Rental disputes: More turn to Small Claims Tribunals

Rise in claims due to tenants’ and landlords’ greater awareness of legal rights: Lawyer

- Joyce Lim

The rental boom in recent years has led to a jump in landlords and tenants resorting to legal avenues to settle their disputes.

In 2023, the Small Claims Tribunals (SCT) received 1,510 claims related to tenancy disputes - a 62 per cent increase from the 930 cases lodged in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

The number of claims has risen yearly since 2019, with 1,063 claims lodged in 2020, 1,104 in 2021 and 1,114 in 2022.

About one in three SCT cases filed between 2019 and 2023 that involved tenancy disputes concluded with an order by the tribunal, said a Singapore Courts spokesman.

The remaining cases were either dismissed, discontinued or withdrawn, he added.

The SCT, established in 1985 and part of the State Courts, is the avenue to resolve various small claims of up to $20,000, including disputes arising from residential tenancy agreements of up to two years. The claim limit can be raised to $30,000 if both parties agree.

Lawyer Rajan Supramaniam, a certified mediator at the State Courts who mediates cases at the SCT, attributed the rise in tenancy disputes to increased awareness of legal rights among both tenants and landlords, as well as a growing reliance on housing agents for advice.

"The housing agents tend to side with their own clients and try to advise them about their rights. I have seen many instances where the housing agents did not give fair advice, hence the matter escalated to the SCT," said Mr Supramaniam.