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Landlord & Tenant
Malaysia has no residential tenancy act, so the agreement is very nearly the whole of the law between you: early termination and the deposit, access to the unit, meter tampering, renting room by room, and how rental income and rental losses are actually treated for tax.
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| Blog Categories | Landlord & Tenant |
|---|---|
| Content angle | Use this category before you sign a tenancy, and the moment one goes wrong. |
10 posts
Landlord & Tenant
Leaving before the tenancy ends: what the deposit really turns on
Leaving a rental property before the agreed term expires is governed strictly by the tenancy agreement, not by any residential tenancy act. What happens to the security deposit turns entirely on whether your contract contains an express break clause and how actual landlord losses are calculated.
Landlord & Tenant
Can you report a defaulting tenant to CTOS?
Landlords frequently threaten to blacklist defaulting tenants with CTOS, but credit reporting agencies cannot register debts without subscriber agreements or formal public records. Understanding the strict legal mechanisms of credit reporting separates empty threats from actual debt recovery.
Landlord & Tenant
A landlord who lets himself in
Owning a residential property does not confer the right to enter it unannounced while a tenant is in lawful occupation. Under Malaysian contract law, granting a tenancy transfers exclusive possession to the tenant, and unauthorized landlord entry constitutes a serious breach.
Landlord & Tenant
Your tenant tampered with the meter - who does TNB come after?
When a tenant tampers with an electric meter, utility providers pursue the registered account holder rather than the physical occupant. Landlords who leave accounts in their own name carry primary liability and face substantial civil recovery actions.
Landlord & Tenant
You rented the unit out - can you still use the pool?
Landlords frequently assume that paying maintenance fees grants them continued personal access to condo gyms and swimming pools after leasing out their unit. In strata management practice, common facility rights follow physical occupation rather than legal ownership.
Landlord & Tenant
The agent took the deposit and disappeared
When an intermediary absconds with a rental deposit, legal liability turns entirely on principles of actual and ostensible agency authority. Understanding who bears the financial loss dictates how landlords and tenants must protect their transactions.
Landlord & Tenant
Renting a house out room by room: where the line is
Renting a house room by room is primarily constrained by building safety laws and physical partitioning rather than tenant headcount. Unauthorized partition walls breach municipal building control, fire egress codes, and invalidate property insurance.
Landlord & Tenant
Two names on the title: how the rent gets declared
When a property is registered under joint names, rental income cannot be arbitrarily declared by a single owner to lower tax brackets. Under the Income Tax Act 1967, each owner must be assessed on their specific legal share of rental proceeds.
Landlord & Tenant
When your rental makes a loss
Landlords often assume that rental property losses can be carried forward to offset future income or salary. Under the Income Tax Act 1967, losses from a non-business rental source cannot be carried forward and are largely extinguished.
Landlord & Tenant
Routing the rent through a parent's account to save tax
Routing rental proceeds into a parent's bank account does not shift the tax liability away from the legal property owner. Under the Income Tax Act 1967, tax follows the beneficial ownership of the asset rather than whoever receives the cash.