A netizen shared how his friend was scammed by his landlord, who asked him to make advance payments and she then kicked him out and remove him from the tenants list.
Here is the story
I am posting this on behalf of a friend who would like to seek advice on what he should do. I will be posting this in his shoes.
I have been renting a HDB apartment from a landlord, let’s call her Mdm A, since October 2021. The stipulated monthly rent for the apartment stated in the tenancy agreement is $1800. Mdm A confided in me that she was having financial difficulties and proposed an arrangement where if an advance payment of rent was made, I would be given a discount of $200 per month. I agreed to the arrangement given and in October 2021, I made an advance payment of $4800 for the months of Nov 2021 to March 2022.
She begged and pestered me repeatedly for more advance payments, which I stupidly agreed out of goodwill.
In December 2021, I made an advance payment of $8530 for the months of April to October 2022, receiving a discount of $300 per month.
On the first week of February, Mdm A asked me again whether I was able to make an advance payment for months of November 2022 to April 2023. I did not agree to make advance payments this time as I did not have the financial capability. Following this, Mdm A informed me that I would have to move out by June 2022 as she would be able to find tenants that are willing to make advance payments. While Mdm A has offered to pay back the remaining months of rent, I highly doubt she would.
As of today, I’ve made a check on HDB website regarding the authorised tenants list for the current rented apartment, I realised that Mdm A had already removed all the authorised tenants which included myself and my partner. This sort of implies that we are living at the rented apartment ‘illegally’.
I’ve contacted HDB for help and was told that they will not involve in this dispute. A police report had also been made.
How will I be able to claw back the advanced rent payments from Mdm A? Would appreciate if anyone could offer their advice as I don’t know what I should do now.
P.S. I do keep a copy of all the e-receipt, updated tenancy agreement (docu sign off) with the clause added regarding advance rental, whatsapp convo with print screen, and also stamp duty, to show she is a legit landlord as without the owner of the house cannot make a stamp duty. There were also consequential damages involved (bills, water, electricity, internet).
- As long as you have receipts to prove that you have made payment to your landlord for the upcoming months you are safe. Make sure the bank account in the tenancy agreement and the one you transfer the advanced rent to is the same. Also keep screenshots of your conversations with her to protect yourself.
- What authority does she have to throw you out? You alr concluded a contract – you paid your rent until October 2022, she accepted your payment. Now she wants to change the contract. It’s up to her to persuade you to agree to the new terms, she can’t force you even though she’s the legal owner.
If you’re okay to move out, then returning the extra payment is the bare minimum. The discussion should be around added compensation, not whether you get your money back. She’s likely kicking you out to take advantage of increasing rental rates.