What If You Tenant Doesn’t Pay Rent?

The most common breach of tenancy agreements is the late or non-payment of rent.

The tenancy agreement normally allows the Landlord to re-enter the premises and terminate the tenancy upon non-payment for a stipulated number of months/days. The agreement also typically allows the Landlord to forfeit the deposit.

In addition to the above, the Landlord may sue the tenant in the civil courts of Singapore to claim his or her dues. This typically takes three forms:

  • Writ of Seizure and Sale and/or Writ of Possession
  • Writ of Distress
  • Writ of Summons

Writ of Seizure and Sale and/or Writ of Possession

A Writ of Seizure and Sale is appropriate if you want to recover only rental arrears but are happy to let the tenant continue to rent out your property.

After a successful application is made, the Court-appointed Bailiff will go to the premises, seize items of value and sell the items at an auction. The proceeds from the auction can then be used to pay you the arrears. However, there are many cases where the items seized are not worth enough to satisfy your claim for arrears.

Often, your lawyer would advise you to apply for a Writ of Seizure and Sale together with a Writ of Possession to allow you to recover unpaid rent as well as recover vacant possession of your property. This is the most appropriate option if you have already decided to terminate the lease or if the tenant refuses to leave your property. The Court-appointed Bailiff will go to the premises and ensure that the tenant leaves the premises. The tenant has a 4-week period within which he or she can pay all outstanding sums to avoid eviction.

At this stage, we need to warn you. Although it seems you could just change the locks and forcibly recover possession of your property, this could open you up to civil proceedings for false imprisonment (if you locked the premises while somebody was in the premises) or for damage to your tenant’s property. Approach Lions Chambers LLC – we are skilled and experienced in recovering rental arrears and possession for landlords who face problematic tenants. Very often, our solutions do not require you to go to Court at all.

Another point to keep in mind is that if the tenant continues to refuse to leave the premises even after termination of the tenancy agreement, he is considered to be ‘holding over’, which means the law allows for the Landlord to claim double the rental rate.

Writ of Distress

A writ of distress is an ex parte application. This means the tenant is not informed of the legal proceedings against him. A successful application allows the Landlord to recover rental arrears for the 12 months preceding the application only and does allow the Landlord to claim for charges like service fees or licence fees. A Court-appointed Bailiff goes to the premises and seizes items of value. If the tenant does not pay the outstanding rent and associated fees within five days, the Bailiff will sell the items at an auction. The proceeds will then be used to pay the Landlord after costs and expenses for the Bailiff have been satisfied.

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Writ of Summons

The problem with the Writ of Distress is that only outstanding rental for the 12 months immediately preceding the application may be claimed. The Writ of Summons, however, does not have this ‘weakness’. You may claim for arrears well before the 12 month period and may claim for charges like service fees and licence fees, if necessary.

For the Writ Seizure and Sale and the Writ of Possession, it is necessary for the Landlord to first obtain a court’s judgment in his or her favour, ordering the tenant to pay the unpaid rent or deliver vacant possession to the Landlord. This judgment commenced with a Writ of Summons.

The process starts with a letter of demand sent to the tenant by your lawyer. If the tenant fails to respond satisfactorily and pay you, then your lawyer will assist you in drafting and filing a Writ of Summons, which must be served personally on the tenant in person or at the tenant’s registered address if it is a corporate entity. If personal service is not feasible, substituted service may be performed by posting at the last known address or via advertisement.

After eight days of service, the tenant has to enter appearance. If he does not, judgment in default of appearance may be granted to the Landlord. If he does, he has a further 14 days to file a Defence.

After the Defence is filed and it contains no merit, the Landlord may choose to apply for summary judgment in his favour. If no Defence is filed, the Landlord may apply for a judgment in default of Defence.

After judgment is obtained in the Landlord’s favour, the Landlord may apply for a Writ of Seizure and sale and/or a Writ of Possession. In some cases, the Landlord has to apply for leave (or permission) of the Court to file such additional writs.

Need Advice ?

Speak to a Lawyer Now

At Lions Chambers LLC, we pride ourselves on being responsive. We understand that some problems need immediate attention, let us assist you.

In deciding which solutions to employ to deal with a non-paying tenant, you would have to consider the following factors carefully: the amount of security deposit and whether it may be set off against sums owed, amount of outstanding rental, balance period of lease left, costs of litigation, circumstances of the tenant, etc. Please approach Lions Chambers LLC to give you a fuller appreciation of these and other matters relating to your property.

How can we help you

Successfully dealing with Tenancy Disputes in Singapore may be too technical for you to fully understand alone. We understand that going through such an event in your life is difficult. Worry not, at Lions Chambers LLC, and we have experienced lawyers who are well versed with Singapore’s Tenancy Laws. We will be able to guide you through the process and explain to you each and every stage the matter.

Lions Chambers LLC is an established law firm in Singapore. Our team of lawyers specialise in various areas of law and will be able to assist you. Our consultations are free. Please call +65 8777 3677 or click here to WhatsApp us today.