Tenancy Law In Malaysia: Evicting Tenants

• Published date: 21 February 2023
• Subject Matter: Real Estate and Construction, Real Estate, Landlord & Tenant - Leases
• Law Firm: Kevin Wu & Associates
• Author: Tiffany Ding

A tenancy agreement is a binding contract between a tenant and a landlord which outlines the rights and responsibilities of each party during the tenancy period. The tenancy period is usually created for a term which does not exceed three (3) years, otherwise it will be considered as a lease.

A tenancy agreement comprises of various terms such as the tenancy period, deposit and rental amount, mode of payment, notice period, option to renew, inventory list and so on. So, what happens if the tenant defaults in paying the monthly rental or if there is no notice period in the tenancy agreement? Can the landlord claim for double rental if the tenant holds over the premises without the owner's consent?

The Remedy of Self-Help

Many a times, landlords will resort to self-help measures to recover the property from the tenant such as changing the locks to the property, shutting off water and/or electricity supply to the property or simply removing the tenant's belongings from the property, without having any regard as to whether they are violating the law. Section 7(2) of the Specific Relief Act 1950 extinguishes a landlord's right to recover possession of his property through the remedy of self-help, instead the landlord is obliged to recover possession of the property via proceedings in court. A landlord who takes the law into his own hands and forcibly evict a defaulting tenant may very well find himself sued by the tenant as provided by Section 8 of the Specific Relief Act.

The proper procedure for a landlord to evict a defaulting tenant begins with issuing a letter to the tenant as a reminder to regulate the payment of the rental. In the event the tenant still refuses to pay the rental, the landlord may give a Notice to Quit to the tenant to terminate the tenancy and demand for the rental arrears.

Notice Period

A tenancy agreement would usually state the length of notice each party would need to give to the other if one party wishes to earlier terminate the tenancy agreement. However, in the absence of a notice period clause, sufficient notice must be given by the landlord to the tenant in order to effectively terminate a tenancy. A valid Notice to Quit will have the effect of terminating the current tenancy on the date of termination. Failure to give notice will deem the termination of a tenancy ineffective.¹ In the event a landlord through his solicitors files a suit against the tenant for rental arrears and to seek for an order for vacant possession of the...