Blog 2: Lording Landlords
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Your research question |
“Why do Singaporean landlords
feel entitled to behave unreasonably?”
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Summary of Source 1 (200 words) Sum up the argument in your own
words. Focus on the main claims which
relate to your question. Explain the reasoning and/or the
evidence supporting these claims. If necessary, include the context
(e.g., time period, place, culture) within which these claims are made. Include
an essential quotation. |
Context: “Every single town across
Singapore has been hit by increasing rents, with prices rising non-stop for
the last 30 months.” There has been a 25 – 30 % increase in rent on average
in Singapore. Catherine, who is one of the interviewees, noted that her
four-room flat in Punggol was S$2,500 at the start of 2022, but it rose to
S$4,000 in September of the same year. Purpose: Examining the effect of rental
prices and whether it only affects renters. HDB rental market pressures (One
Global Group real estate senior analyst Mohan Sandrasegeran) 1.
The
pandemic has led to delays in construction, due to travel restrictions
limiting foreign manpower. The lack of completed flats for both public and
private housing has resulted in “interim renting” by expectant homeowners. 2.
There
has been an increasingly lucrative resale market from 2019 to 2021. The
demand for HDB resale flats rose over that period, and as most HDB flats met
the criteria to be sold at that time (i.e., Minimum Occupation Period),
homeowners opted to sell their flats, effectively reducing the number of
flats in the rental market. 3.
As
Singapore navigates an endemic living arrangement, travel restrictions have
relaxed, resulting in an influx of foreign workers and international
students, and consequently a surge in demand. 4.
An
increasing number of millennials are renting. They desire their own space,
want to have a taste of co-habiting with their partner or are leaving their
family for mental health reasons. Corollary impact 1.
Property
owners face a rise in property taxes in 2023. Property tax refers to the
Annual Value (AV) multiplied by the tax rate. The AV is defined as the rental
income a property may theoretically generate in a given year. Hence, an
increase in rental prices naturally entails a rise in property taxes for
homeowners too. 2.
The
documentary found that many renters were suddenly informed of the huge jump
in rental prices and sent “scrambling for a roof over their heads”, which was
panic inducing. 3.
Home
seekers who have to look for a new place before their current lease is up end
up falling prey to the growing number of property scams. “In 2022 alone, 3.9
million Singapore dollars were lost to rental scammers.” Essential quote: “Contrary to
what I initially thought, rising rents are affecting not just a small group
of people – they are affecting us all.” 398 words |
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Evaluation of Source 1 (150
words) What claims or concepts address
your question directly or indirectly. How does this perspective enable
you to look at the topic differently? Are the perspectives, claims or
concepts limited or skewed? Note one logical fallacy or appeal in the source. How could you extend or revise
the claims/concepts from your source to offer a more convincing response to
your question? How do you know this is a
credible source? |
1.
The
consequences of the tight rental market, e.g., property scams and renters
anxious to find a roof over their heads, are more relevant to my question
than HDB rental pressures. The tight rental market also
means that landlords may still engage in entitled behaviour, whether raising
their prices exorbitantly or being inconsiderate, while still being assured
of a demand for homes. 2.
The
explanation on property tax makes me more assured that there will be a limit
to landlords raising rental prices, however, where this equilibrium lies
remains unknown. 3.
This
source is limited as it fails to account for many landlords’ behaviour and
unreasonable requests in tenancy agreements. It merely looks at “entitlement”
in terms of raising of prices. The Control of Rent Act, first introduced in
1947 to limit increases in rent, was abolished in 2001 as demographics
changed. Most Singaporeans are now homeowners and not renters, unlike the
pre-war era. 4.
The
anxiety that renters face could be highlighted further. They have to make a
quick decision, find a new home and sign a six-month contract. Besides
resulting in more property scams, fast decisions like this may result in poor
planning and failure to understand the landlord or living arrangements
adequately beforehand. 5.
Credible.
