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University students away from their hometowns face an uphill battle to find accommodation for many reasons including racial discrimination, high deposits, and rents. The question is WHY.
I asked a landlord with several apartments near institutions in Sunway and Subang Jaya for her experience as a landlord over the past two decades.
I got an earful from Mrs Wong about why she refuses to rent to them. Mrs Wong stands about 5’4 when we met for coffee at a Mamak near INTI Subang. What really struck me was her hair: The definitive Cruella Deville cut, colour, and style.
When I asked if she has any student tenants in her various properties, she smirked, “I keep a good grip on them, just in case I need to strangle them.” Clearly, she doesn’t skin puppies, but student tenants.
Local students are the problem.
“I will never rent to local students, ever again.”
Mrs Wong didn’t say those words, she practically snarled them at me.
“They get discriminated against and they deserve it! It is ALWAYS the local students that leave things a mess, damage and destroy things.”
When she first started back in the early 2000s, “the students were better people,” she said.
“Come to think of it, so were their parents. Rent would be paid on time, and anything damaged or broken was reported quickly and replaced or repaired fairly.
I used to be fair about it too: a reasonable security deposit, slightly lower than market rental rates. Because I know how hard and tough it can be as I was a student in Selangor from Negeri Sembilan. I also sent five children to study all over the country.”
Her properties are fully furnished, with a washing machine, drying lines, and a properly stocked kitchen. They were “like good hotel rooms.” But today, it’s the barebones minimum, with good reason.
For illustrative purposes only.
“I’ve spent more money on repairs and hiring professionals to do deep cleaning. I don’t know how they don’t get sick or even die! Broken parquet floors, food stains, overflowing garbage. How do you shower in a bathroom with green fungus growing on the walls?”
For illustrative purposes only.
These are just a few examples of the horror shows she has witnessed firsthand. “The lack of basic hygiene and cleanliness is… I don’t have words.”
Breakages and Theft
“But the students… Not only do they break stuff, but I’ve also actually had things stolen!”
It’s hard to believe, but she says that a washing machine disappeared from an apartment, and none of the students living there had any idea what had happened or where it went.
In a different property, entire light fixtures went missing: Not the light bulb, the entire ceiling mount was removed. There were holes punched into the doors of the built-in cupboards, and more holes gouged into the walls. “These are not the holes you hang a picture or a clock.”
History repeats itself, repeatedly.
After the first round of problems, she figured it was a one-off, bad luck thing. Six months later, after repairs and refurbishment, she let the property out to another group of students, and history repeated itself. She threw the second group out after three months.
For illustrative purposes only.
They turned the apartment into a similar shambolic mess: the garbage was overflowing and never thrown out, the sinks were clogged, the bathrooms were a disgusting mess, and it smelled like a glorified ashtray.
For illustrative purposes only.
“The used condoms under the bed were a nice surprise!” she said sarcastically.
After three rounds of this madness with three different sets of student tenants, she was fed up, and the last group of students and their families were the recipients of her wrath.
For illustrative purposes only.
She now has her lawyer on speed dial
When they refused to work with her to resolve the situation, she took them to court.
Mrs. Wong had a field day: the parents had signed the tenancy agreements, and she had evidence such as “before and after” photos, videos, and police reports. And she won everything she asked for.
The parents, utterly embarrassed by their children’s behaviour, pleaded for many excuses, poverty among them. She struck right back that “being poor is not an excuse to raise irresponsible, delinquent children!”
She is willing to rent if you will meet her terms: an RM5,000.00 security deposit and what is viewed as a “very high” rental of RM1,000.00 per month for a single room with a shared bathroom.
For illustrative purposes only.
She’s completely unapologetic, “If you want to rent from me, read and understand the contract before you sign it. Pay my deposits, pay the rent, and bills on time. If you break it, tell me about it and we’ll figure out how to fix or replace it. Otherwise, I WILL drag you to court!”
Needless to say, word spread quickly and the local student tenants faded away. She is still happy to have seen the back of all of them.
What about international students?
Surprisingly, she has had a better experience with them, no matter where they are from. They keep the apartments clean and pay all the rent and utilities on time. If things need repairs, she gets notified immediately. “Things break. Accidents happen. But they are honest and tell me. Then we work it out.”
Her personal favourites are actually the Mat-Salleh students. In her opinion, Eastern European students, especially girls, are amongst the best in her opinion.
”The place is always clean, and they smoke only on the balcony or outside. As a landlord, I do my best to keep my properties well maintained and repaired. I can do some basic repairs and cleaning myself, but I should not have to hire contractors to fix holes in the walls or install new light fixtures every year.”
She blames the parents
She holds the parents accountable for the behaviour of their children. Parents have to teach their children how to be responsible adults, and it’s pretty simple: “Teach them manners and basic responsibility. Teach them how to use a broom, wash the dishes, and take out the garbage!”
Not The Landlords’ Problem
The current crop of new university students who cannot rent a place to stay because of high deposits and rents is not her problem. Her attitude is because of her negative experiences with past local university students and is summed up candidly: “Cry about it. I don’t care. You can blame your seniors.”
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