Category Archives: Rental / Lease

Leasing checklist for foreigners and bosses hiring them

Posted on 12 Mar 2010 | Comments Off on Leasing checklist for foreigners and bosses hiring them

WITH reference to yesterday’s report, ‘Agent targeted foreigners in rental scam‘, we would like to offer the following guide to employers recruiting foreign talent as well as individual foreigners who are leasing residential properties in Singapore.

  • Request for verification of property ownership such as the latest property tax statement or utilise the e-Valuation List service at the Internal Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) website to find out the name of the property owner for $2.50.
  • If the property is an HDB flat, request for a copy of the Housing Board’s approval letter to the landlord for subletting.
  • Avoid paying a security deposit and advance rent by cash or cash cheque. Make out the cheque payable directly to the landlord. If you have no cheque account, buy a cashier’s order with the appropriate payee’s name.
  • Whenever possible, make an appointment to meet the landlord to satisfy yourself that the prospective lease is in good faith.
  • When responding to Internet advertisements, ensure that the source of the advertisement is from a credible website or property portal. If in doubt, contact the agency of the estate agent who posts the advertisement online to ensure it is not a hoax.
  • Be aware of comparative rentals in the area where one is planning to lease a flat/ apartment and be wary of anyone who touts an incredibly low or attractive rental.
  • Be sure that tenancy agreements signed are stamped by Iras as it is an offence to evade stamp duty on tenancy agreements. Moreover, if the tenancy agreement is not stamped, it may not be admissible in a court of law in the event of a legal dispute.
  • Appoint an accredited estate agent or an agent from an accredited agency who has professional indemnity insurance.

    • Dr Tan Tee Khoon
    Chief Executive Officer
    Singapore Accredited Estate Agencies

    Source : Straits Times – 12 Mar 2010

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    Posted in Property Market / Real Estate, Rental / Lease

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    Agent targeted foreigners in rental scam

    Posted on 11 Mar 2010 | Comments Off on Agent targeted foreigners in rental scam

    A PART-TIME property agent duped eight foreigners in a rental scam and collected nearly $22,000 for herself and her accomplices.

    Razieya Mohamed Ali was jailed for 11 months by a district court yesterday.

    From November 2008 to February last year, the 34-year-old divorcee would post flats-for-rent advertisements on the Internet and invite foreigners working here to view the premises.

    To entice them to sign the tenancy agreement after they had seen the flats, she would offer very low rents. She knew that the flats were occupied and by the time her victims found out, she and her accomplices would be long gone.

    However, the police tracked her down.

    She initially denied the charges and on the first day of the trial on Nov 30, her friend turned up instead. She claimed that Razieya had been raped by her former husband and was in no condition to attend court proceedings.

    No police report or medical certificate was offered.

    Assistant Public Prosecutor Santhra Aiyyasamy said yesterday that Razieya did not attend any police interview to substantiate the accusation.

    Yesterday, the prosecutor asked for a deterrent sentence as Razieya had targeted foreigners, who were vulnerable to such scams.

    Two of her accomplices were dealt with last year. Axley Alexander Ryan Shah, 40, a serial offender, was sentenced to six years’ jail while Letchimi Kasinathan, 52, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years.

    A third accomplice, Arul Rajoo Michael Rajoo, 39, remains at large.

    The court heard that in January last year, he hatched a plan with Razieya and Ryan to offer his leased flat for rent to foreigners and to cheat them of the deposit and rental. Their victims included Chinese, Filipino, Indian and Myanmar nationals.

    Razieya also conspired with Letchimi, whose son stayed in a rented flat in Lengkok Bahru, near Jalan Bukit Merah. Without his knowledge, they offered it to Mr Jun Ojima, 43, a Japanese working here as a golf coach, for $1,000 a month on Jan 1 last year.

    He handed over a deposit of $1,000 but two days later, he complained that the rent was too high and the two women lowered it to $700 on the condition that he pay up six months in advance.

    Payment was made but before he could move in, Razieya cancelled the agreement.

    Source : Straits Times – 11 Mar 2010

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    Posted in CEA, Rental / Lease

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