SINGAPORE: A man went on record earlier this week to shine a spotlight on a stringent tenancy agreement that caused him and his girlfriend to move out in just one month.
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, Ye Guohua said that he wanted to warn others to prevent them from making the same mistake he had.
Mr Ye wrote that although he and his girlfriend had only moved in in May, they already transferred from the room they rented in Bedok by June 4, as they were no longer willing to put up with the overly strict contract from their landlord.
The 48-year-old mobile phone shop worker said he found a room advertised at Block 529 Bedok North Street 3 on Facebook. The rental price was listed as $1,050.
Finding this to be reasonable, he and his girlfriend rented the room.
It did not take long, however, until their new digs started feeling like a nightmare.
Telling the Chinese-language daily that he had not realised the landlord would be so strict, he added, “It felt like I was in prison.”
Mr Ye admitted he and his girlfriend had failed to pay close attention to the tenancy agreement which had at least 20 rules. The property agent did not draw attention to it or warn them about it either.
According to the landlord’s rules, Mr Ye and his girlfriend, along with the other tenants, needed to clear the floor of the toilet of every single strand of hair after they used it. They were also not allowed to leave their soap or shampoo in the bathroom. Also, tenants were only allowed to use the washing machine on Fridays.
While the landlord may have had their reasons for the rules above, some seemed rather bizarre, including tenants not being allowed to use their mobile phones or talk loudly in the living room.
They were also not to switch on the living room light, and Mr Ye had to resort to buying a flashlight so he could get to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
When the landlord felt that the household rules were being disobeyed, they would text the tenants to scold them at 3 or 4 am.
The hardest thing for Mr Ye was that there were three CCTV cameras within the flat, with one directly outside the toilet.
“We were being monitored all the time,” he told Shin Min Daily News.
Fed up, the couple left. Unfortunately, they were allegedly unable to get back their full deposit, receiving only half (S$500) because the landlord claimed they allowed one of the movers to use the bathroom on the day they moved out.
The landlord said this was in breach of their tenancy agreement. A message allegedly from the landlord that Mr Ye showed the Chinese-language daily reads, “The house toilet is not a public toilet, and breaking the TA is supposed to deduct the full deposit.” /TISG
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