Renting out an HDB unit is a common phenomenon in Singapore, but there are rules that homeowners have to follow.
Things get sticky, though, when homeowners aren’t in the country, as tenants may try to bend those rules.
This seemed to be the case at one rental flat, where a property agent found 11 tenants residing.
Source: @inasultan on TikTok
The agent, who handled the situation calmly, shared her experience in three TikTok videos.
Her command of Mandarin and empathy towards the tenants throughout the ordeal impressed viewers, most of whom commended her professionalism.
On Saturday (11 Feb), property agent Ina Sultan shared her experience of dealing with a case of overcrowding on TikTok.
According to the onscreen text, there were 11 people residing in one HDB flat, despite the maximum number of allowable tenants being six.
As the unit is her client’s, Ms Ina had to persuade the extra tenants to move out immediately.
The tenants appeared to be in a desperate spot, as they allegedly asked her whether they could temporarily “remove” the other tenants when HDB checks on the unit.
Ms Ina also shared that the tenants had sublet the unit to more people to offset the high rent.
As much as she wanted to help, she emphasised that everyone has to abide by HDB’s rules.
In the video, Ms Ina can be heard negotiating with the tenants in Mandarin.
At one point, she urges them to move the extra tenants out by Monday as HDB is already aware.
While such an exchange is probably typical in her line of work, the fact that Ms Ina expressed herself almost entirely in Mandarin impressed viewers.
Source: TikTok
Her command of the language even earned her respect online.
Source: TikTok
Speaking to MS News, Ms Ina, who is Indian, said that since her parents are hawkers, she spent a lot of time growing up at hawker centres, surrounded by hawker uncles and aunties who could only speak Mandarin.
She learnt to greet them with ‘good morning’ in the language and eventually picked up more words along the way.
In a follow-up video on Sunday (12 Feb), Ms Ina returned to the HDB unit to check whether the extra tenants had moved out yet.
She decided to shed more light on the situation on the way there.
It apparently started when HDB received reports of overcrowding and contacted her to help, as the flat owner is overseas and the individual appointed with Power of Attorney is away.
Ms Ina then visited the unit on Saturday (11 Feb) to ask the tenants to move out, but they asked for more time instead.
As such, she was now paying another visit to check whether the tenants had kept their word.
Despite having done this “dozens of times”, she admitted that she still gets nervous dealing with such matters.
In the past, these situations have allegedly escalated in many ways, ranging from teary meltdowns to big fights. Therefore, Ms Ina would occasionally bring her son and husband along as her ‘bodyguards’, after assessing the possible risks.
While she empathises with the tenants’ struggles, Ms Ina tries to find ways to compromise, like giving them more time to find a new place to stay.
For cases like this, she can only hope that they can settle the issue amicably, especially since it was worrying for her client.
In the worst-case scenario, HDB may repossess the unit.
Although Ms Ina is unable to share much information to protect her client’s privacy, a third video posted yesterday (13 Feb) showed the tenants having cleared out the unit by the time she got there.
Source: @inasultan on TikTok
The unit appeared rather empty, as all their belongings, ranging from furniture to various homeware were strewn across the floor outside and even at the void deck.
Cleaners were seen gathering around the items, perhaps ready to help discard them properly or possibly move them if need be.
Ms Ina told MS News that her intention in documenting her experience on camera is to alert the public to problems like this. She said,
My intention to do that video is to create awareness so people take more care when renting their house and to know [that] such a law exists.
She thus hopes that through her sharing, she can empower people to make good decisions about their homes. As a property agent, she sees it as her “duty to share to serve the community”.
Beyond awareness, Ms Ina has also shared precious insights into the challenges faced in her line of work.
We thus tip our hats off to her and other property agents like her for being patient and professional at their jobs.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from @inasultan on TikTok and TikTok.
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