S'pore woman rents out 2-room HDB flat, it ends up with more than 10 tenants

After renting out her two-room Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat to a pair of foreign students in February, a 60-year-old cleaner was told that four people in total would be staying there.

However, after she returned from an overseas trip, she was shocked to find that the place had been reorganised to house more than 10 sub-tenants, with the students acting as the sub-landlords.

Her original furniture had also been thrown out to make space for four bunk beds in the bedroom, and four mattresses in the living room and kitchen.

Was told there would be 4 tenants

The owner, Luo (transliteration), told Shin Min Daily News that in February, she was looking to rent out her two-room HDB flat at Jalan Batu.

She got in touch with two prospective tenants who claimed to be Sri Lankan students in Singapore for an internship.

After viewing Luo's flat, the students signed a one-year lease and paid her the deposit along with one months' rent.

They told her that four people would be staying there, Luo said.

According to HDB regulations, a maximum of four tenants are allowed to occupy a two-room HDB flat.

Tenants did not register personal particulars

After handing them the keys, Luo then went abroad for a trip and let her agent settle matters in Singapore.

When she returned, however, she found that the students had not registered their particulars with HDB yet.

They also made excuses when pressed by Luo on the matter, Luo added.

About a month later, Luo was having a meal with a friend in the vicinity, so she made an unannounced visit to the flat.

At the flat, Luo was surprised to see three people she had not met before.

But when she identified herself as the owner, they let her come in.

Mattresses in living room and kitchen, original furniture thrown out

Luo was shocked to find that four bunk beds had been moved into the bedroom, with three single mattresses laid out in the living room.

The kitchen area was also partitioned with the use of a cabinet, while a double-size mattress had been placed in a corner and women's underwear hung nearby.

The whole unit looked "very dirty and messy", Luo said, noting that it felt like a "pigsty".

To make matters worse, Luo found that a set of old furniture that had been in the house since she was born had been thrown out.

One such piece was a 60-year-old wooden sofa left behind by her late mother, which Luo said meant a lot to her.

Tenants 'shocked' to find it had been sublet

When Luo confronted the tenants present, they seemed shocked to discover that the unit had been sublet to them, Luo noted.

"They looked very anxious, and kept trying to explain to me that they thought they were legitimate tenants the whole time," Luo said.

Luo believed the other tenants were also students, as they appeared to be of a similar age as the students who signed the lease.

One told her that he was waiting for the confirmation letter from his school.

Angered by what had been done to her flat, Luo recorded footage of the unit as evidence and demanded that the tenants move out that very day.

The tenants cooperated and Luo found the unit vacant the next morning, with just the mattresses left behind.

Eventually, Luo managed to find new tenants for the flat in June.

She told Shin Min that she hopes to share her experience in order to warn other prospective landlords to be wary of tenants who may sublet their flat.

Top image from Shin Min Daily News