Channel NewsAsia Talking Point Documentary. 242 words |
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Summary of Source 2 (200 words) Sum up the argument in your own
words. Focus on the main claims which
relate to your question. Explain the reasoning and/or the
evidence supporting these claims. If necessary, include the context
(e.g., time period, place, culture) within which these claims are made. Include
an essential quotation. |
Purpose: Danker (2022) notes the troubles
of two young Singaporean adults in navigating the rental market, from why
they moved out to the issues they faced with their landlords. Context: Rental prices have grown by 8.6
per cent in the third quarter of 2022. Prices are further exacerbated by
Singapore’s “lowest housing inventory in five years” (Danker, 2022). Key claims: Summary of key problems faced by
the two interviewees: Sabby and Diana ·
Sabby o
First
rental apartment: (1) Living-in with landlord: Elderly landlady who
burdened Sabby with her emotional rants. (2) Tenancy Agreement: Verbal
agreement (no tenancy agreement). Overcharged by the landlady (budget of
$1,500) and hence she had to skip meals on some days as she was living from
day-to-day. (3) Location: Location was not convenient. (4) Pets:
Pets were not allowed. o
Second
apartment: Allows pets. ·
Diana o
First
apartment: (1) Space constraint: Small and crammed. o
Second
apartment: Commontown (co-living company) in Aljunied shophouse. Bought over
by The Assembly Place (TAP) in March 2022. §
(1)
Hygiene: New
management took three days to respond to a maggot infestation. §
(2)
Sudden price hikes:
Raised Diana’s rent by $300 two months in a row, from S$1,600 till $2,300
(perhaps additional for utilities). Diana referred to TAP’s own tenancy
agreement and notified the manager that he should give her a minimum of 30
days’ notice before a price hike. The manager cancelled the hike accordingly,
but informed Diana that it would still be enacted in 30 days. o
Now:
Raised her budget to S$2,500 and rented a studio apartment instead (possibly
to gain more freedom). Shaik Amar (Property agent) ·
Recommends
renters to sign a lease of at least two years to ensure prices remain stable
for themselves. [Evaluation: It’ll be worse if one gets stuck with a bad
live-in landlord.] ·
Find
units farther from MRT stations or “on the outskirts of Singapore”. Takeaways ·
Tenancy
agreement safeguards renters against sudden hikes ·
Check
the tenancy agreement prescribed by the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) – presumably
this article means that one does not leave it up to one’s agent to draft. Quotes: “Still, renting is not merely about the discussion of price.” “The problem is more nuanced and
complex than that of dollars and cents, Sabby and Diana tell me, usually
involving a mix of family, environmental conditions, and well, maggots.” “And while news coverage may
paint the rental landscape Sabby and Diana find themselves in as alarmingly
pricey, property agent Shaik Amar (who runs TikTok account That Property Guy)
has a different view. In his opinion,
this is simply Singapore’s rent market catching up to be on par with other
first-world cities.” 441 words |
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Evaluation of Source 2 (150
words) What claims or concepts address
your question directly or indirectly. How does this perspective enable
you to look at the topic differently? Are the perspectives, claims or
concepts limited or skewed? Note one logical fallacy or appeal in the source. How could you extend or revise
the claims/concepts from your source to offer a more convincing response to
your question? How do you know this is a
credible source? |
1.
(A)
There are many other factors which affect a tenant’s quality of life, e.g.,
cleanliness (maggots), lifestyle preference (pets) or communication
(overloading tenant with emotional problems. (B) Tenancy agreement safeguards
a renter against unreasonable behaviour or price hikes from a landlord. (C)
Rushing into renting usually results in uninformed decisions. 2.
This
made me realise the importance of drafting a good tenancy agreement to
safeguard tenants. 3.
Perspectives
are limited to mostly the logistics of renting, e.g., pets or location.
Little is said about dealing with housemates or landlords. In fact, a Channel
NewsAsia article on landlord-tenant disputes about ‘fair wear and tear’ notes
that property agents have “no obligation to resolve disputes” between
landlords and tenants, and if they do have a monetary dispute, they may
approach the Small Claims Tribunal. 4.
(A) There are many aspects to a preferred
lifestyle; (B) if the landlord is living in, there may be a lack of
boundaries and unreasonable behaviour (e.g., the elderly landlady pouring her
heart out); (C) if the landlord is not living in, they may be unreasonable
and ignore pressing issues (e.g., maggot infestation) since they don’t have
to live with it. 5.
RICE
media is a digital publication known for its journalism and for collecting
views from the ground. 213 words |
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Citations for sources Format: Last name/s, First name initial.
(DATE). Article title. Journal/newspaper/website.
Pages. |
Source 1: Chong, C. F. (Producer).
(2023). Singapore's Soaring HDB
Rents: How Do They Affect You? | Talking Point | Full Episode [Online
video]. Channel NewsAsia. Source 2: Danker, K. (2022, November 29).
Renting Was a Small Price to Pay for Independence in Singapore. Until It
Wasn’t. RICE Media. https://www.ricemedia.co/rent-was-a-small-price-to-pay-for-independence-until-it-wasnt/ |
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