SINGAPORE: An HDB tenant recently took to social media to vent about his landlord constantly invading his and his girlfriend’s privacy.
In a post shared on r/askSingapore, a Reddit forum, on Thursday (Oct 24), the tenant explained that the landlord had frequently arranged for maintenance work, such as aircon servicing and PUB measurements, without considering their schedules or privacy.
The real issue, according to the tenant, was that these activities required several visits from outsiders, with the landlord even suggesting he would enter their room using his own key if they weren’t there.
“I was like, ‘wtf?’ I mean, we are tenants, meaning we have all the valuable things inside the room, such as passports, jewelries and money,” he wrote.
“How come he would let people in as he pleased? I know it’s his house, but he rented it to us already. We wouldn’t like it, right?”
In one particularly frustrating incident, the landlord informed the tenant at 8 a.m., just as he was getting ready for work, that aircon servicing would take place at 9 a.m. His girlfriend, who was sick and resting in the room, had no idea what was happening.
“My gf was inside the room. She had taken a week off because she is not feeling well seriously. She had earphones on and sleeping, and he banged the door and spammed with calls to her, threatening he would open the door with his key,” he wrote.
“Hello!!?A lady was sleeping inside the room, and a couple of males wanted to enter the room? Of course she didn’t hear; she had earphones on, and she was so sick.”
On another occasion, the landlord volunteered to have PUB measurements taken in the master bedroom bathroom, but the tenant refused to let the workers and the landlord in since his girlfriend was sleeping. Despite this, the landlord kept insisting.
“We called the agent and told him it was not okay. I feel like he’s harassing us,” he said.
The tenant felt disappointed, especially considering the fact that they had been nothing but accommodating towards their elderly landlord, even helping him with tasks that weren’t their responsibility.
“The thing is he just had leg surgery; he couldn’t stand, so he would not be able to oversee the people while going in. He fell down, and we literally saved him and helped get help for him, taking care of him,” he shared.
“He would ask us to do stuffs for him like he’s our grandpa or something. He’s old, so wouldn’t want to argue, but it just doesn’t feel okay.”
“Yes, it’s his place, but you rented the room from him, so he can’t do anything as he pleased.”
In the comments section, Singaporean Redditors encouraged the man to find a new place since it was obvious the landlord wasn’t respecting their privacy.
One Redditor said, “This landlord of yours is not respecting boundaries by intruding into your room. Yes, it’s his place, but you rented the room from him, so he can’t do anything as he pleased.
Talk to him about letting both of you know before doing any maintenance or volunteering for some other stuff. You can’t just barge into someone’s room like this, even if it’s his own room. If all else fails, find another place to move in, as he’s not respecting your privacy at all.
Another Redditor stated that this was exactly why he was now avoiding “boomer landlords”, who have no employment income and rely solely on rental income or retirement funds, as they tend to harass and micromanage their tenants.
He added, “They think just because it’s their house they have all the rights, even when you clearly paid money to stay in that room.”
A third echoed his sentiment and commented, “Many boomers think that just because they ‘own’ the property, they are the ‘king’ and tenants have no rights to privacy or boundaries, even answerable to them for anything and everything.
“Unfortunately, given that they are elderly and entrenched in their ways, trying to change them is useless.”
Others suggested that they check their tenancy agreement to see what it says about the landlord’s access to their living space.
One Redditor explained, “It would be good for you to take a more pro-active approach in this. For instance, if you have a clause in your tenancy agreement that specifically forbids the actions of your landlord, it would be along the lines of ‘peace and quiet’ and then exercise that clause.”
Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)