​After a harrowing three-hour handover at the end of the lease [insert link], Stuart* (my partner) and I were not surprised when Catherine*, our former landlord (who is also a real estate agent) refused to return our deposit.
​
We had no choice but to file a claim in the Small Claims Tribunal. The earliest date in the system was more than a month away.

The first thing to note is that we had to “serve” the order to appear in court for this claim via mail. Since we knew the address listed in her identity card was that of the house that we had rented, we had to drop that letter in the letterbox of the house.

Returning there felt weird as we had thought after moving out we would be rid of that place. Little did we know this was just the beginning of the hell that was the Small Claims Tribunal with this unhinged individual.
September 30 finally came and we turned up at court with trepidation. Would she turn up? Did she receive the order in the letterbox?

We unfortunately didn’t understand the instructions given, because we waited for a while before realising people who arrived after us went into the hearing room before us. I decided to take a closer look at the service kiosk and realised we had to take a queue number.
​
Going back to wait with Stuart, I realised Catherine was also there. We breathed a sigh of relief. After another 30 minutes, our number was called and we all went in. We had not exchanged any words thus far.

Sitting in front of the young assistant magistrate (we’ll call him AM; he didn’t introduce himself; no one knew what to call him), we soon realized there would be no quick resolution, as Catherine only had one response to everything – “I will respond to that later”. She produced no evidence whatsoever.

Given this situation, the AM scheduled another session via Zoom for more evidence to be produced by Catherine.
​
We were bewildered. It felt like she knew exactly what to do in this situation, while we had naively thought this case would be resolved on this date. 

rior to the Zoom call with the AM on October 21, Catherine had uploaded hundreds of documents of what she called “evidence” against us. We had also received a CD containing videos of the property she handed over to us when we started the lease, and voice recordings of her and her husband speaking to the aircon servicing company and the auto-gate company.
​
Unbeknownst to us, she had taken lots of photos of the house during the lease. But these photos were not in the CD, so we could not verify the metadata on them. She simply pasted the photos in powerpoint documents.

Some we presumed she took when she visited the house to collect her mail [insert link]. Some she took when she requested to bring a bank officer to value the house. Others she took when she was showing the house for potential tenants.

Was this her modus operandi? Did she anticipate us not renewing the lease? Was she always going to keep our deposit and knew she needed ammunition to threaten us with?

We felt completely overwhelmed. The photos were of things big and small, from lizard poop on the wall to a large scratch on the marble floor that we didn’t recognise. Every weekend from now till the first court date with the judge would be spent mounting a defence to these insane allegations.

October 21 was spent with the AM running through the uploaded documents by Catherine. When asked if she could upload the receipts for work done based on her allegations of damage, she said yes, but ultimately never did, and said she would mount a counter claim.

If she indeed has receipts for work done, why was it so difficult for her to upload them?

She had already uploaded hundreds of ridiculous allegations.
​
The AM scheduled a next hearing date for November 25 via Zoom again, and said all documents must be uploaded before he can schedule an actual court date with the judge. We requested for her to put in another CD all the original JPGs with metadata so we could verify the validity of her claims. ​

The allegations were so unhinged that each time we opened a document our jaws dropped, and we asked ourselves, is this actually happening? Are we in Twilight Zone?

For the sake of brevity, we have to pick the “greatest hits”.

Allegation: The tree is a safety hazard
We didn’t plant the tree. It was already as tall as the house when we started the lease.

Catherine accused us of “letting the tree grow so tall that it was a lightning risk”. Yes, the tree continued to grow, as plants do. We were never told to maintain it at a certain height. It was never a condition in the tenancy agreement (TA). There was no hint from Catherine that anything was wrong with the tree, until the moment we declined to renew the lease.

There were also plenty of very tall trees along the streets in the neighbourhood. Were they also a safety risk? Why hasn’t NParks cut them down?

On the last Zoom session with the AM on November 25, not a lot went on, other than verifying that Catherine had lodged a counter claim against us. He also noted that the deadline had come and gone for her to upload any receipts. She insisted that she had them, but of course intentionally missed this deadline issued by the court for some reason.

The AM then tried to schedule a first hearing with the judge, asking us for dates when we would not be available. Catherine proceeded to tell the AM that she was busy for the next few months. Luckily, the AM was insistent about telling a date, undaunted by her delaying tactics, asking for specific dates, rather than writing off an entire month with her blanket statement.

Her excuses included Christmas celebrations, Christmas holiday camp, a few philanthropic charity events, company training for two weeks, Chinese New Year celebrations, etc. Not only was she busy, she was also apparently very virtuous.

