If a landlord says a lease has ended because rent is overdue, check the lease and how the landlord is seeking to enforce it. A claim for possession based on non-payment, a demand for unpaid rent and a notice requiring the tenant to leave can raise different issues.
Identify the breach and the clause
Read the rent due date, any contractual period for payment and the clause on re-entry or forfeiture. Put the invoices and receipts in date order. Keep rent separate from late charges, utilities and other disputed sums.
For a breach within section 18(1) of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act 1886, the landlord generally has to identify the breach in a notice, require it to be remedied where possible and require monetary compensation. The provision refers to a reasonable time to remedy where possible and make reasonable compensation. Section 18(9) preserves the separate law on non-payment of rent.
Read any court papers promptly
Section 18A addresses a court action to enforce re-entry or forfeiture for non-payment of rent. Subsection (2) provides for payment of arrears and costs into court within the prescribed period, subject to exceptions including subsection (6) where other grounds or claims are joined as specified. If the case proceeds to trial and the court finds the landlord entitled to enforce the right, subsection (3) provides for a possession order with a period of at least four weeks from the order for the specified payment into court. That period belongs to the court procedure. Check the actual papers for the steps and dates that apply.
What a recent tenancy decision explains
In JJV v JJW [2026] SGSCT 30, the Small Claims Tribunals gave grounds on 26 October 2026 in a dispute over rent and other sums. At [17] to [21], the tribunal explained how the statutory routes differ and noted that a notice alone does not effect forfeiture. These were explanatory observations. The tribunal made no finding about what police had told the tenant or whether that tenant would have obtained relief. No published appeal or subsequent treatment was found in the public search on 10 November 2026.
Gather the signed lease, notices, payment records and any court papers before deciding how to respond. A landlord whose aim is to recover arrears can also read our guide to the writ of distress. For a tenant who stays after the lease term, see the guide to holding over.
Statutory provisions and judgment checked on 10 November 2026.
Archive housing photograph for context. Robertson Quay, Singapore – 20110731 (photographed 2011). Photo: Bryanmackinnon.. Source (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robertson_Quay,_Singapore_-_20110731.jpg) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0). Resized and displayed cropped.
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