Earlier this year, an owner paid a visit to her rented-out flat near Mountbatten Road and was shocked to find 10 people living in it.
Her flat had allegedly been sublet by her tenant, with the subtenants seemingly unaware of this.
HDB blocks in Jalan Batu. Source: Google Maps
The owner, named only as 60-year-old Ms Luo (transliterated from Mandarin), told Shin Min Daily News that she rented out her two-room flat in Jalan Batu in February.
The tenants were two people claiming to be students from Sri Lanka, whom she met via an agency.
They said four people would be living there, and readily signed a one-year lease, paying one month’s rent and one month’s deposit.
She then passed them the keys and went overseas, leaving the rest of the details to the agency.
When Ms Luo returned to Singapore, she found out that her tenants had failed to register their personal information with the authorities.
They repeatedly declined when asked to do so.
About a month later, Ms Luo was having dinner with friends nearby and decided to stop by the flat to check.
She was greeted by a shocking scene: Three people she had never seen before walking out of the unit.
After she identified herself as the owner, she was let into the flat.
As soon as Ms Luo stepped in she was immediately shocked, she said, as the flat’s interior had changed beyond recognition.
The furniture that used to be in the living room had been thrown out, she added.
How the flat looked before it was rented out.Source: Shin Min Daily News
The set of old furniture, including a sofa left behind by her mother, had been in the family for at least 60 years since she was born and held sentimental value, Ms Luo lamented.
In its place were three single-sized mattresses on the living room floor.
More surprises were in store.
In the flat’s only bedroom, Ms Luo saw two bunk beds where a total of four people could sleep in.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
In addition, a corner of the kitchen had been partitioned by a wardrobe.
A queen-sized mattress was on the floor of that small space, with women’s underwear hanging nearby.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
When Ms Luo questioned the residents of the unit, they appeared to be none the wiser.
They seemed anxious and tried to explain, not knowing that they had been sublet their room and thinking that they were legitimate tenants.
She believed that they were students too as they were about the same age as her tenants.
One of them even told her that he was still waiting for a notification from the school.
Shocked and angry, Ms Luo took a video and told the people in her flat to move out immediately.
She was thankful that they were cooperative, after accepting reality.
The next morning, she found that all of them had indeed moved out and taken their belongings with them, leaving behind only the mattresses.
Although Ms Luo has since found another tenant in June, she still felt unhappy over the matter.
Thus, she decided to relate her story to Shin Min as a warning to other homeowners that their tenants might illegally sublet their flats.
According to HDB regulations, one-room and two-room flats are allowed only a maximum of four tenants. Individual bedrooms cannot be rented out.
Besides bedrooms originally constructed by HDB, all other parts of the flat, including partitioned rooms, cannot be used as bedrooms for tenants.
Also read: Woman confronts 12 people allegedly living in S’pore HDB flat, demands they leave in viral video
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News.
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