Singapore – A member of the public took to social media to inquire if it was reasonable to pay S$550 a month for a partitioned space advertised as a room for rent in Singapore.
One Fvyn Hedkandee took to Facebook on May 8 to ask if his experience with a landlord was common or reasonable.
The Malaysian was searching for a room for rent in Singapore, and a landlord had allegedly offered him one for S$550 a month, reported the Chinese newspaper Shin Min Daily News.
While it seemed like a good deal, the following photo of the “room” made Mr Fvyn think otherwise.
The room for rent had walls made of clip-on curtains and was basically a partition of an existing space.
“Not targeted at any landlord. Just want to ask, is that reasonable?” asked the concerned individual in the caption.
Shin Min reported that the 25-year-old hairstylist from Malaysia intended to work in Singapore in July and was looking for a place to stay.
He was inquiring about a single room in a flat near Khatib MRT. However, he was informed by the landlord that someone else had taken the room.
The alternative was the “partitioned room” for S$550, which included utility. Upon closer examination, the “room” was about the size of a single bed surrounded by dividers and curtains clipped on as a cover.
According to the Housing & Development Board (HDB) website, partitioned rooms cannot be rented out as bedrooms.
“Only bedrooms originally constructed by HDB are rented out to eligible persons, subject to the maximum number of persons allowed by HDB. All other parts of the flat (including partitioned rooms) cannot be used as bedrooms for rental,” noted HDB.
Owners or landlords risk losing their rights to rent out the flat if found to have violated the HDB terms and conditions. /TISG
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