Claimingo
CLM-2026-0142, deposit refund, Woodlands HDB flat

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House advocate

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  • Statement02 Nov 2026, 09:47 SGT, sent when the advocate marked it doneSent
  • Challenge05 Nov 2026, 16:24 SGT, sent by youSent
  • Reply07 Nov 2026, 18:00 SGT, sent automatically at the deadlineSent
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mcp_servers:
  claimingo:
    url: "https://claimingo.pages.dev/api/mcp"
    headers:
      Authorization: "Bearer ${CLAIMINGO_PARTY_TOKEN}"
    timeout: 300
    keepalive_interval: 180
    tools:
      include: [get_case_state, read_case_file, read_public_record, search_precedents,
                read_notes, write_notes, upload_evidence,
                submit_statement, submit_challenge, submit_reply]
      prompts: false
      resources: false
memory_enabled: false        # the case file lives on Claimingo, not in agent memory
user_profile_enabled: false

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Statement169 of 1,500
Challenge123 of 600
Reply154 of 600
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Version 9, 07 Nov 2026, 17:58 SGT. 5 KB of 32 KB.

Brief from Mr Tan

Flat was freshly painted before Sep 2025. Agent says the kitchen was very oily. Wants the deductions upheld but will accept a fair outcome. Do not exaggerate.

Position

Nail holes are admitted damage. Kitchen grease is shown in Rachel's photos. Quotes are market rate.

Weak points

Re-let on 01 Oct without repainting. Inventory list is unsigned and was edited in October. Three photos lack EXIF dates.

Checkpoint before reply

Answer the tenant's challenge plainly: no work done, re-let on 01 Oct. Fallback: if the living-room marks are found pre-existing, ask for bedroom 2 only. Auto-send at 18:00 unless Mr Tan holds.

Demo

Demo controls. Mock data, demo clock 09 Nov 2026, 14:30 SGT. Every person, document and ruling in this case is invented.

Landlord's copy

Meera Pillai v Tan Boon Kiat, landlord's copy

  1. SubmissionDone.
  2. ChallengeDone.
  3. ReplyDone.
  4. DecisionCurrent step.

Live record

The claimS$1,400 claimed
Premises
Blk 347 Woodlands Avenue 3, #09-11274-room HDB flat, whole unit
Tenancy
15 Sep 2025 to 14 Sep 2026S$2,600 a month, standard-form agreement
Handover
14 Sep 2026, 10:30 SGT
Deposit
S$2,600S$1,200 refunded, S$1,400 withheld
Withheld for
Post-tenancy cleaning S$450Quote, BrightNest Cleaning, 16 Sep 2026Repainting living room and bedroom 2 S$950Quote, Seng Hup Painting Works, 18 Sep 2026
Filed
20 Oct 2026, 10:12 SGT
Meera Pillai

The flat was handed back clean. The wall marks were there at move-in, and the rest is fair wear and tear. The full S$1,400 should be returned.

Own agent hermes-tenant, DeepSeek (deepseek-chat)
Tan Boon Kiat

The kitchen was greasy and the walls stained and holed at handover. Cleaning and repainting are chargeable under the yield-up clause.

House advocate, Claude Sonnet (claude-sonnet-5-5)

Claim filed by the tenant through the intake form.

Claim accepted: a residential tenancy, under S$20,000, for two years or less. The landlord was invited and each side was sent its own link.

The tenant's agent connected: hermes-tenant on Hermes Agent 0.13, model DeepSeek (deepseek-chat).

The landlord chose the house advocate, model Claude Sonnet. Both sides are connected.

Submission opened, sealed. Each side files its statement and evidence by 02 Nov 2026, 18:00 SGT.

The tenant's statement and evidence were received and sealed.

SubmissionDisclosed 02 Nov
Meera PillaiStatement

1. I rented the whole flat at Blk 347 Woodlands Avenue 3, #09-1127 from the landlord from 15 Sep 2025 to 14 Sep 2026 at S$2,600 a month. I paid a deposit of S$2,600 on 12 Sep 2025 (E-04).

2. I handed back the keys on 14 Sep 2026 after cleaning the flat. On 29 Sep 2026 the landlord returned S$1,200 and kept S$1,400: S$450 for cleaning and S$950 for repainting.

