Condo owner allegedly finds cat urine, broken furniture & odour-filled unit after tenants moved out
A financial consultant rented out his condominium unit to a pair of mother and son, only for them to terminate the lease prematurely and move out before the rental period was over.
When he returned to the condo, he allegedly discovered that they were kept cats in the unit, which now has a persisting odour and stains due to the cat urine.
They had also apparently damaged many of the furniture.
As a result, the owner had to fork out about S$10,000 for cleaning and repairs. He will need to spend even more to buy new furniture.
Mother & son rented unit in Kallang as the latter goes to school there
According to Shin Min Daily News, the landlord, Mr Xu (transliterated from Chinese), rented out a three-room unit — located at RiverBay condominium in Kallang — to the mother and son for S$5,000 per month back in Oct 2022.
Per Mr Xu’s understanding, the two of them have a house in Punggol.
The mother had decided to rent a place in Kallang as her son goes to a school nearby and it will be more convenient for them to live nearby.
Condo owner finds broken cabinets, cat urine stains & foul odour after repossessing it
In May 2023, about seven months into their stay, the pair abruptly decided to move out of the condo.
When Mr Xu came to repossess the unit, he discovered that the house was in an appalling condition.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
Not only did the occupants leave behind broken cabinet doors in the house, but they seemed to have kept a cat in the unit, and the resulting odour was not dissipating, Mr Xu claimed.
Making matters worse, there were scratches on the sofa and chairs, as well as cat urine stains on the floor and stove, among other places.
“I’ve already contacted two renovation firms, and the estimates from both companies are about the same. The maintenance and cleaning costs alone are S$10,000, and this does not include the costs of purchasing new furniture.”
Source: Shin Min Daily News
Mr Xu added that he had only lived in this unit for about half a year before renting it out.
Owner said the state of the house has turned off potential tenants
The owner decided to share his story so other landlords could learn from his experience.
Mr Xu shared that he has not been able to contact the tenant even after many tries.
Although they paid a two-month deposit when they moved in, it was still not enough to cover the repair and cleaning fees.
When he got a cleaning company to assess the damages, they told him that the odour was hard to remove. All they could do was try repainting the house to see if it is able to cover up the smell.
He disclosed that he had potential tenants come to view the house, but they left without enquiring about the price.
Also Read: ‘How can people live in this kind of condition?’: Tenants leave West Coast condo unit in a mess
‘How can people live in this kind of condition?’: Tenants leave West Coast condo unit in a mess
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps and Shin Min Daily News.
