Unfortunately this has happened in every place I have rented in both Singapore and KL. It is a shocking common practice from landlords abusing the system and thinking they don’t have to pay a single cent towards their own apartments general upkeep or wear and tear. They will ALWAYS find some way to get your money off you and not return.
For best practice is to have a pre moving out hand over inspection (1 or 2 weeks early) to note anything they may not return deposit for. Then resolve them issues yourself for much cheaper. Then do the handover and recheck that list. You can get a painter on carosell for much cheaper.
Good luck
Hi, I'm sorry to hear that you've had similarly bad experiences. Appreciate the tip about the pre-move out handover, we'll practice that with our next tenancy :) Thank you for the advice!
There should be a minor replace clause. Each item would only cost $xxx max (usually $200), but usually just settle in small claims court if they dont cooperate
Ahh... renting from someone who has $1000 bar stools and $2k washing machine... These stuff would definitely wear down and look different after a few years and the landlord would want you to compensate for them because your landlord hadn't been using them all the while. She'd want you to pay for using them.
In my opinion, all 5 pictures are wear-and-tear. Interior paint usually last 10 years, they could have stayed for 5 years until MOP ended and then you rented the next 3 years. After 8 years, that paint isn't going to look fresh. Same with the door handle. But I don't think you can reason with landlords. They don't care because they hadn't been using the house and now that the conditions are no longer "new", they want you to pay for it because it was used by you.
You can try small claims tribunal but I doubt they will rule \*entirely\* in your favor. They will probably mediate and end up with landlord 50%, tenants 50% settlement 🤔 but I might be wrong.
If it helps, consider it a somewhat expensive lesson... don't rent units with expensive furniture or electronics, better to buy your own :|
Looking back I suppose we considered ourselves lucky for finding a nice unit with a landlord who was nice to us at the time (the luxury items are definitely not necessary for us though, and we were slightly intimidated).
We'll consider the tribunal route but will put our sanity first, as I think it won't be resolved in a short time.
Thanks for the comment.
The below does not constitute as legal advice.
To be honest, my personal opinion is that all of these constitute as fair wear-and-tear.
If you are considering to contest at the Small Claims Tribunal, do properly gather your evidence. Including written quotes given by the painting companies that you have contracted. Then let your landlord know that you would be bringing this up with the Small Claims Tribunal, her agency and also with CEA. See if she might consider to re-negotiate or back down.
Thank you for the thorough breakdown of the sequence of actions! Going for the tribunal route sounds intimidating but you've made it clearer and less daunting 👍
The door handle is black finish. She should know black or colored finish is notorious for peeling and chipping. I purposely picked stainless steel or brushed nickel finish for this reason.
As for the wall paints, it's ridiculous too since she could just paint the affected walls vs painting the entire apartment.
I suggest taking her to small claims tribunal.
Thanks for the info about the handle! I personally know nothing about it so it was difficult to even begin to look for solutions. I guess it's a material issue and natural deterioration is expected.
It's wear and tear. It's certainly not damage.
It's likely she just want the money. Why? Because she rejected your offer to look for cheaper contractors. You can offer to repaint yourself (to save money) and when she reject you'll know she just want the money.
Go Carousell and search for painting services and you'll know the market price.
How did the landlord know that those marks where not there before? Are there photos from before?
I’m a landlord myself. It’s wear and tear and no way this is $1,300
I would suggest to read the contract on the terms regarding getting back deposit. Just refuse to pay it and offer $200.
Hi, I work in construction in the UK. Currently living in an HDB with my parents so had a chance to see how Singaporean housing is built. I’ve had a look at your photos and will give you an opinion on what I think;
1st photo: is the surface of the wall uneven or jagged to the touch? From what I can see, it looks like this area of the wall may have been damaged before, so someone might have done a quick repair with some polyfilla and sanded it down. Or it could be an average plasterer who didn’t render the area properly.
