Workers' Party MP Louis Chua: Protecting honest tenants and honest landlords is the same principle

SINGAPORE: After the case of a man from the United States who rented property in Kembangan and then refused to pay rent to his elderly Singaporean landlords was reported last month, Workers’ Party Member of Parliament Louis Chua (Sengkang) this week raised a question about the possibility of others who may follow suit.

In a social media post on Thursday (Nov 5), Mr Chua pointed out that in the case, the man had used shell companies to lease homes and then pay little or no rent and then used the courts to drag things out, adding that the judge had called it a “deliberate scheme.”

For the question he raised in Parliament, he asked how many residential tenancy claims for unpaid rent have been filed, how many are still unrecovered, and if speedier processes may be implemented for unpaid rent beyond a prescribed period, especially in the case of corporate leases. 

“From 2021 to 2025, about 1,100 to 1,840 residential lease claims were filed at the Small Claims Tribunals each year, while larger claims were filed in the civil courts. There are also an unknown number of larger claims in the civil courts,” he pointed out.

The case showed that “it is something that is prone to abuse,” Mr Chua said.

“My concern is that whether or not there could be copycat cases arising,” he added, as people would realise that if they set up a shell company, there could be “a much more draggy legal process, a more cumbersome process that may not be fair to both landlords and tenants.”

He went on to say that he was hoping for a process that would be fairer and faster to both tenants and landlords in each individual case.

Senior Minister of State for Law Murali Pillai had said in Parliament on Wednesday (Nov 4) that the tenant in the case, Anthony Thomas Price, is now under investigation.

On whether there may be copycat cases, Mr Murali said that because Mr Price is under investigation, that would be enough of a signal for would-be copycats to “tread with care.”

As for expediting the process, he added that there are such cases. The Distress Act, which can be invoked without notice, may be used for rental arrears.

He warned, however, “But if you want to go beyond that, and say, order vacant possession on an expedited basis without notice, then I think we will be tilting the balance too much in favour of the landlord.”

Mr Chua addressed this last point in his post, clarifying that he had never asked for repossession without notice.

“Protecting honest tenants and honest landlords is the same principle. A slow and complicated process hurts both, and only rewards people who game it and are unafraid to take legal action,” he added. /TISG

Read also: SMS Murali Pillai: Police investigating US man who refused to pay rent to elderly Singaporean couple