 for air-conditioning insurance and nearly $180 in service fee.
Ms Huang later found out that the parking was free and that the monthly $200-300 utility fees the agent had charged her was not requested by the rental company.
The Chinese daily verified that at least five tenants had filed a police report.
The rental on Aug 7 said that Ms Han's deposit was not refunded because she breached the contract. It also insisted it did not overcharge the utility bills and provided a list of bills for the tenants to refer to.
The company also said it owned the right to the parking space, so it could charge tenants who used it. It promised to return all security deposits after the tenants pay off all outstanding fees.
A spokesman explained to the Chinese daily that the demand for verification video was out of concern that tenants would be involved in illegal activities during their stay.
He added that tenants had cancelled their lease after seeing the negative feedback online and that the company was actively dealing with the complaints.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now