Advice needed

didnt u view the apartment first before u agreed on the 12 month deposit? n what did u mean they just keep fobbin u off? have u called them again today and remind them of these?how much did u pay and if u dont mind tellin me the name of that apartment.if its too personal just inbox me

Hi there, Could you tell me which condo in Bukit Bintang you are staying at? Also you signed a one year rental agreement and I assume you paid 2 months deposit, one month advance and half a month's utilities deposit? Did you deal directly with the landlord or go through an Agent? There are a number of things you could do but firstly if you could answer the questions above it will help. By the way, I am also a landlord so maybe can give you the advice you need.

Further to the above, your best way to get improvements or your deposit back are for you to mount up your electricity bill and water bill by letting your taps run and all your lights run continually. At the same time stop paying rent. Make sure that the owner cannot enter your apartment.

The law is on the side of the tenant and landlords are not entitled to force their way into an apartment once it is tenanted. Even if you stop paying rent they cannot force you out, they can only try to take you to court which will take around six months. So this way they will be losing a lot of money and they will not be happy.

At the same time, if the landlord bothers you in any way at all whether it is a threat or whatever, you should report him/her to the management office in your building and also make a police report. By this stage you should have already given registered letters to the owner/agent demanding that the problems in your apartment be resolved.

Problems of the aircon tripping the main fuse, mould on the ceilings, faulty microwave, unsteady dining table can all be negotiated with the landlord. But actually some of these things you should really have checked before signing a contract. In fact, these are all very minor matters that can be fixed very easily.

Speaking to the property manager does not really help because they have no obligation to get involved. But you should bring this matter to their attention and perhaps they will give you the contact details of the landlord or speak to the landlord on your behalf. It depends which condo you are staying at. I know some of the management companies in Bukit Bintang because I serve on a few Management Councils in KL.

Basically the law is always on the side of the tenant and you don't need to pay rent if they don't fix these problems. If you stop paying rent then they will eventually have to address the problems. If they threaten you then you must make a police report. If they cut the water or electricity then report them to the management and make a police report. Landlords are not allowed to cut water or electricity even if you stop paying rent. They are also not allowed to block you from entering the apartment by placing chains or padlocks on the door or grill.

If you can let me know the name of the condo I may be able to help you more.

Thanks for your reply Mike.
In response to the questions in your first reply:
I dealt direct with the agent. This agent knew that myself and my daughter were going from hotel to hotel every night with our cases because we arrived in the Chinese New Year and were finding it hard to secure a hotel room for more than one night at a time. So when he showed us the apartment, i think he knew that we would take it out of sheer desperation to the extent that he put me under pressure to get MR3,500 that afternoon and meet him back at the condo at 5.30pm that very same evening to secure the apartment. Then i had to go back to the bank the very next day, (which was the day we were moving in) to get another MR7,000 towards the rest of the deposit before we could have the keys to move in. So, he was aware of my desperation. Its one thing a woman walking around K.L every night with suitcase in hand looking for a room, but dragging my 15yr old daughter around was a totally different matter. ( i had booked a hotel for 4 days before we got here thinking id be able to extend the stay if needed, only to find that it was fully booked because of Chinese New Year). The agent was aware of all this, hence the previous statement about him knowing how desperate i was to secure accomodation.
I did pay all the neccessary deposits which was MR11,375 in total, plus i received another invoice on Friday for another months rent, i have put the requested amount of cash in the envelope but have not yet taken it downstairs to the management office. Which is why i am so grateful for the information you have gave me regarding this matter. Because i had every intention to go to the management and pay it today, but now im in two minds as to wether i should or not, because, potentially, that could be more money i lose.
And just to put the icing on the cake, It looks like i could potentially lose my job because of all this. I have had 4 appointments for the engineers to come out to fix the air con, which means from the 10th of Feb (the date i officially started my new job) i have had to take 4 days off work thinking it was going to get fixed, only to be informed late afternoon each time that they couldnt make it that day and had to reschedule. No job means no income to enable me to pay rent, so, i face the dilema of, do i pay the rent invoice i received on friday evening or do i keep that money as emergency "flight" money to get us back to Perth?
Isnt air conditioning classed as a necessity in order to class an apartment as "livable" in Malaysia?
As for naming the condo Mike, i dont want to get myself into any trouble for broadcasting the name of this place and finding out that i could potentially get sued for anything. However, i think im safe to say i can clearly see a condo called the Swiss Gardens from my apartment window.
Thanks again for your help Mike, i really appreciate it.

You could get the work done under your own control and deduct the charges from the next months rent - tell them first this is how you will do it, unless they solve the main problems by a certain date.

Be careful not to get into a big legal battle over quite small matters. Its important as a foreigner to try and resolve the issues as amicably as possible.

If you can see the Swiss Garden then perhaps you are staying at Angkasa Impian I, or possibly II, or even Mutiara Villa Condo or City Garden condo. You could tell me the name of the condo by private message because I may still be able to help you. And you can't get sued by saying which condo you live in 

If the Management company is WTW then I know the MD and the Director in charge of Property Management and quite a few of their building managers in KL.

The Agent is representing the Landlord and I would strongly advise you not to pay any more rent until things get sorted out, especially as you might lose your job over this. The Management's responsibilities do not include collecting rent, they are actually not allowed to do that even though it does sometimes happen. Your problem is between yourself and the landlord/agent. As a tenant you should have the upper hand because as I said earlier the landlord cannot threaten you, force you out, cut water or electricity, stop you from entering the apartment or anything else without going through a very lengthy legal case. He also cannot enter the apartment without making an appointment with you and giving at least 7 days notice. You should speak with the Management to let them know the situation too. Perhaps ask Management to speak with the landlord or the Agent on your behalf.

Actually, repainting the bathroom ceiling costs virtually nothing and a new aircon of 1.5 HP costs around RM1,380 or thereabouts depending on the brand if you get a cheaper brand like York. A dining set can cost just a few hundred ringgit so perhaps your landlord is just really stingy or living overseas as many of them do in those condos and the Agent may not be able to contact him. But remember also that when the Agent cannot get rent from you the landlord will have to address your issues.

Refusal to pay rent unless those problems are addressed is perfectly reasonable especially if the Agent is not willing to get anything done about it. It is not a law that an apartment should have airconditioning though.

Gravitas wrote:

You could get the work done under your own control and deduct the charges from the next months rent - tell them first this is how you will do it, unless they solve the main problems by a certain date.

Yep I thought about that too, but the only problem is that the landlord can keep as much of her deposit as he wants when the contract ends so important to try to let him sort out the problems and keep on good terms with him.