Ex-property agent fined record S$88,000 for offering 6 Geylang private units for short-term stays on Airbnb

SINGAPORE — After running what prosecutors called a “remarkable one-man operation” for close to a year, a former property agent was fined a record S$88,000 on Thursday (March 5) for renting out residential properties for illegal short-term stays.

Joel Su Jiqing, previously from Propnex Realty, used the Airbnb platform to advertise six private properties in Geylang to local and foreign guests.

He managed to earn S$115,112 from October 2017 to September 2018.

Short-term home sharing has been illegal in Singapore since May 2017, with the authorities reiterating its position last year. Airbnb is the leading short-term accommodation sharing platform in many countries where it is permitted.

In November 2017, when Su was first investigated in relation to one property, he lied to officers from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) that he had no other rental units providing short-term stays.

The URA exercised leniency and did not prosecute him, but he was eventually charged in court when the authorities found out about the other properties.

On Thursday, the 37-year-old pleaded guilty to four charges under the Planning Act. Another two similar charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

Offenders can be fined up to S$200,000 for each charge.

In response to TODAY’s queries, the URA said that five other individuals have been charged in court for similar offences. The other four, including a pair of property agents, were fined between S$13,000 and S$70,000.

RENTED OUT CONDOS AND TERRACE HOUSE

The court heard that the initial investigation into Su’s first unit concluded, he changed his Airbnb host name from Jo to Mik, then continued to provide short-term accommodation.

He first entered into tenancy agreements with the units’ owners, either in his own name or through The Coffee Cart, a mobile coffee cart business of which he was the sole proprietor.

He deceived the owners or their sales representative using various pretexts, and did not tell them he would be subletting the units out for illegal short-term stays.

For instance, he told one sales representative that he and his wife would be staying in the unit as they were waiting for their Build-to-Order flat to be built in a year’s time.

On another occasion, he told another property agent that he intended to use the unit as a meeting place with suppliers for The Coffee Cart.

Su chose properties in Geylang as he thought the residents there were less likely to raise complaints. The rental rates for private homes there were also considerably lower.

He illegally rented out:

• Two condominium units at the #1 Loft in 1 Lorong 24 Geylang

• A condominium unit at the D’Weave at 5 Lorong 39 Geylang

• A single-storey terrace house at 52 Lorong 36 Geylang

• A condominium unit at Smart Suites at 302 Sims Avenue

• A condominium unit at #1 Suites at 1 Lorong 20 Geylang

Through Airbnb, he gave his guests instructions on how to check in and out, answered their queries and personally met them at the units. He also hired a housekeeper.

At various periods, he tried to avoid detection by the URA by changing the host names of his Airbnb account.

When some of his guests told him that Certis Cisco officers were inspecting the units, he deleted all of his listings and host accounts on Airbnb.

‘DISHONESTY AND DECEPTION’

The prosecution sought a fine of S$235,000, saying that despite the URA’s “clear messages” that short-term accommodation at residential properties is illegal, the practice remains prevalent as it is “clearly a lucrative business that one could easily operate”.

“Like this accused, other offenders rely on pseudonyms and communicate exclusively using Airbnb’s platform as opposed to providing private contact information upfront, minimising the risk that they might expose their actual identities to the authorities,” they added.

District Judge Clement Tan said that there was “dishonesty and deception involved at every turn”, and that Su had persistently committed offences.

He could have got the units’ owners into trouble through his actions, the judge added.

While Su’s lawyer argued that the URA had sent his client “mixed messages”, the judge noted that Su would have “known very well” by November 2017 that what he was doing was illegal, but he continued anyway.

In its statement, the URA said that agents convicted of short-term accommodation offences can be debarred from practising estate agency work for three years.

The Council for Estate Agencies will take past convictions into account when assessing former agents looking to rejoin the industry, the URA added.

“URA will continue to step up enforcement efforts against unauthorised short-term accommodation, and prosecute recalcitrant offenders and those who undertake short-term accommodation operations on a commercial basis,” the agency said.