Grangeford housing saga

QX179R SG

Grangeford residents refuse to vacate premises, demand compensation

SINGAPORE: Some 300 residents of troubled condominium The Grangeford said owner Cove Developments has no right to evict them since their rental leases were signed with another company.

Ideal Accommodation had been contracted to rent out the apartments but Cove said that has since been terminated.

The condominium came under the spotlight after the authorities found some 140 apartments converted into 600 units through illegal partitions.

On Thursday, it was supposed to be a meeting for Cove Developments to explain alternative accommodation which included those on shorter leases and hotel rooms at preferential rates at Meritus Mandarin.

But the residents wanted answers to other burning issues. One resident said: "Since you’re chasing us away in 10 days, I think we should be talking about how to get back our compensation?"

Cove said they cannot guarantee the deposits and advanced rent payments, since the money was paid to Ideal Accommodation. Residents walked out 30 minutes into the meeting, but some came back for more answers.

One key issue was whether Cove, a subsidiary of Overseas Union Enterprise (OUE), had the right to ask residents to vacate, since the leases were signed with Ideal Accommodation.

Steven Ng, group company secretary, OUE, said: "Cove Developments has taken over these premises and we’re in the process of obtaining a court order to repossess this building."

The company said it plans to demolish the illegal partitions on June 15. But some residents have heard different stories from Ideal Accommodation.

One resident said: "They’ve informed us that we can still stay up to June 30 and we can consume our deposit, so they’ll not refund anything to us but we can consume it. And just right now, Cove is telling us that their contract is terminated, how can that be? Where are we going to stay?"

Some residents said they have paid deposits ranging from S$1,200 to S$1,800 for leases between three months to a year.

Another resident said: "I also know of some people who have paid six months rent because they had an offer that if you paid six months rent, you get half a month off or one month off."

Residents are also putting up a petition to seek compensation from Ideal Accommodation and Cove Developments.

— CNA/vm

QX179R SG

Landlord tells Grangeford tenants to stay till end-June

SINGAPORE: The housing saga at The Grangeford condominium continued on Friday.

Landlord Ideal Accommodation told tenants they can stay till end-June, so that it does not have to return them their month's deposit. Those who have given more than a month's rent will get back the balance.

There was also drama on Friday after some tenants went to Ideal's office demanding a staff accompany them back to The Grangeford to ensure the presence of a spokesperson during negotiations.

Many residents were also worried they might be evicted before the end of the month.

- CNA/yt

QX179R SG

Cove Development says 49 tenants to remain at Grangeford

SINGAPORE: Cove Development says that 49 former tenants of Ideal Accommodation have decided to stay on at The Grangeford after the June 30 deadline.

They are being offered rental rates of between S$2,600 and S$3,500 for a whole apartment.

Until the deadline, residents can continue to stay at The Grangeford rent-free, while they seek other accommodation.

Cove recently took control of The Grangeford, after terminating the contract with Ideal Accommodation, which had illegally installed partitions in the condominium complex.

Cove is a subsidiary of building owner Overseas Union Enterprise.

- CNA/yt

QX179R SG

Grangeford sub-tenants were in danger of having power cut off

SINGAPORE: A new twist has emerged in the ongoing saga at The Grangeford. TODAY has learnt that more than 200 sub-tenants at the condominium in Leonie Hill were in danger of having their power cut off because former master tenant Ideal Accommodation did not pay the electricity bill.

Utility firm SP Services had sent Ideal a letter on June 5, seeking arrears amounting to nearly S$130,000. It had to pay up by last Saturday or face power cuts, the letter said. It is not known if Ideal had settled their accounts with SP Services as the firm could not be contacted for a response.

Now, building owner Cove Development is stepping in to help remedy the situation. In a statement on Monday, Cove said it had applied to SP to open new accounts for all the units at The Grangeford previously leased to Ideal.

This was done so that the sub-tenants – a mix of mostly young expatriate and local professionals, as well as college students – did not have to face any power disruptions. However, they will have to pay Cove for utilities consumed from Saturday.

Property consultant Savill Singapore will be collecting and issuing receipts of payment on behalf of Cove. The landlord declined to comment on the arrears owed to SP Services by Ideal.

Ideal, set up by Chinese citizen Tang Yong, made headlines on June 3 after Cove terminated its two-year lease after just five months. This was after Ideal failed to comply with an Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) order to reinstate the property to its originally planned use and cease unauthorised sub-letting.

Without the approval of the URA, Ideal had sub-divided 141 apartments at The Grangeford into 600 units. These were then individually leased to the sub-tenants as though the property was a boarding house or a hostel.

The failure of Ideal to comply with the URA order meant that the sub-tenants have until the end of the month to move out or sign a new and costlier lease with Cove.