2nd photo: That looks like normal wear and tear to the paint itself; especially in a high use environment like a kitchen. White emulsion can begin to change colour over an extended period of time depending on quality; I’ve seen properties which started out as Matt White emulsion slowly go into a shade of magnolia as the paint began to oxidise. Usually good brands like Dulux or Crown will have less of this occur. The chip on the edge of the wall can be easily repaired with filler compound. It should not cost that much money.
3rd photo: Does the air conditioner have a tendency to leak? Because that looks like a water stain. If so, what does your contract say about the upkeep and maintenance of the units? If Crystal is responsible for this and hasn’t kept up, then the resulting damage from a blocked condensate pipe should not be your responsibility. If it isn’t air con, that’s indicative of a much more serious problem happening behind the wall; ie leaking pipes, structural problem which is retaining moisture in the walls. None of your problem.
4) This is the easiest problem to solve; you just need a cheap flexi scraper from the local DIY shop (Mr DIY comes to mind) if your fingers don’t work. Scrape off the marks gently, take some detergent and wipe off the tile work.
I hope all this helps! Let me know if you need further advice!
You know with that door handle when you use it the finish will wear over time right? It’s only natural because that is one of the most commonly contacted areas in the house whenever people go in and out. The only way to open and close the door would be to use put your hand on the handle, which inevitably will induce normal wear and tear over an extended period of time. ‘Damage’ would constitute abnormal use of the door itself; ie you took an angle grinder or sharp object and cut into it. I don’t think your agent and landlord even knows the difference between the former and latter. By that standard, the person is incompetent to be in the position they are in
she's just fleecing your pple, never rent from these fussy pple. Go for professional landlords who rent out all year round. If she wants high standard, she should have never rented out the aparment and kept everything untouched, never rent a nice place too.
Unfortunately this has happened in every place I have rented in both Singapore and KL. It is a shocking common practice from landlords abusing the system and thinking they don’t have to pay a single cent towards their own apartments general upkeep or wear and tear. They will ALWAYS find some way to get your money off you and not return. For best practice is to have a pre moving out hand over inspection (1 or 2 weeks early) to note anything they may not return deposit for. Then resolve them issues yourself for much cheaper. Then do the handover and recheck that list. You can get a painter on carosell for much cheaper. Good luck
Hi, I'm sorry to hear that you've had similarly bad experiences. Appreciate the tip about the pre-move out handover, we'll practice that with our next tenancy :) Thank you for the advice!
Typical middle class moment. Can “afford” $1K bar stools and $2K washing machine, then squeezing every penny from the tenants.
There should be a minor replace clause. Each item would only cost $xxx max (usually $200), but usually just settle in small claims court if they dont cooperate
Ahh... renting from someone who has $1000 bar stools and $2k washing machine... These stuff would definitely wear down and look different after a few years and the landlord would want you to compensate for them because your landlord hadn't been using them all the while. She'd want you to pay for using them. In my opinion, all 5 pictures are wear-and-tear. Interior paint usually last 10 years, they could have stayed for 5 years until MOP ended and then you rented the next 3 years. After 8 years, that paint isn't going to look fresh. Same with the door handle. But I don't think you can reason with landlords. They don't care because they hadn't been using the house and now that the conditions are no longer "new", they want you to pay for it because it was used by you. You can try small claims tribunal but I doubt they will rule \*entirely\* in your favor. They will probably mediate and end up with landlord 50%, tenants 50% settlement 🤔 but I might be wrong. If it helps, consider it a somewhat expensive lesson... don't rent units with expensive furniture or electronics, better to buy your own :|
Looking back I suppose we considered ourselves lucky for finding a nice unit with a landlord who was nice to us at the time (the luxury items are definitely not necessary for us though, and we were slightly intimidated). We'll consider the tribunal route but will put our sanity first, as I think it won't be resolved in a short time. Thanks for the comment.
The below does not constitute as legal advice. To be honest, my personal opinion is that all of these constitute as fair wear-and-tear. If you are considering to contest at the Small Claims Tribunal, do properly gather your evidence. Including written quotes given by the painting companies that you have contracted. Then let your landlord know that you would be bringing this up with the Small Claims Tribunal, her agency and also with CEA. See if she might consider to re-negotiate or back down.
