The rental market in Malaysia can be stressful enough. From having to find a place that is located conveniently near public transport to having to make sure it suits your budget, people would have to view multiple units before making a choice.
So why make the market even more stressful by including something called a ‘reservation fee’?
Speaking to WORLD OF BUZZ, Cindy (*real name changed for privacy purposes) shared how agents, landlords and home owners have implemented a ‘Reservation Fee’, which is basically a deposit in order to view a rental property she was eyeing. If that’s the case, let’s just call it a ‘Viewing Deposit’ instead, shall we?
Taken aback considering she (nor any of us) have ever heard of a ‘Viewing Deposit’ before, she questioned the agent about it
“If so, you will make a ‘Viewing Deposit’ of RM200 to secure the unit as a serious renter and the fee is refundable after viewing. Whether you like the house or not, you will be refunded and 95% of the money will be returned (if you don’t like the unit after viewing).”
“After you make this payment, I will immediately take the house off the market for you and you can view the unit,” the agent told Cindy.
This means that when someone wants to view the unit, they would have to pay the fee and the agent will remove all listings of the unit so that only they can view the property. This is odd mainly because only after someone confirms that they want the property would agents normally remove any listings of it.
This image is for illustration purposes only.
Should you want the property, the RM200 ‘Viewing Deposit’ would then be deducted from your rent after confirmation.
BUT, after viewing and you decide you do not want the property, you would only receive 95% of the RM200 back, meaning that the agent takes RM10.
Wondering why there’s such a thing, Cindy asked, “Why you would need to take (the unit) off the market if I’m just viewing?”
“Because I can ask the agents anytime, to put (the unit) back (on the market) if you’re not interested after viewing,” the agent responded. That seem unnecessary, doesn’t it?
The agent added that the ‘Viewing Deposit’ is due to there being “many unserious renters”.
Feeling like the entire ‘Viewing Deposit’ thing could be a scam, Cindy informed the agent that she cannot trust them (and fairly so considering the times we’re living in)
The agent took offense to this and replied, “I understand your fear and consciousness about being scammed as I will feel the same way too, I work very hard for my money as I have children and I wouldn’t want them to live on the streets. Thinking of this as a scam is an embarrassment to my personality but I will disregard that because I want to build a landlord and tenant relationship with you.”
Another rather weird thing about this entire interaction for viewing the property is the need for a lawyer to be present
This image is for illustration purposes only.
After Cindy informed the agent that she’s a serious renter, the agent replied, “Yes, I have to pay my lawyer to be available and bring you the key card, and I have to lock up the unit for you to view and the only way I know you’re a serious renter is when you pay the ‘Viewing Deposit’ and if you don’t like the unit, I will refund you RM200 after viewing.”
This contradicts the “95% of the money will be returned” mentioned by the agent earlier.
“I hope you understand but if not, you can look with other agents, no problem.”
So far, Cindy has encountered 3 different agents who have implemented this ‘Viewing Deposit’ system within the Petaling Jaya and Subang areas
“They would ask me to deposit RM200 to them in order for me to view the unit, which they say is refundable but obviously it’s ridiculous. I wonder if it’s real or not sometimes but I have never heard of it before when I searched for places to rent.”
“It’s a tough economy to live in already, so it’s even harder if there are scams like this targeting people who are just looking for a decent place to live,” she told WORLD OF BUZZ.
Have you ever encountered agents, landlords or home owners implementing ‘Viewing Deposits’ to view their rental properties while taking it off the market just for your viewing?
Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.
Also read: M’sian Dad Called Out For Sexualising Young Babysitters While Hiring One For His Kid
