Introduction: Chicken Rice Diplomacy

When Swiss-born content creator Marion and long-time Singapore expat and Rently co-founder Dominic sit down for a chat, you expect fondue and efficiency. What you get instead is a crash course in rental drama, housing hacks, and a spicy debate over chicken rice versus rosti. Spoiler alert: chicken rice wins. Easily.

When Life Hands You Lemons (and No Lease)

Marion’s Singapore saga started with love—a boyfriend’s job transfer to the Little Red Dot. But as fate would have it, the relationship fizzled out faster than an HDB Wi-Fi connection in a thunderstorm. Suddenly, she was solo in Singapore, without a visa, job, or roof over her head.

Cue the panic: where do you even start hunting for a home in a foreign country?

Dominic’s own origin story is eerily similar. Meant to be a brief banking stint closer to his girlfriend in Hong Kong, Singapore seduced him with its weather, warmth, and waffles of the human kind. Ten years later, he's still here, calling it a better version of Switzerland—cheaper, friendlier, and with massages at every corner.

Welcome to the Jungle: Singapore’s Rental Wild West

Let’s set the stage: you think renting in Singapore is like the rest of the city—organized, safe, efficient. Until you meet the reality: fake listings, disappearing agents, and deposits that vanish into the ether like your gym motivation in February.

Both Marion and Dominic share war stories. Marion moved four times in one year, once bunking with a friend—an episode she calls a “disaster.” Dominic, too, faced the bewildering concept of handing over a fat cheque to someone he barely knew, hoping it wasn’t a scam.

And let’s talk speed. In Switzerland, people look for apartments months in advance. In Singapore? You view a place at lunch and move in by dinner. Blink, and it’s gone.

Scams, Deposits, and Other Nightmares

The biggest eye-opener? The utter lack of tenant protection. Imagine paying a $6,000 deposit, only to have the landlord ghost you like a bad Tinder date. It’s happened. More than once.

Marion recounts a chilling tale of a friend booted out of a serviced apartment with two days’ notice, never to see her deposit again. And Dominic? He’s heard it all—scams with fake agents, landlords doubling rent overnight, and a ceiling leak that turned into a month-long water feature because no one could reach the upstairs tenant.

Rently to the Rescue

So how do you fix this madness? Enter Rently, the startup co-founded by Dominic that promises to “make renting not suck.”

Rently isn’t just a listings site—it’s a full-service rental bodyguard. They vet agents, verify landlords, store all your move-in documentation, and even front the deposit so you don’t lose your life savings to an unscrupulous owner. Think of it as your rental guardian angel, but tech-savvy and with better insurance.

They also handle common tenant headaches, like aircon servicing records (which landlords love to use as a deposit-snatching excuse). Rently keeps everything digital and centralized, so when move-out day comes, you’ve got receipts—literally and figuratively.

Rent ≠ Respect?

Dominic makes a spicy comparison: renting a home in Singapore costs as much as buying a Mercedes, yet the experience is closer to buying expired sushi from a sketchy hawker stall. Landlords, agents, tenants—everyone’s incentives are misaligned, making the process adversarial instead of collaborative.

Rently aims to realign the stars. Their model avoids charging for listings, which means no hidden bias or shady upselling. You can even send them a listing from a competitor’s site, and they’ll handle the rest. Zero ego, just results.

Real Talk: Tips, Tricks, and Tenant Woes

Throughout the chat, Dominic and Marion serve up hard-earned wisdom like seasoned rental sherpas:

• Document everything: Take photos of every scratch and stain.

• Get insured: Rently bundles insurance so you don’t have to stress.

• Beware of co-living operators: Stick to reputable names like Habyt or Casa Mia.

• Negotiate smart: In Singapore, longer leases can cut costs, but come with commitment pressure.

Also, agents aren’t always your friends. Many will only show units that pay them higher commissions. That “perfect” apartment? It might be kept secret just to boost someone's paycheck.

Humour, Humidity, and HDBs

Despite the drama, the tone is far from gloomy. The two swap jokes about 24-hour Fairprice grocery runs, chicken rice devotion, and how Singaporeans seem to believe that rosti—Swiss potato pancakes—should be drowned in sour cream (spoiler: they shouldn't).

And then comes the culinary betrayal: Dominic, now thoroughly localised, admits to enjoying his rosti Singapore-style. Marion’s Swiss soul shrivels a little. The cultural compromise is real.

Final Thoughts: Swiss Precision Meets Singapore Hustle

For Marion, Singapore is the full package: sunny weather, affordable luxuries, great food, and a dynamic vibe that outpaces her homeland. Dominic echoes the sentiment. He’s all-in—not just personally but professionally—betting on a better rental ecosystem with Rently.

Their chat wraps with laughter, peanut-allergy scares (rojak, we see you), and heartfelt anecdotes. But underneath the jokes is a serious mission: make renting in Singapore less risky, more transparent, and maybe even—dare we say it—fun.