Owner says it's a misunderstanding, and will refund both parties their money
THEY could not have imagined a worse start to the new year.
They rented a flat and ended up homeless. They could also lose thousands of dollars in deposits.
Two groups of tenants, numbering 13 in all, discovered they had paid to rent the same HDB three-room flat.
One group comprises five students from China and the other, eight musicians from India.
Both groups turned up at a flat at Selegie Road on New Year's Eve, thinking they had rented the unit for the year.
To their dismay, they found out that they had rented the same unit. They even paid the deposit on the same day on 18 Dec last year.
Each group paid about $4,100 in total.
This includes the first month's rent of $1,900, a deposit of $1,900 and a utility fee of $300.
When contacted by The New Paper, the landlord, Ms Cecilia Chew, said it was all a misunderstanding and that she would refund the money to both groups.
The musicians from India found the flat gate padlocked, but got a locksmith to break it and moved in on New Year's Eve. (Top) They are still staying in the flat. -- Pictures: MOHD ISHAK
Private school student Su Hai Yang, 22, said he and his four friends from China paid about $800 each.
What's worse is that all of them were supposed to move in this week.
Said Mr Su, who is from Suzhou, in Mandarin: 'How can this happen? What are we supposed to do now? Where are we going to live now? We had already told our previous landlords that we are moving out.'
Mr Su, his friend Mr Ren Bin and their property agent Ms Cheryl Chow were at the Selegie flat on New Year's Eve afternoon to look for the landlord.
The agent, suspecting something was amiss after the landlord kept delaying the handover of keys, wanted to ask her for her clients' money back.
Instead, they found the Indian tenants trying to unlock the front gate.
The landlord had given the tenants from India a set of keys but had padlocked the gate.
Pub manager Selva Duray, 38, had rented the flat for the eight musicians from the same landlord.
Mt Duray, who had employed the musicians to perform at his pub, was equally shocked to see the China nationals.
His agent was not aware the flat had been rented out to another group.
Said Mr Duray: 'My employees were supposed to move in on 26 Dec but the landlord kept delaying it. She finally said we could move in on 31Dec. But we came here and this is what we got.'
He had to spend more money to put up his employees at a nearby hotel because of the delay.
Mr Duray later called a locksmith who managed to open the gate. They are moving in despite the confusion.
And while the two groups were discussing their predicament, MrDuray's agent tipped them off that Ms Chew was at a nearby hotel at Queen Street.
Mr Su, Mr Ren Bin, property agent Ms Chow and her siblings walked over and found Ms Chew sitting on a sofa in the lobby.
They claimed she seemed surprised to see them and tried to walk away.
Said Ms Chow: 'We asked her for our money back and she said she'd refund us another day because she didn't have any money on her. We didn't really trust her because after that she became quite aggressive and tried to punch me.'
The group followed Ms Chew when she left the hotel.
They walked around the Queen Street area for about half an hour and tailed Ms Chew to prevent her from leaving.
Ms Chow finally called the police who advised them to resolve their problems peacefully.
She said they would lodge a police report and a complaint with HDB.
Mr Duray said he will move his musicians out of the flat soon.
He said: 'I'll probably let them stay here for perhaps a month or two until I find alternative accommodation for them.'
Apart from these two groups, another tenant, Dr Tony Ijong Dachlan, 32, also claimed he is owed money by Ms Chew.
He said he paid about $3,400 to Ms Chew last September to rent her flat.
This amount included the first month's rent of $1,700 and another $1,700 deposit.
He said: 'I was supposed to move in in October but she said she had to do some minor renovations first. She also borrowed some $1,000 from me for the renovation.
'I lent it to her because I thought I could trust her since she's going to be my landlord.'
Dr Dachlan said he has tried unsuccessfully to get his money back from Ms Chew.
Claiming it was all a misunderstanding, Ms Chew, who is in her 50s, said she had sold the flat for $250,000 to a distant relative and the transfer would be completed by the end of this month.
'The five China students backed out of the deal themselves and I do owe them $4,100 which I am arranging to pay by Thursday,' she said.
TOO MANY PEOPLE?
As for Mr Duray's employees, MsChew said she was unable to rent the flat to them because there are too many tenants, which is not allowed by HDB.
A check on HDB's website shows that the maximum number of sub-tenants allowed in a three-room flat is six people.
She added: 'I am taking a loan from a friend to pay them (the Indian tenants) back by Thursday too.'
In Dr Dachlan's case, she claimed that he was not a tenant but a friend she owes money to.
Added Ms Chew: 'I will pay him back the money by this week. I am expecting some money from a relative soon.'
She said she was a victim of delayed payments and that she will use the sale proceeds from her flat to settle all her debts.
Lawyer Roy Yeo said that if the tenants do not get their money back, they could file a police report against the landlord for cheating.
'The other option is to sue the landlord for the money,' he said.
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CLARIFICATION
No news is good news (TNP, 29 Dec 2007): The Singapore family interviewed clarified that they did call their relatives in Pakistan earlier and remain deeply concerned about their well-being
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