Red Dot Pinoys

COVs for HDB flats drop a massive 20-30%

2012-02-18T09:22:00.000+08:00

Feb 18, 2012

Cash premiums for most types of HDB flats are falling across the country, declining between 20 and 30 percent, according to latest figures compiled by The Straits Times.
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PR converts apartment in Lucky Plaza into budget hotel

2012-01-15T17:09:00.005+08:00

Jan 15, 2012

Following the report on a new HDB flat in Yishun being advertised as a "budget hotel" by a Filipina, a similar story has emerged. This time in the prime shopping and entertainment district of Orchard Road. According to a source, several private apartments in Lucky Plaza are being used for cheap lodging.

From http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/property-management-news/2012/1/32095/pr-converts-apartment-in-lucky-plaza-into-budget-h:
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Update on: Filipina's ad caused an uproar

2012-01-14T23:16:00.002+08:00

Posted on: Jan 14, 2012

An update on a Filipina's ad about transient rooms: Tenancy agreement was terminated, owner warned by HDB.
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Filipina's ad caused an uproar

2012-01-14T22:31:00.002+08:00

Posted on: Jan 14, 2012

"Hi, we have transient rooms and bedspace for rent for Filipinos, located in Yishun." This is the ad that caused 800+ comments in Singapore Yahoo News this week. Apparently, it was posted by a Filipina in websites such as Facebook. The ad also stated that a night's stay only costs S$25 per head.

However, offering your rooms on a daily/nightly basis is not allowed by HDB. First of all, renting out of rooms or the whole flat should be intitiated be the owner. But, allegedly, the flat is being rented only by the Filipina. Hence, she is not allowed to have the rooms rented by other persons.

Also, there is no hotel permit to have the rooms available for transient occupancy.

So when some netizens spotted the ad, it was reported on various online and social media sites. Photos of the unit were also downloaded, before the account was deleted, which helped others trace the flat.

Full story in Singapore Yahoo News -->

A new HDB flat at Yishun has been converted into a "budget hotel" by a Filipina, who advertised her transient home service on various websites, including Facebook. As it was an affordable place to stay, many short-term visitors and job-hunters, mainly Filipinos, started making enquiries.

One advert read, "Hi, we have transient rooms and bedspace for rent for Filipinos, located in Yishun."

It also stated that the new apartment comes equipped with different amenities for a comfortable stay. Much cheaper than regular budget hotels in Singapore, a night's stay at the unit only costs S$25 per head. However, some netizens who spotted the ad have reported it on various online and social media sites. Photos of the unit were also downloaded, before the account was deleted, which helped others trace the flat.

The flat was found to be located at Block 450 in Jade Spring on Yishun Ring Road, which is close to several shopping and commercial amenities. The BTO unit was completed about six months ago, which means only Singaporeans are eligible to purchase a unit. It is unclear whether the foreigner was a new citizen or was renting it from a Singaporean.

However, she was unlikely to have been granted any license to operate a hotel out of the HDB flat, as the Hotels Act (Chapter 127), section 7(1) states, "No person shall keep or manage any premises for the purposes of a hotel unless he is the holder of a valid licence granted in respect of the premises in accordance with the provisions of this Act."

Moreover, Section 16(7) declares that, "Any person guilty of the offence shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding S$2,000 and, in the case of a second or subsequent offence, to such fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both."

Filipina cheated by a landlord

2008-10-17T15:43:00.003+08:00

Posted on: Oct 17, 2008

Source: The New Paper, 10th October 2008

It looked like a happy gathering of friends of different nationalities.

Countries like Nepal, China, Myanmar, the Philippines, India and Sri Lanka - they were all well-represented:

Adelfa Abregana of the Philippines
Mr Zaw Bo from Myanmar
China national Michael Lu
and Mr Thaw Lin Tun of Myanmar

Except that the atmosphere was tense and far from pleasant.

These eight groups of people from six countries had united for a common cause - to find some form of redress against a rogue landlord.

Some were individuals while others were families or friends who had arranged to rent a place together.

The New Paper met some of these tenants on Monday night, after hearing about their encounters with the same landlord. Each had paid $1,800 to $3,600 to rent a five-room flat in Eunos last month.

The landlord had put his place up for rent in a newspaper advertisement over several days last month.

After accepting the prospective tenants' rents and deposits, he then turns off his handphone and vanishes.

He has four different handphone numbers, and all four were not in use when The New Paper tried to call him yesterday.

In all, this landlord has pocketed over $15,000 in rents for his flat.

He has since changed the padlocks to his flat, which has been left empty.

Electronic engineer Zaw Bo, who is from Myanmar, said he paid $3,400 to the landlord last month. He said the landlord disappeared almost immediately after getting the money.

Mr Bo had rented the whole flat together with his wife, brother and sister-in-law.

He said: 'I was in the flat with the landlord and he passed me a bunch of keys. Then he left after taking my money. I tried all the keys and realised that one of the rooms' door couldn't be unlocked.

'I called him (the landlord) and his handphone was already switched off. And that was just 10 minutes after I saw him.'

