Property agent discovers 12 tenants in HDB flat, calls police

A property agent recently evicted a group of tenants after discovering 12 of them living in a single HDB flat.  

In a video posted to TikTok on Thursday (Sept 5), the agent walks into the flat and asked the occupants: "How many people now here [sic]?" 

She then begins to count the number of occupants in the house as she inspects the rooms. She didn't reveal the location of the flat in the video. 

The agent also asked one of the tenants why one of the cupboards was broken, and questioned why the bed had been dismantled and kept away. 

Speaking to the tenants in the video, the agent said: "You all gotta go. If not I'll call the police. I'll give you one hour to pack your stuff and get out of the place." 

The agent eventually called the police on the tenants. 

At the time of writing, the video has garnered more than 1.6 million views. 

Some netizens felt that the agent was too harsh for giving them only an hour to pack up, while others opined that it was the right thing to do as they were occupying the unit illegally. 

"She has full right to clear everyone out immediately," wrote one commenter. 

Owners of larger flats can house up to 8 unrelated people

According to the Housing Development Board (HDB)'s guidelines, owners who rent out their homes are responsible for ensuring that tenants are authorised to stay in the flat, and the number of tenants does not exceed the maximum number allowed. 

They also need to ensure that tenants do not sublet the flat to others.

From Jan 22, 2024 to Dec 31, 2026, owners of four-room or larger flats and private homes of at least 90 sq m can house up to eight unrelated people who are not from the same family unit. 

This is up from the previous limit of six, said HDB and the Urban Redevelopment Authority last December.

This temporary measure was announced to cool the home leasing market and support households that intent to rent. 

"We will review the need to extend this temporary measure depending on the rental situation in end-2026," said National Development Minister Desmond Lee in a Facebook post then.

In July, HDB revealed that about 70 flats have been taken back by them due to lease infringements from 2019 to 2023, reported The Straits Times then.

These infringements include unauthorised rental, non-occupation during the flat's minimum occupation period (MOP), and acquiring an interest in private property during the MOP.

AsiaOne has contacted the agent above for more information. 

ALSO READ: Property agent discovers 11 tenants in overcrowded HDB flat, says they trying to 'share high rental cost'

claudiatan@asiaone.com