{"id":114744,"date":"2020-03-06T10:46:37","date_gmt":"2020-03-06T03:46:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/former-property-agent-fined-88000-for-unlawfully-offering-short-term-accommodation\/"},"modified":"2020-03-06T11:03:38","modified_gmt":"2020-03-06T04:03:38","slug":"former-property-agent-fined-88000-for-unlawfully-offering-short-term-accommodation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/former-property-agent-fined-88000-for-unlawfully-offering-short-term-accommodation\/","title":{"rendered":"Former property agent fined $88,000 for unlawfully offering short-term accommodation"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nThe fine was the highest meted out for such offence so far.
\nJoel Su Jiqing, a former property agent, was fined $88,000 on Thursday (5 March) for unlawfully offering short-term accommodation to tourists via online platform Airbnb.
\nThe fine was the highest meted out for such offence so far, reported CNA.
\nAgent earned a total of $115,112 from renting four short-term accommodation to tourists
\nSu, who was a PropNex agent at the time, pleaded guilty to four charges of offering four residential properties for short-term accommodation of tourists.
\nDistrict Judge Clement Tan considered two other charges in sentencing the 38-year old man.
\nCourt documents showed that Su earned a total of $115,112 from renting out six properties from October 2017 to September 2018.
\nTo avoid detection, he leased condominium units within the Geylang district which he sublet to local and foreign tourists.
\nRelated: HDB Subletting: 11 Mistakes Every Landlord Should Avoid
\nHe chose Geylang as he thought residents there would be less likely to raise complaints. Moreover, private home rents in the area were considerably lower, noted Deputy Public Prosecutors Gabriel Lim and Marshall Lim.
\nDeceived the unit owners by signing the tenancy agreements himself
\nKnowing that he would not be granted tenancy if he revealed his plan to use the properties for short-term stays, Su deceived the unit owners and signed the tenancy agreements in his own name or his company, The Coffee Cart.
\nIn November 2017, Su was investigated by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) for offering short-term stays to two guests for six nights between September and October 2017.
\nHe lied to URA officers saying he had no other rental units providing short-term accommodation.
\nExercising leniency towards him, the URA did not prosecute Su thinking that it was his only offence.
\nIn August 2018, however, a D\u2019Weave condominium resident complained to URA of many strangers carrying luggage entering and exiting a unit.
\nAn inspection of the condo\u2019s property manager revealed that a group of Filipinos have booked a three-night stay at the unit for $2,156. They even showed him their Airbnb booking print-out.
\nLied that the tenants were business clients
\nWhen contacted by the property manager, Su lied saying that the group were his business clients. Su also told the property manager that he should have talked to him about the matter instead of reporting it to the URA.
\nInvestigations showed that Su leased the unit for a monthly rent of $2,400 for a year starting from March 2018. But he did not stay there and listed the unit for short-term accommodation of local and foreign visitors from 15 March 2018 to 8 September 2018.
\nWith this, the prosecution asked for a $235,000 fine, citing to how land use should be properly regulated in Singapore to ensure \u201cpeaceful enjoyment of this precious resource\u201d.
\n\u201cA breach of planning regulations can disturb the peace and social harmony,\u201d said the prosecutors. \u201cWhen an offender chooses to flout these regulations for his selfish gains, he makes a decision that negatively impacts the wider community.\u201d
\nThey also pointed to Su for being uncooperative, continuing with the offence despite the URA investigations and lying to the authority.
\nJudge Tan found \u201cdishonesty and deception involved at every turn\u201d as well as persistent offending.
\nHe described the mitigating factors offered by the defence \u201cunremarkable\u201d with some being \u201cdisingenuous\u201d, pointing to an argument that URA \u201csent mixed messages\u201d.
\nHe also found Su\u2019s claims of remorse to be \u201cdiluted\u201d by his claims of ignorance of the law.
\nIn a statement, URA said Su, who is no longer a registered property agent, is the fifth person to be sentenced for illegal short-term accommodation as well as among the first 10 persons to be charged over it.
\nHere are 3 other times agents have broken the rules (but what you can do)
\nLooking for a property in Singapore? Visit\u00a0PropertyGuru\u2019s\u00a0Listings,\u00a0Project Reviews\u00a0and\u00a0Guides.
\n\u00a0
\nVictor Kang, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email\u00a0victorkang@propertyguru.com.sg
\n\u00a0
\n
\nSource : proppertyguru.com.sg\/Property Market
\nRead more…Former property agent fined ,000 for unlawfully offering short-term accommodation<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The fine was the highest meted out for such offence so far. Joel Su Jiqing,...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-property-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p75ss1-tQI","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":108458,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/property-agent-charged-with-renting-out-homes-for-illegal-short-term-stays\/","url_meta":{"origin":114744,"position":0},"title":"Property agent charged with renting out homes for illegal short-term stays","date":"June 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\r A property agent has been charged with renting out multiple homes for illegal short-term stays. On May 7, the URA announced that Airbnb-style short-term accommodation will remain illegal in Singapore. A property agent has been brought to court for allegedly renting out residential properties for illegal short-term accommodation, reported\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":110463,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/ura-detected-800-occupancy-cap-infringements-since-2017\/","url_meta":{"origin":114744,"position":1},"title":"URA detected 800 occupancy cap infringements since 2017","date":"September 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Development also revealed that the URA has investigated an average of around 600 suspected cases of illegal short-term accommodation per year in the last five years. With the tightening of the occupancy cap for private homes from eight to six persons in 2017, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38827,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/property-company-director-fined-215000-for-unlicensed-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":114744,"position":2},"title":"Property company, director fined $215,000 for unlicensed work","date":"December 22, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\r This is the largest fine handed down by the court for this offence. A property management company and its sole director have been fined a total of $215,000 for conducting unlicensed estate agency work, the largest fine ever meted out by the court for this offence, the Council for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85882,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/man-fined-71500-for-unregistered-estate-agency-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":114744,"position":3},"title":"Man fined $71,500 for unregistered estate agency work","date":"April 19, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Under CEA rules, it is an offence for someone to act as an agent in any property transaction if they are not registered or licensed. (Photo: CEA) A 36-year-old man was fined $71,500 on Wednesday (18 Apr) after pleading guilty to eight charges of posing as a property agent\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":72967,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/more-private-homes-investigated-for-flouting-minimum-stay-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":114744,"position":4},"title":"More private homes investigated for flouting minimum stay law","date":"November 27, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\r The number of private residential properties investigated by Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) for breaching the minimum stay law has risen from 1,000 between 2014 and 2016, or an average of around 330 properties per year, to 600 from January to September this year, reported Channel News Asia. Attributing the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":92294,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/inside-story-the-bays-private-accommodation-providers-targeted\/","url_meta":{"origin":114744,"position":5},"title":"Inside Story: The Bay's private accommodation providers targeted","date":"June 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Private accommodation owners are speaking out against a proposal by Tauranga City Council to take a cut of millions of dollars in profits generated from renting rooms and houses to tourists. Bay of Plenty Times Weekend reporter...\r \r Source : nzherald.co.nz\/Property\r Read more...Inside Story: The Bay's private accommodation providers\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114744"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114744\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}