A woman living in Hougang who rented out a room to a 20-year-old Malaysian and his friend reportedly imposed a long list of strict rules for tenants, including requiring that they clean the kitchen and bathroom immediately after use.
The landlady is said to have made the Malaysian tenant pay her $3.50 because she said she had to wipe down the bathroom after he used it.
The tenant, Mr Xu, told the Chinese-language Shin Min Daily News that the woman’s home has “many” security cameras installed, even outside the bathroom.
Within two months of his moving in, he said, things became so difficult that he decided to look for another place. But he says she has refused to return his $500 deposit.
Mr Xu has filed a police report against the woman, adding that there are other former tenants who have similar complaints against the landlady.
He said he rented the room in February, after arriving in Singapore for work. At first, she seemed friendly to him and his sister, who had helped him find a place to live.
At that point, the landlady let them know only verbally about observing basic rules of hygiene and that tenants were required to help clean the floors.
But after he moved in, she imposed a very strict set of house rules, which Shin Min posted on its Facebook page and website. The rules include requiring tenants to clean and dry the bathroom, toilet, and kitchen immediately after using them. It is even a rule that they could use the washing machine only if their laundry load weighs no less than 7kg.
There was also a section that states that an “OFFENDER will be driven away immediately and deposit shall be confiscated.”
In addition to the strict rules, Mr Xu said the landlady began to complain about other issues, such as unusual smells or that he closed doors too loudly. Then there was the $3.50 charge she imposed on him.
Mr Xu told Shin Min that when he wrote about his bad experience over social media, he discovered about 10 other people who said they had a similar experience with her.
Shin Min gave examples of the people she had told to move out within two months of moving in. One man said he was told to leave after he contracted Covid-19, as she claimed he was unhygienic. Another said that he was charged an additional $50 for rent for no apparent reason, and decided to move out.
The Chinese-language daily spoke to the landlady, who defended her actions by saying that tenants know about the rental agreement before they move in.
She is aware of what is being said about her on social media and told Shin Min that she plans on talking to a lawyer as she may file a police report.
As for that $3.50 she took from Mr Xu, she said it was because he had been warned repeatedly to clean up after himself and the amount was just a “service fee”.
/TISG