If the rent isn’t coming in, or the deposit isn’t coming back
If you’re a landlord who hasn’t been paid for two months, or a tenant whose deposit has quietly disappeared, you don’t need a lecture on your rights. You need to know what the next step actually looks like.
I’m Roy, a director at A.W. Law LLC in Chinatown. You can read my full bio here. I’ve run tenancy matters on both sides, residential and commercial, at the Small Claims Tribunal and the State Courts.
This page is for you if a tenancy isn’t working the way the lease says it should. The first 10 minutes are free, and nothing commits you.
What a landlord-tenant dispute in Singapore actually is
A landlord-tenant dispute is a civil claim between the person renting out a property and the person living or trading in it. Singapore doesn’t have a single “Rent Act” that covers all of it. Instead, your rights come from three places:
- The tenancy agreement itself. This is the main document. It sets the rent, the deposit, who pays for what, and how the lease ends. Courts read it closely.
- The general law of contract under the Civil Law Act and common law. This covers things like what counts as a breach, how damages are worked out, and when a lease can be ended early.
- The Distress Act. A Singapore-specific law that lets a landlord seize a tenant’s goods at the property for unpaid rent, through a court-issued writ of distress.
Most cases land in one of two venues.
- The Small Claims Tribunal hears tenancy disputes up to S$20,000 (or S$30,000 with both sides’ written consent), for leases of 2 years or less. No lawyers at the hearing. Cheap, fast, informal.
- The State Courts hear everything else: larger claims, possession orders (evicting a tenant), commercial leases, and cases where the lease is over 2 years.
The typical disputes we see: unpaid rent, deposit withheld at the end of the lease, eviction for breach, illegal subletting, damage to the property, and early termination where one side wants out before the lease ends.
If your dispute is about ownership, co-owner fights, or boundaries, that’s a different matter. See our property disputes page. If it’s about the sale and purchase of the property itself, or stamp duty on the lease, see real estate litigation.
When to use this service
Before we take on a tenancy matter, I ask a few things.
- What does the tenancy agreement say? Nine times out of ten, the answer is in the lease. We read it clause by clause before advising you.
- What’s the amount in dispute? If it’s under S$20,000 and the lease is 2 years or less, the Small Claims Tribunal is the right place. It’s cheaper and faster. Above that, or for possession of the property, we go to the State Courts.
- Is the tenancy commercial or residential? Commercial tenancies often have longer notice periods, guarantee clauses, and liquidated damages. The law is the same, but the stakes are higher.
- How urgent is it? If the tenant is damaging the property, or the landlord has locked you out, we can file urgent applications within days.
- Have you talked to the other side in writing? Most disputes settle after a proper demand letter. Courts also expect you to have tried.
The situations we see most often:
- Landlord, tenant stopped paying. Demand letter first. Then Small Claims for the arrears, or State Courts for possession plus arrears.
- Tenant, deposit withheld. Demand letter asking for itemised deductions. Then Small Claims Tribunal if the landlord still refuses.
- Early termination. One side wants out mid-lease. Usually settled with a diplomatic exchange of lawyers’ letters rather than a hearing.
What to expect, honestly
How long it takes.
A Small Claims Tribunal case is usually filed, heard, and decided within 2 to 6 weeks. A State Courts tenancy claim takes 4 to 9 months if the other side doesn’t defend, and longer if they do. A writ of distress for unpaid rent can be issued within days once filed.
How much it costs.
A demand letter and initial advice usually runs S$500 to S$1,200 flat fee. A Small Claims Tribunal preparation and evidence bundle: S$800 to S$2,500. A defended State Courts tenancy claim starts around S$3,500 and is quoted as a capped hourly engagement, in writing, before any work starts. Tribunal filing fees themselves are low (S$10 to S$100). State Courts filing fees are higher and depend on the sum claimed. The 10-min Discovery Session is free.
What’s the hard part.
Emotions. Tenancies often involve a home or a business someone has spent years building. Both sides usually feel wronged. The worst outcomes we see are the ones where one side responds to pressure with a lock-out, a physical confrontation, or cutting off utilities. Don’t do any of that. The proper route is a court order, and it’s faster than people think.
Evidence is the other hard part. If the property was handed back without a joint inspection, photos, or a written inventory, the deposit case gets harder. Keep every message, every receipt, every photograph.
How we handle landlord-tenant matters at A.W. Law
- One lawyer, from start to end. Whoever takes your first meeting handles the matter through to the hearing.
- Letters you can actually read. Demand letters in simple terms that the other side understands without needing their own lawyer to translate.
- WhatsApp in the evenings. We reply until 10pm on weekdays. Tenancy problems often come up after hours.
- Honest venue advice. If your case belongs at the Small Claims Tribunal, we’ll say so and prepare you to run it yourself, even if that means less fee work for us.
- Multilingual. English, Malay, or Tamil, whichever the client is most comfortable in.
We’re at 133 New Bridge Road, #20-03 Chinatown Point. Two minutes’ walk from Chinatown MRT, Exit E. For background on how a civil claim actually runs, see our guide on what civil litigation is in Singapore.
What happens next
If the tenancy has gone wrong, the next step is simple. Book a free 10-min Landlord-Tenant Discovery Session using the form on this page, or message us on WhatsApp using the button anywhere on the screen.
Nothing commits you. Most sessions end with a short list of things for you to gather (the tenancy agreement, the message history, the bank records) before any paperwork starts. You’ll leave knowing whether the Small Claims Tribunal or the State Courts is the right venue, what a realistic timeline looks like, and roughly what it will cost.
