Singapore Expats

I have a friend who is getting worried with an upcoming move.

The friend’s rented condo was purchased by a new owner who plans to renovate the condo and move in. The condo is 15+ years old and my friend rented for many years through covid, so there is obviously some wear and tear.

The agent of the former owner offered to send the former owner’s preferred handyman to help my friend make any minor repairs. The handyman instead took photos of a number of items and sent them to the agent. Instead of making repairs, the agent suggested to let the new owner make deductions from tbe security deposit. The supposed repairs are wear and tear related, like a light fixture that turns out to be broken and cannot be fixed by just replacing the bulb, or a rubber fixture in a glass sliding door that has hardened with age.

The former owner’s agent then suggested to my friend to just let the new owner deduct from the security deposit for cleaning curtains and the final aircon servicing. The agent said the new owner plans to replace the curtains that are going to be cleaned, though of course the contract requires curtain cleaning.

The former owner’s agent and handyman also repeatedly say the new owner is very difficult and hard to deal with.

This is all very strange, and my friend doesn’t know if these people are trying to help or if this is a scam.

Is what was described normal and friendly handover practice in Singapore?

basically, consider that the landlord is in a position to try to ask for repair and cleaning deductions for a unit that is about to be heavily renovated. she is pushing to have it cleaned for the renovation crew.

Strange, Looks a scam

To have the handover to be friendly and smooth, you need to have a reasonable and understandingly Landlord and the Tenant should be responsible enough not to term every single damage as wear and tear.

But then in usual handover, there are bound to have some disagreement on this. Just ensure that the repair fee is not inflated or Tenant can settle all repairs before the actual handover.

For tenants, always good to have the sign a takeover form to finalise on the items to be deducted before leaving. Leaving without any confirmation is always as good as landlord coming back with more items.

One thing that I found to be helpful is to take many pictures before moving in, before moving out, and after moving out. That way, there's no room for debate.