Hi all,

Hope you guys could give some advice on my situation here:
1. Tenant burn himself in my apartment he's renting, got sent to hospital, dies in hospital a couple days back (or so I heard since my apartment management only called me to inform on this incident and they also all blur on this case)
2. I've peek into my apartment and the damage is minimal (as in only the floor got burnt, furniture and the tenant possessions seems ok, front gate and door damaged as bomba broke them to get to that guy)
3. Today is already been almost a week since the incident, and so far I've been calling the management for updates yet they still is in a blur (I live quite far away from this apartment)



Thus my questions are:
1. Do I need to do anything on the police side (like reporting that I'm the apartment owner)?
2. I could not reach his next of kin, so I couldn't discuss with them on this issue too. How do I proceed, like when should I clear the apartment to rent out again?
3. Even if I do manage to reach his next of kin, I might only ask them to clear his belongings and return his rental deposits. Is there a proper procedure to do this?
4. If there anything else which I missed out, especially legal wise, please advice as so far I am clueless as on how to handle this situation.

Appreciate your advise.

do you presently have a signed tenancy agreement with stamping from the authority?

don't think you need to return rental deposit because the tenant did not die of natural cause. i would lodge a police report on what happened and request police to contact his next of kin so that you can ask them to collect his belongings.

wait until tenant get out from hospital? or leave a message to nurse/doc in charge...ask them to contact you when the kin visit the tenant? or ask the nurse to convey the msg to the kin to contact u...?

1. Do I need to do anything on the police side (like reporting that I'm the apartment owner)?
Yes. You need to do report to cover yourself. If anything, you need to clear yourself first

2. I could not reach his next of kin, so I couldn't discuss with them on this issue too. How do I proceed, like when should I clear the apartment to rent out again?
Just give his ID to police. Let them do their job

3. Even if I do manage to reach his next of kin, I might only ask them to clear his belongings and return his rental deposits. Is there a proper procedure to do this?
Rental deposit i think no need. In fact he breached the contract what because no give early notice. Just ask them to collect his belongings

4. If there anything else which I missed out, especially legal wise, please advice as so far I am clueless as on how to handle this situation.
Not sure also. Wait for other experts come in and advise

sorry wat has the cause of dead going to do with refund of deposit?

Owner's worst nightmare!

Read the title.

Tenant died oredi...lol

also please call medium to cleanse the place. just advising

He's DEAD ler.

the news publish out on media? if so, you will be in big trouble...
so this will be spirit house we call that

good...can turn into ghost house....charge premium for organised ghost hunting tour.

TS needs help.

please provide constructive feedback or advise. Making jokes on other people's misfortune is a no no. It could happen to any of the owners that is renting out their property too.

If it was me, I will make police report about the incident. Next is try to locate next of kin. If unable, then seek lawyer advise on how long to keep tenants stuff. After that period, free to throw away all his stuff if unclaimed by tenant's next of kin. While waiting for next of kin, I will clear off the place, call medium in to cleanse it, repaint and repair whatever is burnt/damaged and move on with another tenant. Definitely wont return the deposit whatsoever.

BTW, is tenant Malaysian? And do you know where he works? If so, maybe his colleagues can help in some way eg contact his family, remove his stuff, etc.

And yes, agreed. Pls provide constructive feedback as he needs sincere help in advise he can get.

This post has been edited by familyfirst: Aug 27 2015, 01:02 PM

i think he is back in your house redi, coz his belongings still there. try chat with him what is his problem and offer him some help. night time will be the best time to chat. all the best

I didn’t read whatever everyone else typed (maybe just a bit, one I couldn’t help stop laughing). So I am addressing your topic directly.

Don’t bother with the apartment management, they are probably as clueless as you are.

Step 1:-

Lodge a police report.

Step 2:-

Take police report and inform management.

Step 3:-

Go back to your tenancy agreement.
- is there a termination clause?
- is there an Event of Default Clause?
- is there a notice clause?
- what is the tenant’s last known address in the tenancy and also the address in his NRIC?

Immediate issue a notice to terminate the tenancy and send the same to the tenant’s last known address and the address in his NRIC.

Plaster one copy of the notice at your unit and extend one copy to management.

In the letter, you should state that the Estate of the Deceased can make a claim for the estate’s property by contact you. The Estate should bring along supporting documents to show that the next of kin is related to the deceased, i.e. by bringing along (a) death certificate; (b) NRIC; © grant of probate (with will); and/or © letter of administration (no will). You should also mention that the estate’s property will be kept for a period of 6 months and thereafter will be disposed of. Don’t mention deposit monies because you will attract funny people or worse criminals.

Step 4:-

Once all the paper work is done.

Proceed to enter the premises.

- take photo/video of the premises.
- take photo of any damage done, you may need to set-off repair cost against deceased deposit.
- take inventory of all the property belonging to the estate.

Note:

Any cost relating to the making good of the premises for tenancy purposes can be set-off against the deposit. (i.e. hiring medium, priest, imam etc…, remember to keep receipt)

Step 5:-

Proceed to clear. Make sure you have a safe place to store the items in the interim.