S'porean man, 36, told 'sorry no S'porean' when he tried to rent Upper Bukit Timah condo unit

A Singaporean man wanted to view a condominium apartment in Upper Bukit Timah for his family, but was told by the real estate agent he could not do so, because of the homeowner's preference.

Flummoxed, Zhou (transliteration) contacted Shin Min Daily News to share what happened.

Wanted to be closer to school

The 36-year-old man said his family of five currently lives in a public housing flat in the Redhill area.

As one of Zhou's children will be attending a primary school located near Upper Bukit Timah Road next year, the family was thinking of moving closer to the area, he explained.

Arranged for a viewing

His wife subsequently found a listing on the PropertyGuru website for a condominium unit for rent at Southaven II and arranged a viewing with its agent.

Southaven II is located at Hindhede Walk, off Upper Bukit Timah Road, and between Hume MRT station and Beauty World MRT station.

When the agent was informed of the nationality of the prospective tenants, the reply was: "Sorry, no Singaporean."

This "surprised me greatly", Zhou said, adding that this was his first time renting a house.

He added that it was absurd and unfair that Singaporean citizens were being excluded when renting homes in Singapore.

Landlord had previous dispute with local tenants

When contacted by Shin Min, the real estate agent in charge of the listing explained that the homeowner is a foreigner and that there was a previous dispute involving local tenants.

The agent added that the homeowner did not want to repeat the same mistake, and it was not a discriminatory practice targeted at any particular nationality.

The agent said that as far as he knew, the homeowner had "previously rented to Singaporean tenants, and the two parties ended up in court".

"So, this time, he wants to rent the unit to foreigners," the agent added.

The agent also revealed that a permanent resident had previously offered a higher rental price to secure a unit, but the homeowner still chose the foreigner who offered the lower price, due to personal preference.

Discrimination not allowed

According to Lim Yong Hock, PropNex's key executive officer, property agents are not allowed to refuse tenants based on nationality, Shin Min reported.

Agents cannot restrict the availability of rentals to people of a certain nationality, race, or religion in rental advertisements, he said.

He added that if a tenant does not meet the requirements, the agent will tactfully explain the landlord's criteria and relay the situation to the landlord, so that the landlord can make the final decision.

The guidelines by the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) state that property agents must always be sensitive to the diversity of the community and not put up discriminatory requirements that indicate a preference for a particular ethnic group.

Real estate agents are also responsible for informing their clients that they must also comply with the guidelines.

Agents who violate the guidelines may face disciplinary action, ranging from being issued a warning to suspension or revocation of their registration.

Personal preference a cultural issue?

One property agent interviewed by Shin Min said the matter could be cultural.

He explained that locals prefer to rent out apartments that are furnished, while foreigners who are landlords like to rent out units that are unfurnished and take them back in that condition.

However, the onus still lies on the property agent to advertise the premises as truthfully as possible, and inform the landlord as honestly as possible of the prospective tenants on the list.

Another agent said it is more common to encounter situations where landlords prefer tenants of a certain background for listings near the Central Business District (CBD).

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