Unwelcomed Knocks

The recent spate of hall checks has caused a stir among residents, who say the checks have invaded their privacy and disturbed  their sleep.

By Elissa Teo, Esther Lam

Checks have been conducted at five out of the 16 Halls of Residences since the start of October, according to the Office of Housing and Auxiliary Services (HAS).*

These checks have left some students feeling their privacy was being invaded.

Vanathy Nathan, 20, a second-year student from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, said: “I have personal belongings I do not want strangers to touch or see.”

HAS said the checks were carried out to “ensure that there is no overcrowding in hall rooms and that people who no longer need the rooms are not hoarding or profiteering from them”. Visitors who are not the rightful occupants of the room are not allowed in the rooms past 11.30pm, when official visiting hours end.

HAS said that “hoarding” is when a legal tenant allows other people to use the room on his behalf. “Profiteering” refers to students subletting their rooms at a higher price than the hall’s rent.

Any unauthorised person residing in a room without approval from HAS is regarded as an illegal squatter.

Chief HAS Officer Jimmy Lee said: “It isn’t right when someone who doesn’t need a hall is withholding the room and even renting it out at a higher price to make a profit. “Those who no longer need the hall room should return it so that the next person on the waiting list can be allocated the space.”

Under the Rules & Regulations Governing Residence in Halls, the hall offices reserve the right to enter rooms at any time with or without notice, for the purposes of inspection.

SURPRISE CHECKS: Some residents have reported cases of hall officers entering their rooms in the wee hours without notice to conduct checks.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: VALERIE WANG

 The price for being nice

The Rules & Regulations Governing Residence in Halls also state that if anyone is found to be an illegal squatter, both the illegal squatter and authorised tenants will be evicted.

Contrary to recent media reports about students exploiting residential halls to make a quick buck, some students in NTU allow their friends to squat in their rooms out of goodwill instead.

One such example was with Katharina Bagurten, 23. The third-year exchange student from Germany said she had been unsuccessful in applying for a hall room prior to arriving in Singapore.

As it was difficult and costly for Bagurten to find off-campus housing, her friend, a legal tenant, agreed to let Bagurten stay in her room as an illegal squatter.

According to Bagurten, when the Hall President came to know she was squatting illegally, he suggested for her and her roommates to move out within 24 hours.**

“Bunking in with my friend was the quickest and easiest option, and she had let me stay with her as a favour,” she said.

“I didn’t even have to pay a single cent,” she added.

After the episode, Bagurten remained grateful to her friends for allowing her to bunk in with them and felt sorry for having caused them trouble.

* CORRECTION: This article has been updated on 13 November, 2013, due to a reporting error. The original article stated that hall officers conducted room checks on Vanathy Nathan’s room on October 14, 2013, and on the rooms of two Hall 4 residents – reportedly known as Melissa Tan and Lim Jiaxin, on 10 Oct, and on Bagurten’s friends’ room. We have learnt that these checks did not happen at all.

**This sentence has been changed to clarify that Bagurten’s Hall president and not the Hall Office, had suggested for her and her roommates to move out within 24 hours. Also, the sentence that she was fined $280 on the spot has been removed. We have learnt there was no fine issued to Bagurten.

We apologize for the errors.