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Tenant abruptly vanishes, leaves condo unit dirty & unlocked, owes S'porean landlady S$3,800 in rent
Vanished.
A Singaporean landlady was left frustrated when her tenant abruptly vanished and blocked communications, leaving S$3,800 in unpaid rent.
To make matters worse, the tenant left the condominium unit in a state of disrepair and was supposedly cohabiting with her boyfriend, even though the tenancy agreement was only for one person.
Renting out
The landlady, who only wanted to be known as K, had let out the condo unit from September 2024 through an ERA property agent.
The tenant, a foreigner surnamed Zhu, had renewed her lease in August 2025 for another year, until September 2026.
Zhu was introduced to the landlady by the property agent.
K described her as a then-20-year-old studying at a private education institute in Singapore.
"[She] first appeared polite and soft spoken," K added.
Out of "goodwill", K agreed to a lower rental rate for a single-occupancy contract.
Things were fine for a while, until Zhu began to fall behind on rent.
There were multiple attempts to contact Zhu, from both K and the property agent, but in vain.
Rent was three weeks overdue, totalling about S$3,800, before Zhu eventually responded.
To K's surprise, she said she had left Singapore and had returned to China for "health reasons", and it was apparently a permanent move.
She then proceeded to block communications with both K and the property agent.
State of the condo
When K turned up to inspect the condo, what she saw left her aghast.
Zhu had apparently left the door to the unit unlocked, with the digital lock batteries removed and lightbulbs missing.
The power and water had been cut off, and the apartment was left in a dirty and unkempt state.
K shared some pictures of the condo's interior after some cleaning had been done.
Allegedly cohabited with boyfriend
But Zhu's sudden disappearance and abandonment of the condo was not the end of it.
To K's surprise, the condo management office informed her that Zhu had apparently been cohabiting with another person, even though the tenancy agreement was for just one.
This person was allegedly Zhu's boyfriend, a foreign national surnamed Lee, who was undergoing National Service in Singapore.
According to K, this individual had been regularly entering the condo and accessing the unit, and had asked for an access card and facial recognition.
In the process, the condo management obtained his details and personal information.
His mail was also delivered to the condo unit.
Seeking to recover losses
There was yet another twist in the tale, as K discovered Zhu had not left Singapore for China at all.
Instead, according to the management office, she had supposedly moved to another unit within the same condo, but K apparently did not manage to find her.
K expressed frustration with the whole situation, as it was just not about the financial loss, but also the "lack of integrity" from such tenants.
She is just seeking the unpaid rent and some money for the cleaning and repairs to the condo unit, even though the tenancy agreement entitles her to claiming the full remaining lease as a penalty for an early breach.
"I only asked for the minimal amount needed to cover losses," she said.
K made a police report, but was advised to go through the Small Claims Tribunals or file a civil lawsuit instead.
Despite clear evidence of a breach of contract, it was not enough for a criminal case, a state of affairs she described as "alarming".
K added:
