1) Issue Eviction Notice

Eviction notice or Notice to Quit should be issued before commencing legal action upon default of rent and/or breach of Tenancy Agreement. The Notice will demand that the tenant settles the outstanding sum, restore the premises to its original condition and vacate the premises within a reasonable period in accordance with the Tenancy Agreement or if the Tenancy Agreement already lapsed, a period of at least one month.

If the tenant refuses to vacate the premises after the expiry of the Notice to Quit, by virtue of Section 28(4) of the Civil Law Act 1956, the landlord can claim double rental from the tenant from the expiry of the Eviction Notice until the possession is given to the landlord. It is stated:-

“(a) Every tenant holding over after the determination of his tenancy shall be chargeable, at the option of his landlord, with double the amount of his rent until possession is given up by him or with double the value during the period of detention of the land or premises so detained, whether notice to that effect has been given or not.”

2) Writ of Possession (Eviction Order)

Section 7(2) of the Specific Relief Act 1950 provides that a landlord is prohibited from recovering possession of the property without a proper court order even though the property belongs to the landlord.

However, Writ of Possession is time-consuming (6 months or more) and costly. The landlord must first initiate a legal proceeding to seek declaratory order to terminate the tenancy agreement before applying the Writ of Possession to execute the declaratory order.

Once Writ of possession is granted, it would have the effect of directing the court’s bailiff or sheriff to enter the rented property by using such force as may be necessary and take possession of the property for the landlord.

3) Distress Action

The landlord has the right to proceed with distress action which is provided under the Distress Act 1951. The warrant of Distress allows the landlord to recover the amount of rental owed by the tenant for a period not exceeding 12 completed months of the tenancy preceding the date of the application by confiscating and seizing the tenant’s movable property to be sold off at a public auction. It can be carried out by the landlord against the tenant without terminating the tenancy agreement. Distress action consumes less time (around 3 months) compared to the civil suit as the application for a writ of distress can be made ex-parte.

The landlord only needs to serve a notice of demand as a legal precondition before applying for Writ of Distress.

4) Civil suit to recover damages

The landlord also could initiate a civil proceeding to claim for compensation or such other monetary reliefs, collectively called damages. Damages are the most common form of remedy for a breach of contract or agreement.

The landlord needs to prove that he had suffered actual losses due to a breach of agreement caused by the tenant or such liquidated damages agreed under the tenancy agreement. Some recoverable damages by the landlord from the tenant include unpaid rent, unpaid utility bills, damages to property, unapproved alterations to the demised premise that causes the restoration costs to be borne by the landlord.

NOTE : This only serves as general information only and shall not in any way be treated as legal advice. Please contact us should you require legal services or further information.