The AM managed to pin her down to January 16, which was two days before our own holiday.

Given how these Zoom session have transpired, we had little faith that the case would be over in the first session with the judge.
​
In part 2, we will detail the three sessions with judge.
 
*Names have been changed to protect their identity. 

As told to RAC. Text messages have been verified by RAC. The written account has been edited for length and clarity. All names have been changed.
 
At this point in time, we’re still battling our ex-landlord in the Small Claims Court, but we now have sufficient information on how the scam works. We hope this can help other renters out there to be careful when they are renting. 

​What the Landlord is After

Ultimately, the landlord’s objective is to retain your two-month security deposit. This is not a small sum for anyone, no matter how wealthy you are. 

​Who is Ideal for the Scam?

Who is less likely to request for their deposit back, if what the tenant is facing is months of court and paperwork at the small claims court?
​
You’ve guessed it: Expats, who might need to leave the country and not renew the lease. Many expats also enjoy generous allowances for housing and might not be too concerned about losing two month’s rent. 

​Beware the Courtship/Love-Bombing Phase

Love it or hate it, landlords love having expats as their tenants, not only because they feel expats can afford their asking price, but also because of the reason mentioned above.

The agent will likely be very complimentary about your “profile”. They are very friendly, perhaps even suggesting you’d do things together outside of this transaction. They will tell you they are picking you out of many other renters because they really like you.

They make you feel so good you don’t even realise this is not normal. 

​Evidence of Your Happiness

Our landlord made sure he took lots of photos of us looking happy with the house on the day he handed over the property to us.

These photos are kept and later shown in court to demonstrate how happy we were with the house.
​
This is completely irrelevant to the case we later filed with the court when the landlord refused to return any of our 2-month security deposit. But it’s a nice story to tell the judge.

​Not Changing Their Mailing Address

As part of the scam, the landlord will need to take photos of how you are using the property. Any slight deviation from how they handed the property over to you will be documented, if they have an opportunity to enter the property.

For instance, one tenant had a weed that was growing on the fence/boundary. The landlord took a photo of that and later claimed the tenants were ruining the property.

What does this have to do with the landlord’s mailing address?

This is especially problematic if you’re renting a landed house. The landlord will use collecting mail as an excuse to visit the property and document “abuse” in their eyes.
​
Always insist on the landlord changing their mailing address. You have a right to enjoy the property in peace, as stated in the tenancy agreement. 

​Giving You Multiple Opportunities to Renew the Lease

In this scenario, you tell the landlord you’re not renewing the lease. You’d think that’s the end of it, but you’d be wrong.

The landlord will pretend you’ve never mentioned it and start telling you how they would love for you to stay. After a few more iterations of this, the landlord would finally stop offering.
​
This landlord will now be seething. That’s when the scam goes into full gear.

​Where Are You Moving To?

The scam relies on you leaving the country. The landlord will try their best to learn if you are indeed moving to another country.
​
Most expats leaving the country wouldn’t bother going to the small claims court to pursue a case to retrieve their 2-month deposit. 

​Reluctance to Do an Inspection 2 Weeks Prior to Handover

A good practice before handing over the property back to the landlord is to have the landlord do an inspection 2 weeks prior to the handover date. This is to give you time to get contractors in to fix things before the handover.
​
When a landlord is reluctant to do that, the landlord doesn’t want to give you an opportunity to fix what they perceive as defects so that they can use those defects as arsenal in their case against you.

​The 3-Hour Handover

The length sounds ridiculous, but this is a key component of the scam. In this article, we’ve documented how the 3-hour handover works in favour of the landlord. But here are the highlights:

• Landlord is mute or speaks very little
• Photos of each tiny scratch or mark are taken
• Landlord refuses to discuss defects on the spot

​Refusal to Return Security Deposit

The landlord usually has 14 days to return your 2-month security according to most tenancy agreements.

If the landlord doesn’t respond during the 14 days to your enquiries about how much the landlord is deducting from your deposit for defects, you would then know the landlord intends to keep the entire deposit.

You might get a response from the landlord after the 14 days has passed to tell you they won’t be returning your deposit, while producing “evidence” of you destroying the property.
​
To amp up the pressure, they might claim to have called the police on various unrelated matters. At this point, you will feel gaslighted if you’ve not committed any crimes. But the real objective is to make you feel fear and intimidation, and ultimately drop your request to have your deposit returned to you.

