Here I go again (lease question)

[Beesknees]

I've now received a draft lease and I suppose just want to check any possible issues that people have encountered. There are a couple about reasonable access rights and I suppose that is dependent upon what the landlords believes is reasonable.

(k) To permit the Landlord and the Landlord’s agents, surveyors or workmen at reasonable times and by prior appointment with the Tenant to enter the said premises for the purpose either of viewing the condition thereof or of doing such works and things as may be reasonably required for any repairs alterations or improvements either of the said premises or any parts of any building in which the said premises may be comprised or adjoined.

(l) To permit upon reasonable notice and by prior appointment at any reasonable time during the said tenancy prospective purchasers of or agents instructed in connection with the sale of the Landlord’s reversion or of any other interest superior to the said tenancy to view the said premises without interruption provided they are authorised by the Landlord or its agent. The sale of the said premises shall be subjected to tenancy.

Our landlord's name is T Hoon.

Are these standard leases and what does "the sale of the said premises shall be subjected to tenancy" mean?

Thanks

[Scrummy Mummy]

Those two sound familiar. It means if the premises are sold you keep your tenancy (same terms) but you gain a new landlord.

[Scrummy Mummy]

Those two sound familiar. It means if the premises are sold you keep your tenancy (same terms) but you gain a new landlord.

[Lili Von Shtupp]

Those two sound familiar.

[Lichtgestalt]

Standard clauses but we always added a notice period of 48 hours so they dont call and are at your doorstep 5 minutes later

[Beesknees]

How do we get round the diplomatic clause which states that we can only get out of the tenancy if Mr B's job ceases and we have to leave Singapore?
I mean what if conditions at the flat become unbearable (ie construction noise/bad neighbours etc etc etc). No-one wants to move after one year but what if conditions mean you really have to move flats? Has anyone changed the lease to reflect that? ( Mr B's employers would never write a non-truthful letter )

[BoD]

I have heard that some people get construction clauses added to their tenancy agreements, but this is a small island with a lot of construction and bad neighbours exist the world over. As a landlord, if a prospective tenant asked for conatuctiom/'bad neighbour' clauses I would be very tempted to tell them where to go.

[Beesknees]

You misunderstand. I'm not asking for that type of clause. I'm just concerned about locking myself into a 2 year's lease with only a get out clause in the case of being transferred out of Singapore.

This is Singapore FFS why do they need 2 months notice? I've rented out my own property in a very small city (<300000 pop) and given a 6 month lease when appropriate.

If Mr B's contract ended I very much doubt we would get 2 month's notice. He could get/give a week's notice. What do people do to cover themselves in these cases?

Thanks.

[BoD]

Surely he would get at least a months notice.

As for what you do.. Not a lot. The landlord takes a risk by granting you the diplomatic option and you take the risk of having to pay for it if you exercise it.

In the past when company leases were more common, the cost would have been borne by the company. One of the problems with having a personal lease is that it could cost you when you leave.

[BoD]

If rents rise in the next 2 years then the landlord might well be amenable to letting you exit the lease early.

[Beesknees]

Surely he would get at least a months notice.

As for what you do.. Not a lot. The landlord takes a risk by granting you the diplomatic option and you take the risk of having to pay for it if you exercise it.

In the past when company leases were more common, the cost would have been borne by the company. One of the problems with having a personal lease is that it could cost you when you leave.

In all reality he probably would get a month's notice (but not guaranteed, he is a consultant/contractor and his contract really does say something like a week). There's no way he would get 2 month's notice, which is what we are talking about.

What kind of "risk" is the landlord taking??? Two month's is hardly a risk ffs.

[BoD]

If you exercise the diplomatic clause the landlord will have to find a new tenant. This will cost him 1 month in agents fees for a new 2 year lease, rents might have fallen since you signed your lease so he will be out of pocket for the remaining months.

[Beesknees]

BOD you seem very pro-landlords - can I assume you are one yourself ?

[Lichtgestalt]

BOD you seem very pro-landlords - can I assume you are one yourself ?