On the same day, he met Chinese national Michael Lu outside the unit.

Mr Lu had also gone there hoping to find the landlord. He said that he, too, had been cheated of his money.

More 'victims'

Mr Bo, 51, returned the next day - and found four groups of tenants waiting outside the unit, all with similar stories to tell.

All said they had been told by the landlord to move in that day. Most of them had their luggage with them.

Mr Bo said: 'I was shocked to see more people caught in the same situation. Some of the girls were crying because it was their hard-earned money and they lost their savings. And they had no place to sleep.'

Mr Bo, who has worked here since 2002, said he has not found a replacement unit yet. The lease on his current place will expire at the end of this month.

He added: 'This is not the first time I've been cheated this way. I lost about $1,000 three years ago to another landlord who disappeared on me. It's just my luck.'

He posted a notice outside the flat, warning other tenants to contact him. Three more groups of people did so.

Mr Bo said he made a police report about the situation. The police confirmed the report and said that investigations are ongoing.

Mr Lu felt certain he had done due checks before paying the $1,800 deposit for the flat last month.

He said, fuming: 'I wanted to make doubly sure that I won't be taken for a ride. I am an auditor. It's my job to be careful and I was. Even with all my checks, I still got cheated!'

Mr Lu, 27, had asked the landlord for a photocopy of his identity card (IC) and he also saw a HDB letter which proved that he owns the unit.

After paying the deposit, Mr Yu went one step further and asked his friend to call the landlord to check if the unit was still up for rent after he paid the deposit.

The landlord then told his friend that the unit was already taken. That reassured Mr Yu somewhat, until he tried calling the landlord a few days later, but could not contact him.

'That was when I knew that I had been cheated,' he said.

Mr Yu, who has worked here for about a year, is still looking for a replacement unit.

He said: 'I am very thorough and I expected things to run smoothly. It's disappointing considering Singapore's reputation. I thought all Singaporeans are very law-abiding.

'It's not a big amount of money and I didn't think anyone here will risk going to jail for this kind of money. I was wrong.'

Related links:
The New Paper

He collects rent, then says flat not available

2008-10-09T10:46:00.007+08:00

Over the years, I've been hearing stories from local and pinoy friends about dubious landlords. Just recently, I've spoken to a fellow pinoy who was having a problem collecting his deposit from the landlord. The following story surely tops my list, hands down.

Source: The New Paper, 8th Oct 2008
Ten angry groups confront current tenant, claiming they were cheated by landlord

Pasted on the door of a Housing Board (HDB) flat in Circuit Road were two handwritten notes.

One was by a loan shark demanding repayment of money lent.

The other, strangely enough, was written by the flat’s tenant, Ms Fong Ying.

Written in red, bold Chinese characters, her note tells prospective tenants that the landlord does not live there and that she has been renting the flat for more than a year.

What drove the Malaysian housewife to this was because, in the last three months, more than 10 groups of people had knocked on her door demanding to see her landlord, she said.

Their stories are invariably the same: They had given him money to him to rent the three-room flat. The rental rate was about $1,300.

After taking their money, he would then claim the flat was being foreclosed, or repossessed, by a bank, so he could not rent it out.

What is worse - the landlord gave some of these tenants keys to the flat, despite it being already occupied by Ms Fong.

The New Paper learnt of her situation when we visited the flat two weeks ago with one prospective tenant, Mr Surendra Utti, who claimed to have paid two months worth of rent, about $2,600, to the landlord.

We opened the main door with a key that the landlord had given Mr Surendra, only to hear a startled Ms Fong shouting that she was taking a shower.

After her shower and after regaining her composure somewhat, Ms Fong, 37, listened as Mr Surendra, 27, related his experience.

She shook her head and said in Mandarin: ‘The landlord regularly took people here to view the flat with a housing agent.

‘His excuse to me was that he was selling the place. After a while, I realised that he was trying to rent out the flat even though I am living here.

‘And every time I asked him, he would brush me aside and deny that he was renting out the place.’

She said she has changed the lock on her metal grille gate twice.

Ms Fong said that about three months ago, people visited the flat, asking for the landlord, and were surprised when she told them she had been renting the flat for about a year, and had paid more than $10,000 to extend it for another year.

Ms Fong and her husband, an engineer, pay $1,100 a month for the unit.

She said: ‘I just have to put up with this nuisance for another year because the rent is quite cheap and my husband had extended the lease. I just hope the landlord stops cheating people.’

She put up the warning note on the front door about a month ago.

She said: ‘I can’t stop him from showing tenants around. It’s his flat, after all. I have tried to speak to the potential tenants and even pass them notes to warn them.

‘Some took my warnings, but for those who don’t believe me, what can I do?’

Ms Fong claimed that about three weeks ago, her landlord was attacked by a few people outside the flat.

‘He was beaten up so badly he bled. He even tried to jump over the corridor parapet, but was dragged back. I have not seen him around since,’ she said.

She said she had told the landlord, who is divorced with a son and a daughter, to stop cheating people, but he denied doing so.

