Tighten the Laws for Property Agents

Again, some bad light is shining on the property agents. News about agents and flat owners play out prospective tenants surfaced in the mainstream newspaper again.

It is high time for Singapore tightened its grip on the property agents, weed out the black sheep before the reputation of Singapore is put at stake.

A decade ago, one of my Indian colleagues working here in Singapore was cheated of a couple of thousand dollars by a property agent. He exhausted all the possible options, including making a police report, approached CASE, the consumer rights group, and even the small claims tribunal, but none managed to help him get back his money. His property agent obviously was fully aware that nothing my colleague could do, and she was not worried of any of the 'authorities' that my colleagued approached.

That was a decade ago, and now, similar incidents surfaced in the newspapers again. Singapore is trying to become an education hub, blah blah hub. For these hubs to be a true success, foreign people have to come and live in Singapore. If we can create a conducive environment for people to rent a place comfortably without even duped, all these talks of successful hubs will be nothing but nonsense.