People often try to save money by choosing less comfortable accommodation, but there’s always a minimum standard for living conditions or it will become unbearable.
A woman who came to Singapore for work was left shocked after discovering that the bed space she had rented in a Jurong West flat for RM1,473 (S$450) a month was in a unit illegally partitioned and crammed with at least 14 tenants.
Paid RM2,947 (S$900) before viewing the unit
According to Shin Min Daily News, the 41-year-old woman, surnamed Liu, said her sister arrived from China in mid-August to work at a beauty salon in Jurong West.
Under pressure to register an official residential address and start work quickly, she accepted a friend’s recommendation for the flat at Block 501 Jurong West Street 51.
She paid one month’s rent plus a one-month deposit — RM2,947 (S$900) in total — before viewing the place for herself.
Unit partitioned into 4 rooms with 14 tenants
When she moved in, the woman found the three-room HDB unit partitioned into four rooms.
Two rooms each housed six tenants, one was occupied by a couple, while the last had an unknown number of occupants.
Photos showed the flat’s interior in a grim state — narrow walkways between makeshift partitions, clothes and towels hanging across windows, dirty walls and floors, and piles of shoes and suitcases clogging the corridors.
One room contained three bunk beds, with towels used as makeshift curtains for privacy.
Liu added that her sister’s bed was in the master bedroom, but she wasn’t allowed to open the windows or use the attached bathroom.
Instead, she had to share one common toilet with all the other tenants.
The air was stagnant and smelled foul. The shared toilet was filthy, and she had to queue just to shower,” Liu said.
After barely 10 days, her sister could no longer tolerate the conditions. She left the flat, quit her job, and returned to China without even asking for her deposit back.
“I feel it’s important to expose this so others won’t fall for the same thing,” Liu told reporters.
Rental rule breach
Under Singapore’s current rules, a three-room HDB flat can only be rented to a maximum of six unrelated tenants. Additionally, subletting a unit without proper approval is also against HDB regulations.
However, the government temporarily relaxed rules for four-room or larger flats in 2024, allowing up to eight unrelated tenants