Beesknees, you are right, BOD is one of those bloodsucking landlords and rumours are that he is in bed (ahem) with an agent as well. So be careful

[BoD]

In Singapore, I have been a tenant, a tenant and landlord and now just a landlord, so have seen it from both sides. I am not particularly pro landlord or tenant as long as both behave reasonably

If you sign a tenancy agreement for 2 years, then you should do so with the expectation that you pay rent for 2 years. Sure as foreigners here, there are always uncertainties - hence the diplomatic clause, but if you really don't expect to be here 2 years you should not to be signing a contract for 2 years. This is why rent for 2 year contracts tend to be lower that 1 year. The landlord - like any business - wants certainty of cashflow and is willing to pay for the certaintly

If the landlord was to come to you in a years time asking you to move out (ie breaking his side of the contract) you would doubtless be posting here about unreasonable behaviour (true) and demanding compensation for things like the inconvenience of having to find a new flat, the cost of moving and to cover any increase in rents over the year. You would in my view be quite reasonably entitled to this

Given your situation, I would be rather more concerned about what happens if you need to break the lease in the first year (ie when you are commited to paying rent for 14mths) than I would be about the cost of exercising the diplomatic clause after a year

[Beesknees]

If you sign a tenancy agreement for 2 years, then you should do so with the expectation that you pay rent for 2 years. Sure as foreigners here, there are always uncertainties - hence the diplomatic clause, but if you really don't expect to be here 2 years you should not to be signing a contract for 2 years. This is why rent for 2 year contracts tend to be lower that 1 year. The landlord - like any business - wants certainty of cashflow and is willing to pay for the certaintly

If the landlord was to come to you in a years time asking you to move out (ie breaking his side of the contract) you would doubtless be posting here about unreasonable behaviour (true) and demanding compensation for things like the inconvenience of having to find a new flat, the cost of moving and to cover any increase in rents over the year. You would in my view be quite reasonably entitled to this

Given your situation, I would be rather more concerned about what happens if you need to break the lease in the first year (ie when you are commited to paying rent for 14mths) than I would be about the cost of exercising the diplomatic clause after a year

1) We are (probably) signing a 2 year lease because I'm told that's all we'll get. We already asked for a one year contract and that was denied. Also Mr B's job is more or less guaranteed for 12 months.

2) Everywhere else I have lived there has been a contract saying the landlord can give me 2 months notice to quit - and I have signed that. If that is not in the lease then of course I would be upset if he asked me to quit.

Sounds from what you say that BTL is not doing too well in Singapore. Shame that The bubble inflating again perhaps?

[BoD]

Rental yields here are low. You may think that rents are high, but relative to prices they are not. BTL here is really a capital appreciation play.

As for 1 year leases. Landlords don't like them much in an uncertain market, but they certainly do exist. My current tenant has one. I didnt like it much 10mths ago, but the market was pretty dire. As it turns out, it will probably work out a little bit in my favour.

[Scrummy Mummy]

Unfortunately that's the way it is here, Toto.

We have a rental contract for 18 months but we can give 6 months notice at any time. I negotiated it this way as I have to give 6 months notice to leave my job. Landlord was amenable as we've been in the property for 6 years already so they know us, but with a new lamdlord it's more difficult.

[Beesknees]

Is this a standard clause in a lease ie that the landlord can increase the rent after a year although we have the lease for 2 years?

(e) The Landlord shall, at the written request of the Tenant made not less than one (1) calendar months before the expiration of the Term and if at the time of such request there are no existing breaches or non-observances of any of the covenants and conditions in this Agreement on the part of the Tenant, grant to the Tenant a tenancy of the Premises for a further term of twelve (12) months from the expiry of the Term based on the same covenants and conditions in this Agreement subject to the right of the Landlord to review the rental payable to a scale equivalent to the market value and except for this present covenant for renewal.

[BoD]

No, the rent is fixed for the 2yrs. The clause you mention (e) is an option to extend after 2 years, at a to be negotiated rent. In reality it's pretty meaningless as if the landlord wants you out for any reason after 2 yrs, he can just put the rent up to a level that you think is unreasonable. You could of course argue that it wasn't 'market rent' but given you are unlikely to take legal action, there isn't a lot you can do

[Fat Bob]

As Bod says, it's a pretty useless clause, and god knows why it's in. Just renegotiate after the initial lease is up, surely that's the way to do it?

[Beesknees]

Thank you both. Wish they'd write stuff so people would understand it.