As for Mr Surendra, he thinks there is little he can do to recover his money.

The business analyst from India found the unit for rent online. He viewed the next day, signed the tenancy agreement and paid $2,600, which included a one-month deposit.

A week’s notice

Mr Surendra then left for India to get married - only to get a call from his housing agent that the unit would be foreclosed by the bank.

This happened a week before he was to move in.

Mr Surendra said: ‘It came as a rude shock because I was expecting to move into the flat with my wife when I returned from India. The agent said her hands were tied.’

He stayed with some friends and has since managed to rent another three-room HDB flat in Yishun.

Mr Surendra said the agent returned her $650 commission to him and said the landlord had promised to return the money before September.

But Mr Surendra said that he has not received any money from the landlord.

A machine operator, who wanted to be known only as Mr Tan, claimed the landlord owes him about $1,200 in rent deposit that he paid in May.

Mr Tan, who is in his 50s, said he was recommended by an agent, but decided not to take the flat at first because the rent was too high.

‘But the landlord offered to rent it for $1,200 when the agent left. I paid him the money and was supposed to move in a few weeks later.

‘Later, he said he couldn’t rent out the place as he was not eligible to do so. I asked for my money back but he said he didn’t have it,’ Mr Tan recounted.

He said he confronted the landlord once about the money, but his family told him to forget about it .

Mr Tan said: ‘It seems that he has his own family problems. But he can’t go around cheating people like this.’

Landlord in debt

When contacted, the landlord said he is working as a storeman to save money to pay his creditors.

He admitted having rented the flat to Mr Surendra and said he would return his money, but would not say when.

He claimed he owed loan sharks more than $10,000.

He said he also owed two groups of people money, but would gradually pay them back.

‘I already told him (Mr Surendra) I would return his money. The bank is going to repossess my flat, so I can’t rent it out anymore,’ he said.

‘I didn’t know my flat was going to be repossessed when I tried to rent it out.’

He claimed he did not know when his flat would be foreclosed by the bank.

HDB said that it received a complaint about the landlord last month and had advised the complainant to lodge a police report.

From Red Dot Pinoys:
If you have one, always use cheque for paying deposit or reservation. Don't be afraid to insist this to the agent or landlord.

According to SGHousing.com:

HDB ADVISES TENANTS:

Subletting is private matter

The Housing Board (HDB) said it had received occasional complaints from sublet tenants.

Its advice to these tenants: Lodge a police report if they feel they have been cheated.

Alternatively, these tenants could also claim against the owner for breach of contract in the courts or the Small Claims Tribunal, depending on the quantum of the claim, HDB said.

A HDB spokesman added: ‘As the subletting of flats or rooms is a private arrangement between the flat owners and tenants, the two parties will have to settle their differences and disputes.

‘The parties involved may wish to consult their own solicitors on their rights and liabilities under the subletting agreement with each other.’

HDB advised flat owners and tenants to check, understand and agree on the terms and conditions of the rental agreement before signing it.

Tips to potential tenants:

Ask flat owner to show you a copy of HDB’s in-principle approval letter or approval letter to sublet the flat.

Ask flat owner to show documentary proof, such as Agreement for Lease, Service & Conservancy Charges or mortgage loan instalment payment booklet/annual loan statements to further verify ownership.

Include condition in tenancy agreement stating that validity of agreement is subject to HDB’s approval.

Related links:
The New PaperSGHousing.com

Rent increase in SG

2007-09-24T00:10:00.000+08:00

Majority of the Filipinos here are renting, thus it is no surprise that we are really affected by the increasing rental fees. Expatriates from other countries also feel the impact:

* ExpatSingapore

* Singapore Expats

When landlords were asked to give their opinions about this trend in property rentals, they replied in The Straits Times:
"...expatriates had been enjoying extremely low rents since 2003 and owners were 'subsidising' tenants before the increase in rents."
"It's not a matter of raising prices because we're greedy. We get whatever the property will fetch in the market. I wouldn't dare ask for $16,000 if the market rent is $10,000."

The article said that rents have soared by 31.2% over the past year. Thus if the average rent in Aston Mansion is used to be $1700, then it is now around $2230. A previous issue of the newspaper featured a family whose rent rose from $2,400 to $7,200.

Singapore

becoming an expensive country to live in? What are the alternatives for us? Downgrade from condo to HDB. If you’re renting a unit all by yourself, ask your landlord if it’s OK to invite others to rent vacant rooms. Move from an expensive area to more affordable ones, let's say from Tiong Bahru to Sengkang.

Luckily for me and my husband, we bought our flat before the interest rate hike. Whew! My computation said that we must stay in our flat for 4 years to take back the cash that we spent in down payment and fees. We are now in our 2^nd year.

But I don’t think that buying a unit is a good move right now since as I’ve said, loan interest rates have also increased. Anyway, if you really really really can afford it, you’ll be here longer (years), and you think it’s worth it, by all means by your own property. What do I mean by “it’s worth it”? If you’re tired of packing and unpacking your things every year, it is worth it. If you have kids affected by the constant move, buying a property is worth it.