To help the sub-tenants cope, Cove said it would not charge rent from June 3 to June 30. However, a sub-tenant - who declined to be named - told TODAY that yesterday's development was "confusing".

"We previously paid our utilities to Ideal through our deposits. I'm still waiting for word on a return of our deposits, but now we hear about this," said the 35-year-old, who moved into the condominium just last month.

"How is Cove going to bill us – especially when we don't have a tenancy agreement with them?" he asked

TODAY understands that there is a meter that records the amount of power used for each "sub-unit". Cove will charge the former sub-tenants of Ideal based on the reading. Letters were sent to update residents of the situation last Saturday, said a Cove spokesperson.

In the meantime, "as the owner of Grangeford, Cove will ultimately be responsible to recover the property effectively and rectify the infringement of the Planning Act," the URA said.

Cove said it would be carrying out work to remove the unauthorised structures and restore the units to their original layouts. Under the URA order, it has until July 27 to do so.

- TODAY/so

QX179R SG

40 tenants may stay on at The Grangeford under new leases

SINGAPORE: After a near month-long tussle, some tenants at The Grangeford may stay on at the condominium after all.

About 40 of them have expressed interest to do so under the new landlord, Savills, although the actual number could be higher as some enter into joint-leases with others to rent whole apartment units.

Residents had been given till 5pm on June 30 to vacate the premises after the previous landlord, Ideal Accommodation, got into trouble with the authorities for converting 140 apartments into 600 rooms.

The new landlord, Savills, is still tallying the total number of tenants who have moved out.

The condominium owner, Cove Developments, said a few tenants have requested for an extension to move due to various reasons such as travelling, and it is considering these on a case-by-case basis.

Authorities were roped in to ensure those leaving did not take more than they came with.

Tenants told Channel NewsAsia they were warned by management that a police report would be made if they took furniture that the apartments had come furnished with.

Out of those who moved, some were unhappy with terms offered by the new landlord, which requires them to rent an entire apartment instead of individual rooms.

40 units have been offered at rates ranging from S$2,600 to S$3,500 per month, with a minimum lease period of six months.

Others just had enough of the hassle. Rizky Priandika, an Indonesian student, said: "There are already many problems here so we need to move out already."

Kentaro Fujiyama, an expat working in Singapore for the first time, said: "I cannot live under the contract with them. I haven't got my deposit back and the previous landlord didn't even say sorry."

Another Indonesian student, George Mason, said: "I'm really pissed off now. I've just started staying here for one month and the contract said one year for me."

Cove Developments said the tenancy agreements between Ideal Accommodation and its tenants are a private matter.

At least 10 tenants told Channel NewsAsia they plan to file complaints with the Small Claims Tribunal for deposits ranging from S$1,200 to S$1,800 paid to the previous landlord. Ideal Accommodation could not be reached for comment.

Cove Developments has declined Channel NewsAsia's request to film the interior of the condominium and the tearing down of the illegal partitions. It said that with more people expected to move out on Tuesday, it might be unsafe for the media to be around.

But it added that it is on track to completing the refurbishment of all the apartments by the July 27 deadline.

- CNA/vm

QX179R SG

Cove Developments gets court order to clear illegal partitions in 171 Grangeford units

SINGAPORE : Cove Development, which owns the GrangeFord condominium, has obtained a court order to reclaim some 171 apartments in the condominium.

Cove has given tenants in these units till July 22 to vacate the apartments.

This is to allow demolition works to be carried out on illegal partitions in the units.

Grangeford made headlines last month when property leasing firm Ideal Accommodation, which had been contracted to lease out the condominium, illegally converted some 141 units into 600 rooms.

Cove said it has only managed to take possession of 14 affected apartments so far, as some residents have resisted moving out.

The firm also said it will be updating authorities on the legal proceedings as well as the situation leading up to the July 27 deadline set for tearing down all the unauthorised partitions.

— CNA/ms

QX179R SG

Cove Devts says "good number" of tenants moved out of Grangeford

SINGAPORE: Cove Developments, which owns the Grangeford condominium, said a good number of tenants have moved out.

Cove had obtained a court order to recover 171 apartments last Friday.

The firm would only say it is in the midst of ascertaining how many tenants are still staying behind before applying for the writ of possession to evict them.

Channel NewsAsia understands this will take place before the end of the week.

Tenants were given till Wednesday noon to move out.

The long-drawn saga started when authorities found 140 apartments had been illegally converted into 600 units when Cove leased them out under a master contract to Ideal Accommodation. That contract has since been terminated.

Cove said it has been progressively taking down the illegal partitions and is also offering new leases to tenants willing to stay behind. So far, 29 letters of intent have been signed.

- CNA/yt