Check a full tenancy agreement against a checklist and list the clauses you want changed.
Before you sign a tenancy agreement, read it clause by clause against a five-section checklist, mark anything one-sided, vague or missing, and send the landlord up to five specific proposed changes through the agent. The exercise takes about 25 minutes, and you can do it with your own agreement, one you are about to sign, or the sample tenancy agreement supplied with this course.
Ravi and Meera, a couple renting a home in Clementi, got one extra day from the agent to read the agreement properly. Lessons 7.1 to 7.3 had taught them what to look for, but they had no method for going through eleven pages in one sitting without missing something, and no way to turn what they found into requests a landlord would take seriously. The checklist and the proposal step below gave them a method for both.
The checklist has five sections, each with a few questions underneath. Next to each question, leave space for what the agreement says and for your mark.
Money terms: rent; deposit; payment date and method; late payment interest; stamp duty and who pays it; agent commission and who pays it. Diplomatic clause: whether there is one; when it can be used; notice needed; proof required; any commission repayment. Repairs: the minor repair amount and whether it applies per item, per repair or per year; which repairs are excluded. Deposit and handover: cleaning and aircon servicing requirements; deposit return timeline; basis for deductions. Restrictions on use: pets; guests; subletting; using the address for business; alterations; anything else the agreement prohibits.
Work through the agreement clause by clause and fill in the checklist as you go. For each question, write what the agreement actually says, in your own words, with the clause number. Do not fill in what you assume it says. If the agreement does not answer a question, that is a finding, so record it as "not stated" in the space for that question.
Then give each answer one of three labels, or leave it unmarked if it is fine. A clause is one-sided when it gives one party a right without a matching right for the other, or puts a cost on the tenant that would normally fall on the landlord. It is vague when the wording does not let you tell what you would owe or when. Something is missing when you would expect to see it in the agreement and it is not there.
Ravi and Meera found the money terms clear, except for late payment interest charged "at the landlord's prevailing rate", which they marked vague. There was a diplomatic clause, usable after 12 months with two months' notice, but it covered only a transfer by Ravi's employer, so they marked it one-sided against their situation. The minor repair clause set a limit of S$150 (an example figure) without saying whether it applied per item or per year, and they marked it vague. The deposit clause said the deposit would be returned "after inspection" with no time limit, which they marked missing.
Under restrictions, all pets were banned, which did not affect them. The landlord's written consent was needed before the tenant's relatives stayed more than two weeks, and because Meera's parents planned to visit for a month, they marked this clause one-sided.
Pick the marks that matter most to you and turn them into proposed changes. Fewer than five is fine, but do not go above five, because with a longer list the landlord is likely to treat the whole thing as a negotiation and push back on all of it.
Write each proposal in plain words, with the clause number, the change you want and, where it helps, a short reason. Ask for a specific alternative rather than raising a complaint, because a landlord finds it much easier to agree to a concrete alternative than to a statement that a clause is unclear. "Clause 4: please state the late payment interest as a fixed rate per year" is easy to agree to, while "Clause 4 is unclear." gives the landlord nothing to say yes to.
Ravi and Meera sent these five. Clause 4: state the late payment interest rate as a figure. Clause 9: confirm the S$150 minor repair limit applies per item, with the landlord paying any excess. Clause 14: return the deposit within a set number of days after handover, less any agreed deductions. Clause 17: allow immediate family to stay up to six weeks without written consent. Clause 22: add non-renewal or cancellation of Ravi's work pass to the diplomatic clause.
Send your proposals through the agent before you sign. Ravi and Meera sent theirs the same evening, with a line saying they were keen to proceed. The landlord accepted four of the five and offered four weeks instead of six on family visits, and Ravi and Meera accepted the four weeks.
When you finish, you should have a completed checklist covering all five sections, each answer noted with its clause number and marked where needed, followed by up to five plainly written proposals ready to go to the agent before signing. Keep the finished checklist with the inventory from Lesson 7.3, as the two together are useful on handover day and again when the lease comes up for renewal.
Pick the agreement you'll review and have it open alongside your checklist.
Fill in the tenancy checklist for one agreement, then write up to five changes you would send before signing.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).