The Landlord’s “Defenses” in the Small Claims Tribunal

The time and effort required of you to make a case against the landlord is extensive and mentally exhausting. This is because the landlord will use a combination of magical thinking, character assassinations and threats to make their case, which you have to respond to, no matter how ludicrous their “evidence” are.

Again, the whole objective is to overwhelm both you and the judge with a barrage of irrelevant accusations so that you will feel like giving up the case.

At this point, if you do, the landlord has won and the scam has worked.
​
To prevent this from happening in the first place, read Red Flags to Watch for During Viewings for Renters and Why the Agent Shouldn’t Also Be Your Landlord.
 
Help advance the rights of renters: Sign our petition

What could possibly go wrong? Plenty.

Most, if not all of the listings in the property portals are posted by agents. There is no law in Singapore to prevent agents from not disclosing that they are also the landlord until the very last moment.

That moment is when you are on the verge of signing the Letter of Intent (LOI) or the Tenancy Agreement (TA).

By that time, you would likely have stopped looking at listings and arranging viewings. You would also have spent time and effort negotiating on the price, or preparing a list of things you’d like the landlord to work on for the place to make it liveable. You are quite invested at this point.
​
Just before signing on the contract, that agent tells you they are actually the landlord. You are surprised, to say the least. But at this point, you also think, that’s ok, isn’t it?

Landlords are not bound by CEA rules

The Council of Estate Agents (CEA) has legislation and guidelines for how an agent behaves when dealing with renters and landlords.

That agent who didn’t tell you about also being the landlord is not going to file this transaction with their agency, which also has rules.
​
This landlord is therefore not bound by any rules, other than what’s in the contract. Everything else not covered in the TA is the wild wild west and the landlord can possibly make your life an absolute hell.

The Return of Your Security Deposit

After the handover at the end of your lease, if you had the agent perform the handover, the landlord is supposed to return your deposit, less the amount agreed between you and the landlord for repairs and compensation for damages.
​
If for some reason your deposit was withheld unreasonably by the landlord, you still have an opportunity to pursue this matter with the agent, a last ditch effort before you go through the hell that is the Small Claims Tribunal. 

Agents know what the market practice is

An agent with enough experience can advise renters on what the market practice is when it comes to renter and landlord rights. When something has broken down, they likely know if this is wear and tear or something to be fixed by the tenant.
​
If you are dealing with the landlord directly, things can get murky. That’s when trouble can start.

Agents have no vested interest in the property

Your landlord however, is thinking long term and they are counting every penny.
​
That agent is receiving a certain amount of commission for the duration of your lease, which is typically two or three years. They do not own the place. They can afford to be somewhat neutral and act as the middle-man. They are less emotional, and therefore if an issue comes up, your interactions are less likely to be confrontational. 

How to protect yourself

To prevent from falling into a trap, here are a few things to ask the agent during a viewing:

1. Are you the landlord?
2. Are you related to the landlord?

​Run, run, run for the hills if the answer to either question is yes. You will no longer be dealing with an agent who is bound by rules and legislation. 

Help advance the rights of renters

​Join us in calling for better rights of renters and sign our petitions. This petition addresses the need for agents who are also the landlords of the property they are marketing to declare the fact during property viewings. 

​All I knew was that I needed to sign a tenancy agreement. Maybe I was unlucky, but my first renting experience was a nightmare I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. Now wiser and older, here are the basics to renting a property in Singapore. 

​Location, location, location

​If you have ample time, you might want to research potential development or construction in your neighbourhood if peace and quiet is extremely important to you with the Singapore URA Masterplan.

It’s hard to predict which unit will undergo renovation if you’re looking at apartments, but if you’re looking at landed properties, you can check if nearby houses are very old and have a potential to be rebuilt.

A telltale sign is if the car/s in a house are expensive, but the house is old. There is potential for a rebuild. 

​Is it a Scam?

But before you sign any document, perform these checks to protect yourself.

1. Firstly, check that your agent is whom they say they are at the CEA website.
2. Secondly, check that your landlord is the owner of the property at the URA website.
3. Thirdly, check if your landlord has been involved in disputes in the Small Claims court.

Once you have been reassured that all parties are who they claimed they are, it should be safe to sign official documents.

​Letter of Intent (LOI)

Even before signing the Tenancy Agreement (TA), if you’re starting your tenancy much later, some agents will ask that you sign a letter of intent first. There is a one-month deposit to be paid by you to secure your right to rent this property and it’s not refundable.

