‘The environment was terrible’—14 tenants crammed into Jurong West HDB flat, all of them sharing one toilet

SINGAPORE: A woman recently complained about an apartment for rent in Singapore that houses 14 people instead of the required maximum number of tenants, where all people share one toilet, clothes and towels were hanging on the windows of the living room and kitchen, and the walls and bathroom floors were covered in dirt. 

In a complaint given to Lianhe Zaobao by a certain Ms Liu, she said that her sister needed an apartment near her workplace, a beauty salon in Jurong West. She shared that her sister’s employer was pressing her for a loan, and even without viewing the property, she paid a total of S$900 for one month’s rent and one month’s deposit.

However, Ms Liu stated that her sister contacted the sub-landlord of the flat at Jurong West, who was in charge of dividing the unit and renting it to a total of 14 people to make a profit, without considering the comfort of the tenants. Given the living situation in the flat, her sister was frightened and moved out after living there for more than ten days. 

Detailed situation of the HDB flat

According to the woman, one room of the flat had three bunk beds, and the bottom bunks were covered with towels or sheets to serve as curtains. Furthermore, over 10 pairs of shoes and several suitcases were piled in the hallway, and the refrigerator was filled with various bottles and other items. 

Her sister’s bed was in the master bedroom, which was connected to the bathroom. Additionally, they weren’t allowed to open the windows in the room. More so, her sister was also not permitted to use the bathroom in the room and could only share one toilet with other tenants. 

Furthermore, several windows near the corridor were tightly closed and covered, so that people from the outside wouldn’t see what was going on inside. 

“I felt it was not a place for human beings to live. The environment was terrible,” she declared. 

When her sister decided to move out, she also remarked that the owner did not even have the time to give her a refund, which prompted her to complain. “I felt it was necessary to expose this evil,” she stated. 

According to HDB regulations, here is the maximum number of people that can occupy a space, given its size: 

• Private property (less than 90sqm) – 6 people 
• Private property (90sqm and above) – 8 people 
• One-room and two-room HDB flats – 4 people 
• Three-room HDB flats – 6 people
• Four-room or larger HDB flats – 8 people

Those HDB flat owners who rent out their flats with too many people living there can be fined and even lose their property.