​Can experienced renters still be scammed? Apparently, yes.

A couple in Singapore lost $7,000 in a rental scam despite verifying their property agent's license and meeting his assistant for house viewings. They discovered the scam when they arrived to collect their keys and found two other couples who had also signed leases for the same unit.
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The agent became uncontactable, and the couple has since lodged a police report. The police have advised the public to verify property agents through the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) and avoid relying on listings from platforms like Facebook or Carousell.

Why Work Only with the Assistant?

They mostly communicated with the assistant. A clear lesson is to insist on communicating directly with the agent, unless the “assistant” is also a registered agent and you can verify their identity with the CEA.   

Also check their photo on the CEA website and make sure you see the face of the agent. Covid is over. It is a red flag if they refuse to take their mask off.
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And of course check the original agent’s identity. Call their agency to verify their identity if you want to be doubly sure. 

Did They Sign a Letter of Intent or a Tenancy Agreement?

It is not clear in the article, but never ever transfer money before signing either the letter of intent or the actual tenancy agreement.
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In these documents, the agent must declare the identity of the landlord and provide their IC number. You can check if the landlord actually owns the property at the URA website. 

Why Use Facebook Marketplace?

Why not use the usual property search portals, instead of Facebook Marketplace?
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Using the usual property search portals doesn’t mean you won’t get scammed of course. You still need to do due diligence. See our article on scam run by landlords on expats. 

​Meet Them in Person

​You can actually spot a property agent a mile away from the way they dress. You can also check their ID badge issued by their agency and later call their agency to verify their identity. Make sure photos match.
It’s a little more assuring if the previous tenants moving out are still there and they are familiar with the agent showing you the property.
 
Verify, verify, verify, and go through the usual process of renting a property instead of trying to save time. The time saved will bite you in the behind later. 

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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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. 

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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.
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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.
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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.
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That is the worst case scenario. We wish you a smooth handover!

It’s virtually impossible to find out everything during the first viewing for a rental, but there are things to watch for if you want to make your life in the new property less troublesome.

Usually, what you see is what you get. Ask the right questions to prevent unhappiness later on, even if you’re only staying for 6 months.

The single most important question you should ask

In our article, “Why the Agent Shouldn’t Also Be Your Landlord”, you’ll discover why signing up directly with a landlord can be a really bad idea.

Therefore, the first question you should ask of the agent is: Are you also the landlord?

If the answer is no, the follow-up question is: Are you related to the landlord?
If the answer to the first question is “yes”, make your way to the exit.
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If the answer to the second question is “yes”, you have a choice of whether to walk away. Don’t forget that the agent ultimately works for the landlord, but being related to the landlord makes them even more biased.
That’s for you to decide.

​What can affect your bottomline?

Utilities are a significant monthly cost in Singapore, especially when it comes to air-conditioning. If you plan to use the aircon everyday, pay attention to the aircon units.
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Where are the units placed in each room? Are they facing a corner of each room? If so, they will not be efficient in cooling the entire room and you’ll end up waiting a long time for rooms to cool down to sleep or work in, in addition to adding to your utilities bill.

If you get afternoon sun in the room you are sleeping in, the situation is even worse.

Another situation to watch for is a living room with two units. If they are placed at the exact same height, be aware that the internal hosing needs to be arranged so that water can drain in the right direction, and not result in a leak.
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Your landlord is not going to be inclined to fix this if you discover this after the warranty period, which is typically one month. 

Older properties can present issues

There are countless things we can list, but in older properties, other than the usual wear and tear, there are things you can watch for, especially if you plan to rent a house.

Is the lightning surge protector still working well? Is the automatic gate still working well? You won’t be able to know these things until well after the warranty period is over.

An obvious question would be – Is the landlord open to having inspections done by professionals before you sign on the dotted line?
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If the agent/landlord is amenable, you can engage a contractor for each item to perform an inspection to give you an idea of the condition of that item. You are then more prepared to accept the condition of that item and anticipate the potential costs involved in maintaining it.

​How obsequious is the agent?

In a landlord’s market, this is something to watch out for. Are they telling you they really like you? Are they implying that you will be friends in the future? Are they praising your “profile”?

If the property is sound, it will sell itself. You shouldn’t feel like the agent is trying to pursue you, or making concessions to get you into the property. Something is wrong, and you won’t know until you are many months into the lease.

What are the other red flags? What would make you run for the hills?

Tell us in the comments!

​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. 

It’s really easy to overlook everyday, ordinary things that would affect your enjoyment of the place you are renting. These little things add up, and they simply make your day a bit harder, each day, every day.
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This list is not exhaustive obviously, since they are based on personal experience, but this is a good place to start. You deserve a good quality of life!

Power outlets

​Are there enough, and are they where you need them to be?
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If you like a neat and organized place, then it would really frustrate you to see extension cords everywhere, not to mention these are not cheap to buy. It’s also a pain to clean around these cords.

It would not be out of the ordinary to ask for additional power outlets to be installed during the negotiation phase. 

Water pressure / taps / shower heads

​If you have any experience with low water pressure from taps and shower heads, you will understand how irritating it can be.
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Whether shampooing your hair or washing dishes or filing up the water filter tank, minutes are wasted everyday, time you could be spending on doom scrolling or watching Netflix.
If this matters to you, you can certainly request to test the taps during viewings. 

Bidets

​​Remember that first time you travelled to Japan and experienced bidets? I know it was a transformational experience for me.
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It’s something simple that will just increase the quality of your life. It’s also something you can request for during negotiations that doesn’t cost much for the landlord. 

​White goods

​Most landlords will provide white goods such as refrigerators and washing machines, etc. But have you noticed it they are energy or water saving models?

The Singapore government has been giving out climate vouchers to households for years now to encourage people to switch to energy/water saving models.

If the appliances you’re going to rent has old appliances, it’s not improper to ask the landlord to replace them for new, more energy/water saving models, since landlords have these vouchers. You will end up saving money in utilities, which can be a big part of your budget. 

​What needs to be serviced/maintained regularly?

In Singapore, a common request from the landlord is for the tenants to maintain and service the aircon units on a quarterly basis. What else needs maintenance and servicing?
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Some landlords also want pest control maintenance (maybe due to past infestations; can cost upwards of S$500 annually), and this will add to your bills. If actual pests are found and removal service is needed, this is an additional cost apart from the annual maintenance. Do you really want to face this possibility?

​Other miscellaneous things

​There could be a lot of other miscellaneous things that can affect your bottomline and quality of life and I’ll offer this last and probably inconsequential item – remote controls.

A new aircon unit remote control from a reputable brand can cost up to S$50 each.

Just by noticing small details like that during viewings can potentially save you a lot of trouble in the future. Do sweat the small stuff!

What else can you think of? Add them in the comments!
 
P.S. Sign our petitions to advance renter rights!