This allows you and the landlord to stop your searches. You then sign the TA weeks before the start of the lease. While both parties have the option to break the LOI, this rarely happens.
​
But wait…

You Need to Pay Stamp Duty

In Singapore, tenants are required to pay stamp duty on their rental agreements. The amount of stamp duty depends on the total rent and the duration of the lease. Here are the key points:

• Lease period of 4 years or less: The stamp duty is 0.4% of the total rent for the lease period.
• Lease period of more than 4 years or for any indefinite term: The stamp duty is 0.4% of 4 times the average annual rent for the lease period.

​Learn more at IRAS | Renting a Property or refer to How to stamp Lease or Tenancy Agreements for the illustrated guide for stamping a Lease or Tenancy Agreement.

​Tenancy Agreement

The Council of Estate Agents (CEA) website has useful templates you can refer to if you’re wondering what this contract typically looks like.

Read every line! It’s important to read every line of the TA your agent/landlord presents to you. Never go into a TA blind, thinking it won’t differ from other TAs. All TAs are slightly different, especially if your agent is using their agency’s template, where they have their own lawyers. Knowing what your obligations are makes a difference to your bank balance.
​
Refer to our article on “what to know before signing a tenancy agreement” for more details. 

​Protect Yourself with a Property Condition Report

Regardless of the condition of the property when you move in, be it immaculate or run down, it’s extremely important to document its current state within the warranty period (usually the first month).

The CEA website has a template you can refer to, but you can document it however you want, as long as you do! Take plenty of photos and even video.

You have no way of knowing how meticulous your landlord is during handover at the end of your lease. If you don’t have proof that that scratch was already there when you first moved in, you might be held liable to get it fixed at the end of your lease.
​
In another article, we will feature an unbelievable 3-hour handover account. Don’t be fooled by how friendly and reasonable your agent/landlord seems now. 

​Do You Need an Agent?

In July 2024, guidelines from the Singapore Estate Agents Association (SEAA), an industry group, call for rental agents to collect commission fees from tenants, while landlords pay the agents representing them.

In the past, rental agents would request for co-broking with the landlord’s agent.
​
It is completely up to you. It is common for renters to directly work with the landlord’s agent. 

​Post TA Behaviour from the Agent/Landlord

After the property is handed over to you, the courtship phase of the relationship is over and harsh reality sets in.

Suddenly, the agent/landlord is not responding as quickly as before. Days or weeks go by before you get a response to a question. The landlord is dragging their feet fixing the list of things you’ve reported on during the warranty period.

What can you do? Not a lot. 

Unfortunately, there is no service level agreement (SLA) in the TA. Unless you’ve had the foresight to specify an SLA, you’d have to tolerate this behaviour, at least until you’re sure they’re never going to respond to you, in which case you might call the agent’s agency or CEA to verify your agent is still alive and kicking. 

​Things Start Breaking Down

In any home, things start to break down due to wear and tear, no matter how diligent you were about testing the fixtures and fittings during the warranty period.

Issue crop up when something needs fixing and you start to wonder, am I responsible for fixing this? Is this a structural issue that the landlord needs to fix? What's considered a minor repair?

Things get really murky and unpleasantness start to creep into your tenant/agent relationship. Now that you’re “married” in the TA, you can’t just walk out, which is arguably worse than a real marriage.

The reality is that as a renter, you’re at the mercy of the landlord. Not many can afford to hire their own lawyer to draft a tenancy agreement that is protective of the renter.

This is why we are advocating for renters’ rights. Do sign up for our petitions here. 

​

Your Lease is Ending – Here Comes the Handover

This part can be extremely tricky if your landlord is finicky or trying to run a scam (not returning any of your two months deposit), or it could be a smooth process if the agent/landlord is reasonable, depending on good you were as tenants.

Watch for this – if your agent/landlord turns nasty after you say you were not going to renew the lease, there is a high chance your handover will be complicated.

Two weeks before the end of the lease, schedule an inspection with the agent/landlord to determine if there are any repairs to be made.
​
If the agent/landlord doesn’t even want to perform this inspection, that’s another red flag.

Typically, handovers will take between 30-60 minutes. If it goes on beyond that and the agent/landlord refuses to discuss potential deductions from your security deposit, and you do not agree on the handover report on the spot, that’s another huge red flag.

Very likely, your landlord will want to keep your entire deposit and claim that you’ve destroyed the house.
​
If you indeed have returned the property in good condition and have offered to cover the cost of further repairs but the agent/landlord refuses to entertain it, your only recourse is the Small Claims Tribunal.
​
That is the worst case scenario. We wish you a smooth handover!