After Completion Date

[weekuang 0]

hi all,

i m new to renotalk......hav the following questions........hope can get some advise........

If the seller requested to stay in the sold flat for a short period, say 3 months, after the completion date, so as to allow renovation to be carried out / completed at their new place, what would be HDB's policy on this? e.g.

i) If this is arranged between ourselves (the buyer) and the seller, would it be acceptable by HDB?

ii) If we do not charge the seller rent for the period that they continued to stay, would there implications with the tax authorities?

iii) After the completion date, I understand that the resposibilities with regards to the flat would falls on the new owners. Hence, what would be the other issues / details that the new owners have to be aware / take note of.

thanks in advance.............

[fanguojun 0]

i had the same experience.

it was a personal agreement between the seller and us. During the period of their stay, they paid for the property tax and conservancy charges. We didn't charge them rent.

issues you need to take note of is whether the condition of the flat is still the same condition as per the last inspection. Best is to put everything down in black and white such as that it is the responsibility of the seller to ensure that everything is the same.

[weekuang 0]

hihi fanguojun,

thanks for the advise........ : P

[aves 0]

1) HDB dont accept such arrangements. When you buy the flat, the agent should explain to you a clause in the checklist that no pte arrangements should be made other than those stated on OTP. So do this at your own risk.

2) No implications with tax but implications once again with HDB. by right not suppose to 'rent' out the flat and owner must stay there for a certain period before letting other ppl 'fully occupy' your flat. whether collect rent or not is not a concern hdb cos they can always say the 'rent' was already 'discounted or partially discounted' from the selling price of the flat (which is usually the case)

3) yes responsibility is on you. for eg the owner let illegal immigrants stay there, do bookmaking activities at your house, sell drugs, throw deadly litter etc. you will be implicated cos you are the owner and authorities will deal with you one way or another. seller will also be punished but you will definitely be implicated.

[weekuang 0]

hi aves,

thanks for the advise.........

[maricelle 0]

hi am also in the same position right now. the sellers have asked us to sign an agreement that i will let them stay in the flat for 2 months after completion date without collecting rent. but due to some reasons, we have to shorten that to 1 month, i was trying to let seller sign a new agreement for the shortened stay, but they would not agree.do i have the right to force them out?or i am legally bounded by the 2 months agreeent?

[mwerkz 0]

hi am also in the same position right now. the sellers have asked us to sign an agreement that i will let them stay in the flat for 2 months after completion date without collecting rent. but due to some reasons, we have to shorten that to 1 month, i was trying to let seller sign a new agreement for the shortened stay, but they would not agree.do i have the right to force them out?or i am legally bounded by the 2 months agreeent?

i think u r bounded by de 2mth agreement u signed earlier. btw, for those who allow sellers to stay on, my advise is to come up with an agreement with a deposit. so if anything in de home spoil, can forfeit deir deposit.

[tower 0]

hi am also in the same position right now. the sellers have asked us to sign an agreement that i will let them stay in the flat for 2 months after completion date without collecting rent. but due to some reasons, we have to shorten that to 1 month, i was trying to let seller sign a new agreement for the shortened stay, but they would not agree.do i have the right to force them out?or i am legally bounded by the 2 months agreeent?

For info, HDB do not recognise private arrangements between buyers and sellers. After the 2nd appt (completion date), you are the legal owner of the unit. If the current sellers engage any illegal activities like gambling, renting out to illegal overstayers etc, you would definitely be implicated becos you can't just simple say I don't know. What if they accidentally damaged some of their interior decor, are they going to pay you back compensation? There's no such such thing as free stay. You should have at least collected 2 months of rental (market rate) from them since you have already started payign for your "new" flat.

[maricelle 0]

For info, HDB do not recognise private arrangements between buyers and sellers. After the 2nd appt (completion date), you are the legal owner of the unit. If the current sellers engage any illegal activities like gambling, renting out to illegal overstayers etc, you would definitely be implicated becos you can't just simple say I don't know. What if they accidentally damaged some of their interior decor, are they going to pay you back compensation? There's no such such thing as free stay. You should have at least collected 2 months of rental (market rate) from them since you have already started payign for your "new" flat.

hi thanks tower, i was told by my agent to sign the free two months bec that was part of the agreement that is why they have lowered the top up cash from 30k to 10k... , but now i do regret the bargain that i got

i think u r bounded by de 2mth agreement u signed earlier. btw, for those who allow sellers to stay on, my advise is to come up with an agreement with a deposit. so if anything in de home spoil, can forfeit deir deposit.

thanks a lot for the advise.

[pinkpetter 0]

wah but they lowered the top up cash so much... no choice ba

Even with a signed agreement there is no where you can go with the document. Our lawyers advised us on this. Any private agreement you sign is not recognised by any govt body and the worst scenario is if HDB chooses to take action against people who do have private agreements. She says she's seen it before.

Just be careful ba.

[maricelle 0]

wah but they lowered the top up cash so much... no choice ba

Even with a signed agreement there is no where you can go with the document. Our lawyers advised us on this. Any private agreement you sign is not recognised by any govt body and the worst scenario is if HDB chooses to take action against people who do have private agreements. She says she's seen it before.

Just be careful ba.

yeah , no choice. thanks a lot for the info.

[pinkpetter 0]

Welcome... well... at least rejoice in the fact that you can use the money you saved for renovation ba! $20k can pay for simple overhaul!