• NEGOTIATE

            First of all, you can try to negotiate or talk with the tenant to understand what is his situation. Will he pay after he overcomes all encumbrances? If you have tried to be nice by giving him chances but he still failed to pay and make you intolerable, you may check with the tenancy agreement that signed by both of you. However, before you start any legal actions, you should send notice, such as warning letter via Whatsapp or email, to your tenant and do remember to screenshot it or keep one copy for yourself as a proof to prevent the tenant telling lies that they did not receive and they might say no negotiations between both of you previously. If this happens, the court may re-consider his decision.

• EVICTION ORDER

Normally, there will be specific clauses to deal with such situation in the agreement signed between you and the tenant. For example, you may start eviction process by relying on the tenancy agreement and highlight the said clause to your tenant. The period of time given to the tenants vary from cases to cases as it is all depends on the agreement but usually, the tenant is given at least 30 days to comply which is more than enough. Besides, some tenancy agreement will include clauses which enable you to terminate the agreement if the rental is not paid within said period.

It shall be noted that the landlords are not allowed to evict the tenants by force. It must be done through proper legal process. The landlord shall not, while the tenant is still occupying the property, recover the possession without the proper court order. To get a proper order, first, you have to terminate the tenancy agreement and sue the tenant for unpaid rental, then apply for a vacant possession order. Once the court grants the order, you may recover your property.

• No locking up of premises is allowed

In case you enter the premises without proper order or permission of the tenant, even you provide the claim that the property is yours, you might be sued for trespassing which can refer to the case of Abdul Muthalib Hassan v. Maimoon Hj. Abd. Wahid. In this case, the court ruled that the act of landlord by locking up the premises due to the arrears of rent is not a justification for trespass.

• No suspend of water supply or cutting off the electricity is allowed

Even if you feel very frustrated that rental is not able to be collected, you shall not cut-off neither the water supply nor the electricity. suspend the water supply. You can do that only if the clause that allows you to suspend the supply of water and electricity (if there is arrears of rent) are stipulated in the tenancy agreement. This is supported by the case of Premier Model (M) v. Philepromenade Sdn Bhd which the court held that since the power to suspend the water supply is well within their power according to the contract, injunction for not doing so was being entertained.

• DISTRESS

To recover the unpaid rent, S 5(1) of Distress Act 1951 allows landlords to distrain for unpaid rent by seizing and selling the movable goods of the tenant to cover the money that is owed. However, before this, you have to apply for the issuance of a warrant for distress to recover the rent. By doing so, you do not have to terminate the tenancy before commencing this distress action. In addition, S 28(4) of the Civil Law Act 1956 provides that the landlord can claim double rent from the tenant after the determination of his tenancy is chargeable until the possession is given to the landlord.

• BREACH OF CONTRACT

Apart from that, you may sue your tenant for breach of contract as well. Under S 74 of Contracts Act 1950, you, as the person who suffers the breach of contract, may receive compensation or damages for the loss caused by the tenant. For example, you may claim for legal fees due to tenant’s act of failing to pay rental.

• SMALL CLAIM PROCEDURE

Lastly, under Order 93, Rule 2 of Rules of Court 2012, if the amount of rental owed is less than RM5,000, you can go for a small claim procedure. This procedure is much more affordable as you may recover your rental without going through a lawyer. But do bear in mind, this procedure is only applicable if the arrear rental is less than RM 5,000.

Read also: “When can a contract be specifically enforced under specific performance?”