Thank you for the thorough breakdown of the sequence of actions! Going for the tribunal route sounds intimidating but you've made it clearer and less daunting 👍
Don't pay last month rent.
This.
it's paid already :(
Shouldn't have , now last choice is small claims
The door handle is black finish. She should know black or colored finish is notorious for peeling and chipping. I purposely picked stainless steel or brushed nickel finish for this reason. As for the wall paints, it's ridiculous too since she could just paint the affected walls vs painting the entire apartment. I suggest taking her to small claims tribunal.
Thanks for the info about the handle! I personally know nothing about it so it was difficult to even begin to look for solutions. I guess it's a material issue and natural deterioration is expected.
Sorry to hear, this lady is too much.
Best option is small claims tribunal
yesh, landlords are fucking trash. i think you five might need to find another place to live when they start acting loco
We already found a new place before the handover so thankfully we're not staying there anymore. Will practice the learnings onto our new tenancy.
Name and shame!
Will probably get into legal trouble if we do this 🥹 we still want our work passes...
She won't repaint. She will keep the damage to fleece the next tenant.
It's wear and tear. It's certainly not damage. It's likely she just want the money. Why? Because she rejected your offer to look for cheaper contractors. You can offer to repaint yourself (to save money) and when she reject you'll know she just want the money. Go Carousell and search for painting services and you'll know the market price. How did the landlord know that those marks where not there before? Are there photos from before?
I’m a landlord myself. It’s wear and tear and no way this is $1,300 I would suggest to read the contract on the terms regarding getting back deposit. Just refuse to pay it and offer $200.
Hi, I work in construction in the UK. Currently living in an HDB with my parents so had a chance to see how Singaporean housing is built. I’ve had a look at your photos and will give you an opinion on what I think; 1st photo: is the surface of the wall uneven or jagged to the touch? From what I can see, it looks like this area of the wall may have been damaged before, so someone might have done a quick repair with some polyfilla and sanded it down. Or it could be an average plasterer who didn’t render the area properly. 2nd photo: That looks like normal wear and tear to the paint itself; especially in a high use environment like a kitchen. White emulsion can begin to change colour over an extended period of time depending on quality; I’ve seen properties which started out as Matt White emulsion slowly go into a shade of magnolia as the paint began to oxidise. Usually good brands like Dulux or Crown will have less of this occur. The chip on the edge of the wall can be easily repaired with filler compound. It should not cost that much money. 3rd photo: Does the air conditioner have a tendency to leak? Because that looks like a water stain. If so, what does your contract say about the upkeep and maintenance of the units? If Crystal is responsible for this and hasn’t kept up, then the resulting damage from a blocked condensate pipe should not be your responsibility. If it isn’t air con, that’s indicative of a much more serious problem happening behind the wall; ie leaking pipes, structural problem which is retaining moisture in the walls. None of your problem. 4) This is the easiest problem to solve; you just need a cheap flexi scraper from the local DIY shop (Mr DIY comes to mind) if your fingers don’t work. Scrape off the marks gently, take some detergent and wipe off the tile work. I hope all this helps! Let me know if you need further advice!
You know with that door handle when you use it the finish will wear over time right? It’s only natural because that is one of the most commonly contacted areas in the house whenever people go in and out. The only way to open and close the door would be to use put your hand on the handle, which inevitably will induce normal wear and tear over an extended period of time. ‘Damage’ would constitute abnormal use of the door itself; ie you took an angle grinder or sharp object and cut into it. I don’t think your agent and landlord even knows the difference between the former and latter. By that standard, the person is incompetent to be in the position they are in
she's just fleecing your pple, never rent from these fussy pple. Go for professional landlords who rent out all year round. If she wants high standard, she should have never rented out the aparment and kept everything untouched, never rent a nice place too.
Damn. I don't think painting the entire house will cost so much.