When Can You Evict Your Tenant in Singapore?

The relationship between landlords and tenants are typically governed by the written tenancy agreement between them. This agreement will dictate when you can evict your tenant.

Normally, other than waiting for the expiry of the term or tenure of the tenancy, you may evict a tenant for significant breaches of the tenancy agreement. Examples of such breaches include:

• Failure to pay rent or consistently paying rent late;
• Subletting the premises without your approval or knowledge;
• Wilfully causing damage to the rented property; and
• Engaging in illegal activities in the premises.

The Normal Eviction Process in Singapore

There are usually four steps you need to undertake to evict your tenants in Singapore:

Send the tenant a written notice of termination of the tenancy

This written notice should:

• Identify exactly which terms and conditions of the tenancy agreement the tenant has breached;
• Confirm whether the breach is capable of remedy, and if so, how long the tenant will be given to remedy it;
• Give notice to the tenant of the number of days before which the tenancy agreement shall be considered terminated; and
• State that the tenant must vacate the property by the end of the notice period. However, do note that the tenancy agreement must have afforded you the right to re-enter the premises in your specific situation.

If you doubt whether the breach/es allows you to terminate the tenancy agreement and whether you are permitted to re-enter the premises, contact us for some quick and ready advice.

In many cases, the tenant leaves without much of a fuss and either pays up and/or remedies the breaches/damage he has caused.

However, some tenants refuse to comply with your demands. That is when you may have to move on to the next step.

Commence litigation and obtain a favourable judgment

You will need to commence civil litigation in the Courts and obtain a judgment favourable to you, which in essence orders the tenant to pay you a certain sum of money for rental arrears and/or damages.

Depending on the breach/es in question and how much your claim is for, you may have to file your claim in either the Small Claims Tribunal ($20,000 and below), Magistrate’s Court ($60,000 and below), District Court ($250,000 and below) or the High Court (above $250,000).

The lawyers at Lions Chambers LLC can guide you and represent you throughout such litigation proceedings in Court.