Tenants and tenancy agreements

I was always a very good tenant when I was renting a house. I pay on the dot, the payment is always ready within the first three days. I guess I got to thank my very good ex-bosses who pays on time. They  always pay before the month is over and that gives me plenty of time to plan out my following month's expenditure.In fact, sometimes, I have to call my landlords-please come collect your rental.  It is my contention that people rent their properties to earn money , some of them for survival, so we should not give others hardship. As for my own case, I already have my expenditure account laid out and I just allocate and pay off my obligations accordingly. Therefore, I cannot understand why some tenants cannot pay on time and play with  all sorts of excuses to get out of scheduled payment. Why they have a "tidak apa" attitude. Why they do not possess that spirit of responsibility to pay their monthly obligations as they should..

Let's study this case. Tenant A rented a property from  M - the Landlord . A started off well, paying within the first 10 days of the month according to the tenancy agreement; abeitly with some monthly reminders. OK there-compromise is good..

After two years, A started falling behind in payment-from the 10th, she delays to 15th, then after the 20th. Now she has moved on to the next month, that means she is always one month overdue going on to the two months overdue danger mark-code RED. It was up to M to text like mad, because A dislike voice calls. A check with the utility authorities, showed that A had not been paying the full amount for her bills too- just sufficient to prevent the power and water from being disconnected. Payment to sewerage -Indah Water is another issue. The Landlord will have to spend time and effort checking it up. A does not respond to calls and every month a number of  SMSes has to be sent, to get A to pay up. Appointments to meet A, gets buried under -will not be around due to family obligations-the type of excuses,abundant in the 'book of everyday excuses".

The Landlord is soft and very empathic. Each time Tenant A, comes up with " husband is not around story, or  crops - not yet sold."  This went on too often. Then the Landlord decided to force a visit, (without an appointment) A was in and there is every indication, A can afford to pay her rental, big car, good furnishings (good for her) only, rental money comes last - "other expenses" first.

So Guys, if you were the landlord, what would you do?  For a little extra information-Tenant A has been staying for three years now and in all outward appearances, she takes good care of the house. What would you do?

Do you think the relationship should be  strictly Landlord/Tenant  and the  terms of the tenancy be strictly adhered to?

YT's comments.

1) Tenancy agreement is a business deal. Terms are set. You rent at the Landlord's terms and you adhere to the terms as stated and agreed upon . Keep friendship out of the dealings.

2) All utility bills-electricity, water and Indah Water Bills must be settled every month without fail. 2014 sees huge increases in utility  bills. It is very important that tenant do not default in their payment, otherwise the Landlord will have problems later on..

3) Inability to pay on time. If their income comes in after the 15th of the month, which is fixed every month, they should have no problems paying up their rental for the following month within the first three days of the month-so payment before the 10th (as per agreement) should be a breeze . Tenant should be responsible enough to allocate the rental amount for their monthly payment. Inability to pay is a mere excuse. The landlord is being taken advantage of.

4) Looking after the premise is a tenant's responsibility and they should keep the house in the same good state and in the same structure as when they first rented it..

BUT guys out there-what do you think? Are you in agreement with YT??

Realities of the new year

Everyone is getting ready to meet the challenges of 2014. Travel less, car pool, use more public transport. Turn up the air-conditioner to above 24C- Less cold in the malls and the likes. Bosses have already started the practice of -off with  the air con and the lights during lunch hour. On the home front, use the fan instead of the air cond. (Carry one of those paper fans around for personal comfort, they say.) Those who only use the air con for an hour to cool down the room, plan to silence their  air conditioner forever. Drastic measures. Well, those are the plans and we will  have to see how well that is followed through.  BUT again high cost of living may force those plans through, whether you like it or not. One thing for sure, you don't need to go to the saunas now,  sweat will pour naturally.

On the food front, many are already cutting down on the quantity and the quality-more meals in and that too, budget marketing for the cooking. Many are planning to stock up on instant noodles-there are a huge variety in the market due to economic situation and  the demand.

Entertainment? Many say the parks and the natural freebies are the best, but of course they say, group activities are best due to safety concerns. Wow!! such alot of  thoughts and plans to beat the coming challenges of 2014- it sorts of open this Writer's  eyes to situations around her. Seriously.

One thing for sure, the internet will be more widely used. To avoid high transport cost-more will opt for cyber facilities -online studies, one line purchases , transactions , xtra..xtra. This may see the bloom of the internet business. Malaysian society may rethink the way they live and work. We may Skype more. Off-location work and flexi work may be the in thing . And why not, you are practically reachable, track-able  just about everywhere in the world.The media have  carried out surveys and found that people are already talking about work from home. Practically everything is wired now. Google peeps at you from  every corner with plenty of reflecting mirrors for good effects (if that is not powerful, what is??) so off location work for certain sectors may gain popularity. With the sophistication of smart devices, you are tracked where-ever you go-Big Brother moves with you. I have people calling me with weird requests-I used to wonder at their sanity-until my sources tells me, that's just to see where you are. So there you are, the seemly simple tools and devices we use daily -they are really practical  communication gadgets and work companions.

Yesterday, I read a comment in the main stream media -from someone, everything is up except his pay check. How true. If you are on  fixed wages, a salaried staff, tough times  ahead . Get ready  to put your budget plans, A,B, C into action in 2014. If you are in business, times will also be tough,make no mistake about that  but at least you can pass on the increased cost to your consumers and customers, but how you do it is key to your continued sustainability and survival. Everyone will be affected .

Without doubt, 2014 will see the wheel of change churning out innovative ways to combat the high cost of living and reform  living styles. Now is the time, this writer wish she has a plot of land where she could rear her own chicken and ducks, plant her own vegetables and fruit trees-live off her land, her own produce  so to speak. But not everyone has the good fortune of having land at their disposal, let alone owning plots of  land.

So what is the next best thing? Live simple and  within your means. My friends says, besides the instant noodles, eat more porridge. Oh, by the way, money is getting smaller-so small that in the future, you will need a microscope  to see its proper shape  and value. So if you have the means, and are able to-try to convert your cash into solid, touchable assets, do that..One appreciates and the other depreciates.  Good luck people!