Horror tenant claims latest victim in Bedok with $60k unpaid rent
Agents and landlords, remember the name: Shen Tianbao (沈添宝 in Chinese). This tenant hit the headlines recently for attacking his landlord whom he owes over $60,000 in unpaid rent while refusing to move out, triggering a Police response and media coverage.
The unit that Shen had “rented” is a three-bedroom, 2,450 square feet unit at Bedok Court, where he reportedly lives with his wife and daughter. According to the landlord Mr. He, a 60-year old businessman, Shen has not paid a single cent aside from one month’s rent before moving in.
Speaking to Lianhe Wanbao, landlord He said Shen signed a one-year tenancy agreement for the unit in July 2019. (99.co verified that the rent was $4,000 a month.) After paying a month’s rent at the start, Shen started making excuses after moving in with this family.
The landlord recounted in Mandarin that Shen’s excuses include being unable to transfer the money from his overseas accounts, and that tens of millions of dollars have been confiscated by the monetary authority.
Shen even told the landlord he intended to buy the property, while refusing to move out nor pay a single cent. According to He, Shen now owes 15 months in rent totalling $60,000.
Landlord’s attempt to repossess unit turns ugly
Even though the original tenancy agreement had already expired, Shen refused to move out. This finally prompted He to forcefully repossess the unit with the help of his cousin and an electric saw to open the front gate of the unit.
He told Wanbao that they had only managed to saw through a few bars of the gate before Shen took a water hose to drench He and his cousin. After kicking He’s cousin, Shen called the Police to report they were being harrassed.
When the Wanbao reporter showed up, the Police were speaking to He at the void deck of the block. Shen refused to speak to the reporter.
The Police confirmed with the paper that they received a call for assistance at 295 Bedok South Ave 3 on Oct. 27, at 9:36am. Investigations into a case of voluntarily causing hurt and intentional harassment are ongoing.
[Must-read article: How to evict a troublesome tenant in Singapore]
93-year-old lady fell prey to Shen Tianbao
Landlord He wasn’t Shen Tianbao’s first victim. In 2017, Sin Min News Daily reported that Shen had pulled the same scam on a landed property at East Coast’s Second Street. The victim was 93-year-old landlord Mdm. Pan, who told the paper that Shen moved into the terrace house with his family without paying a cent.
Shen lived in the terrace house from September 2014 to August 2015, owing Pan more than $39,000 in rent.
Pan recounted how her son had tried to collect rent from Shen during the first month. Shen accused Pan’s son of not informing him in advance and refused to pay, despite Pan saying that her son had indeed given advance notice.
On the next attempt, Shen said he was renovating the home and will only pay rent after the works are done. A few weeks later, Shen turned the tables on the landlord, attempting to slap Pan’s son with a $5,000 bill for renovation costs, with claims such as air-con maintenance work.
That was when Pan’s son decided to engage a lawyer. When Shen learned of it, he vacated the premises overnight without the landlord’s knowledge.
Subsequently, Shen set his sights on a semi-detached house along upper East Coast Road. The victim, a 60-year-old self-employed Mr. Seow, told the paper that Shen failed to pay the $5,800 in monthly rent, while accusing the landlord of issues such as water leakage and rat infestation, to the extent of alerting officers from the National Environment Agency (NEA) to investigate the property.
Eventually, Seow incurred more than $70,000 in costs, including legal fees, before Shen moved out. Despite a court order against Shen to compensate Seow with $23,000, it’s understood that Seow never received the money.
In total, Shen reportedly has had at least seven lawsuits filed against him for rental arrears, and has been ordered to pay up to $160,000 in compensation so far.
[Must-read article: The unexpected perks of hiring a property agent]
Unpaid rent? Landlord has right to re-enter property: Lawyers
If a tenant misses his or her rent, landlords should not wait long to take legal action. One reason is that claims of up to $20,000 can be heard at the Small Claims Tribunal (SCT) without the other party’s consent. The SCT allows landlords to pursue legal action at significantly lower cost. Other conditions, such as a maximum contract term of two years, applies for SCT claims.
“If your claim does not meet the criteria to be heard at the SCT, you can speak to lawyers to commence a Writ of Summons or a Writ of Distress,” said Raina Chugani of INC Law LLC.
After 7 days of failure to pay rent, the landlord should send the tenant a notice of demand in writing. This can be done without engaging a lawyer. The landlord must include his/her name and address in the notice and serve it on the tenant at the rented-out property. The landlord should use registered mail to prevent the tenant from claiming that the notice had not been received.
Among other things, the notice of demand shall also state that the landlord “reserves the right to take legal action”. To prevent the landlord from seeking a court order, the tenant must pay the owed rent using registered mail to the landlord’s address within a deadline, which can be anywhere between seven days to two weeks.
According to lawyers at IRA Law LLP, a landlord is entitled to apply to the court for an order or judgment for the recovery of the property when the tenant has failed to pay rent that was due for 21 days or more, or is in serious breach of any terms in the tenancy agreement (e.g. subletting the unit).
After the landlord has received an order or judgment for recovery of the property, the landlord can use it to recover his possession of the property.
If a ‘right to forfeit’ the lease isn’t already included in the tenancy agreement, it is regarded that the lease is forfeited after rent is due and unpaid for 30 days. The lease is terminated when the landlord re-enters the property, which he/she has the absolute right to. (In case the errant tenant claims harrassment, it may be worth having your lawyer at the scene of repossession and/or recording the proceedings on video.)
All in all, landlords should not allow tenants to continue staying at the rented property for more than a month after the rent is due and unpaid. The rent arrears can be deducted from the tenant’s security deposit.
Another tip: Don’t skip the property agent, who can help you guard against horror tenants with their network and experience in tenant screening.
Last but certainly not least, agents, landlords and children of landlords must remember the name Shen Tianbao, and make sure no one you ever know will fall prey to him.
Based on his past scams, Shen prefers to live in the East Coast and always goes for homes with large square footage, whether it’s landed properties or condos. He also tends to prey on older landlords, and is believed to hold a Chinese passport.
How will you guard against horror tenants like Shen Tianbao? Let us know in the comments below!
If you found this article helpful, 99.co recommends Common problems when co-existing with your tenant/landlord (and how to fix them) and Landlord Tips: 7 Ways to Minimise Vacancy for Residential Rental Property
Looking for a property? Find your dream home on Singapore’s most intelligent property portal 99.co!
https://www.99.co/blog/singapore/unpaid-rent-horror-tenant-landlord-bedok/#:~:text=Agents%20and%20landlords%2C%20remember%20the,Police%20response%20and%20media%20coverage.
Comments