Sad state of affairs: A house owner checking the condition of his house after a tenant moved out in Puchong. — FAIHAN GHANI/The Star
PETALING JAYA: A businesswoman got the shock of her life when she received a call from the police asking her to go to her posh KLCC-facing condominium.
“When I arrived, I was stunned to see the unit in a wreck and that an illegal gambling centre had been operating from there.
“It was a nightmare. I had to go to the police station several times for my statement to be recorded.
“Not only that, I had to fork out a lot of money to clean up and repair my unit,” said the woman, who wanted to be known only as Shima.
She had not suspected anything amiss because her tenant – who claimed to be an engineer – was always prompt with his rent.
“This incident has given me a lot of anguish and stress. My unit has been empty for two years now. I just don’t dare rent it out again,” said the mother of two.
Shima admitted that she had not checked on her unit after renting it out as she respected her tenant’s privacy.
A senior journalist was happy when he rented out his house to a young couple with two kids in May last year.
Everything had looked fine in the beginning, but things started to go wrong a few months into the tenancy.
The rent payment was erratic, with no money coming for several months, and when he decided to end the tenancy agreement, he was shocked to find that they had defaulted on the utility bills.
“They seemed like a decent couple with two young children when they first moved in, in May 2022. But after three months, the problems began.
“Every time, I called them for the payment, they had excuses. Business was slow, someone had died, someone was sick.
“In February this year, there was one payment and none after that. I waited until August before finally telling them to leave. They left in early November,” said the 65-year-old Penangite, who is based in the Klang Valley.
When he repossessed the house, it was in a total mess.
“The toilets were broken and dirty, with caked soap on everything. There were nails everywhere. The wiring was badly damaged.
“There were rats living in the house compound. It cost me close to RM5,000 to repaint and repair to make it look like a decent home again,” he fumed.
What was worse, he added, was the unpaid electricity bill since November 2022.
“Why was there no action taken by the utility company? I had to pay up as I could not trace the couple and they would not answer my calls.
“The water bill was also unpaid for at least six to seven months. After they vacated the house on Nov 21, Air Selangor sent a notice of disconnection if I did not pay up.
“So, I lost easily seven to eight months of rent money, and had to fork out another RM6,000 for bills and repairs. Now, I am very cautious about who I rent my house to or even if I should even rent it out at all,” he said.
Another apartment owner, who wanted to be known only as Zulkifli, no longer wishes to rent out his unit in Tanjung Bungah, Penang, after a bad experience a few years ago.
“I rented out my unit to a childless couple in 2015. They seemed nice and both were professionals.
“Their rent payment was good initially, but arrears started to pile up in the second year of their tenancy.
“After failing to pay the rental for two successive months, they suddenly moved out at the end of 2016,” he said.
Zulkifli, 40, said although he could offset the outstanding rental from their deposit, his unit was in a shambles.
“Most of the furniture was broken and the place was so dirty,” he said.
