With high rental prices, it's little wonder that some 'creative' tenants are finding ways to cut costs. 

But squeezing 11 people into one HDB flat?

In a series of TikTok videos uploaded on Monday (Feb 13), property agent Ina Sultan shared her experience, documenting how she had to ask these tenants to leave before they got the homeowner in trouble with the law. 

According to the 44-year-old, as the homeowner was overseas, she had to help them settle the overcrowding issue. 

"HDB has already found out that there are 11 people staying in the house," she said.

To prevent overcrowding, the number of tenants one can have in their flat is limited by the flat type. The occupancy cap for 3-room and larger HDB flats is limited to six tenants at one time.

In her TikTok videos, Ina said she went down to the unit on Sunday (Feb 12) to ask them to leave the premises. 

However, the tenants, she added, were not wiling to vacate the unit.

"The tenants pleaded, and they said they cannot leave immediately, so they asked us to come back today (Feb 13)," Ina shared. 

Tenants allegedly tried to bribe agent

In one of the TikTok videos, Ina was seen speaking to the tenants in Mandarin and trying to explain to them why they had to vacate the HDB unit.

After about an hour of discussion, the tenants told her that they had so many people residing in one unit so as to "share the high rental cost". 

They also asked Ina if the 'extra' tenants could move out first while HDB was checking the unit. The tenants allegedly even tried to bribe her, which she refused. 

In a separate TikTok video, she showed how the tenants had dumped their furniture and belongings outside the unit and at the void deck of the HDB block while vacating the premises. 

This resulted in another issue — a potential fire hazard. 

Ina said that if the tenants still refuse to leave, the owners of that unit may get into trouble with the public housing authority. And in the worst-case scenario, the flat may even get repossessed by the HDB. 

But while it is frustrating on her end, she said she also sympathises with the tenants. 

"In Singapore, rental is crazy now. We do understand they don't have a choice," she added.  

"They have to [move] more people [in] because they have to share [the costs]. Their salary is not high."

Thankfully, the tenants finally managed to find a new place to stay in, Ina told a netizen in the comments section of one of her TikTok videos. 

Some tenants start crying and begging 

Ina revealed that while this isn't her first time asking tenants to vacate a HDB unit, she still finds the task of "evicting" them difficult. 

In fact, housing 11 tenants in one unit is no big deal to her — she said she had discovered more than 40 people in one unit before. 

"As much as I have done this so many times, dozens of times, but still, every time I have to go, the stomachache and nervousness are still there," she confessed. 

Speaking to AsiaOne, Ina said she encounters similar overcrowding cases around twice a year. 

Thankfully, as of now, none of her clients have gotten into serious trouble for illegally subletting their units as she has taken swift and immediate action. 

But the process of asking tenants to leave has been taxing, she said. For instance, some tenants even start crying and begging her. 

And in more serious cases, she said, they get physically and verbally aggressive. 

"Some gave death threats, some kicked the plants and made a ruckus outside the house and neighbours got scared," she recounted. 

To protect herself, she said she has to bring her family with her when speaking to these tenants. 

Her son helps to take photos and record such incidents on video, while her husband acts as her driver, bouncer and bodyguard. 

"It's a whole family event," she said. 

ALSO READ: Subletting HDB flats? These 5 assumptions could land you in trouble

melissateo@asiaone.com

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