3. No inventory or condition report was signed at the start. Schedule 2 of the agreement, where the inventory should be, is blank (E-01). The marks on the living-room wall were there when I moved in: E-02 photo 7 shows them on 15 Sep 2025, and I sent the photographs to the landlord that evening. He replied "Ok noted" (E-03).

4. A year of ordinary living leaves some marks on paint. That is fair wear and tear, which the agreement excludes. Joel Lim, who helped me move out, photographed the kitchen at about 09:40 on handover day (E-06 photos 1 to 6) and describes how we cleaned it (E-05).

5. The landlord relies on two quotes. He has not shown that any work was done or paid for.

6. I claim the S$1,400 withheld from my deposit.

208 of 1,500 words. hermes-tenant, DeepSeek (deepseek-chat). Receipt rcpt_afda163eec20

Tan Boon Kiat (you)Statement

1. The tenancy, the deposit of S$2,600 and the refund of S$1,200 on 29 Sep 2026 are admitted.

2. At the handover inspection on 14 Sep 2026 my agent, Ms Rachel Goh, found the kitchen hob and backsplash heavily greased, and stains and nail holes on the walls of the living room and bedroom 2. She photographed them (L-04) and describes them in her statement (L-05).

3. The agreement requires the tenant to give the flat back in the same clean condition as at the start, fair wear and tear excepted. The flat was cleaned and repainted before the tenancy began, as the inventory list records (L-03).

4. The deductions follow two contractors' quotes: S$450 for cleaning (L-01) and S$950 for repainting (L-02). I set them out to the tenant on 28 Sep 2026 (L-06).

5. The tenant's photographs of 15 Sep 2025 show one small mark near the TV console. They do not show the stains in the living room and bedroom 2 that were there at handover.

169 of 1,500 words. House advocate, Claude Sonnet (claude-sonnet-5-5). Receipt rcpt_c93c8fd06d9c

Both submissions are in. Disclosed together.

Challenge opened, sealed. Each side may attack the other's statement and evidence until 05 Nov 2026, 18:00 SGT.

The tenant's challenge was received and sealed.

ChallengeDisclosed 05 Nov
Meera PillaiChallenge

1. The deductions rest on two quotes (L-01, L-02) and no invoice. The landlord does not say whether any of the work was done, or whether the flat has been let again. Until he does, the quotes prove no loss.

2. The inventory list (L-03) is unsigned. The secretary flags that the file was last modified on 12 Oct 2026, after this dispute began. It cannot show that the walls were "good" at move-in.

3. Ms Goh's kitchen photographs (L-04 photos 4 to 9) are flash close-ups taken at about 10:35, almost an hour after Joel Lim's photographs from the doorway (E-06). They are not like for like. Three of her bedroom 2 photographs (17, 18 and 21) have no capture date.

4. The landlord told me on 22 Sep 2026 that he would deduct "about $1500" (E-03). His email of 28 Sep 2026 says S$1,400 (L-06). The figure was not worked out from the quotes.

156 of 600 words. hermes-tenant, DeepSeek (deepseek-chat). Receipt rcpt_377e3c6cb8bf

Tan Boon Kiat (you)Challenge

1. The tenant's move-in photograph of bedroom 2 (E-02 photo 11) shows no holes. Ms Goh's photographs at handover (L-04 photos 14 to 22) show four. The tenant does not say who made them.

2. Joel Lim (E-05) is the tenant's friend and helped her move out. His statement that the hob was "wiped down" is not independent, and his photographs (E-06) are taken from the doorway, too far away to show grease.

3. Fair wear and tear covers light marks from ordinary use. It does not cover holes in the walls or grease left on the hob.

4. The tenant says the marks were there at move-in. Her own photographs show one mark near the TV console, not marks in bedroom 2.

123 of 600 words. House advocate, Claude Sonnet (claude-sonnet-5-5). Receipt rcpt_b24b6b9ce7bf

Both challenges are in. Disclosed together.

Reply opened, sealed. Each side answers the challenges against it by 07 Nov 2026, 18:00 SGT.

The tenant's reply was received and sealed.

ReplyDisclosed 07 Nov
Meera PillaiReply

1. I accept that I made four small nail holes in bedroom 2 when I put up picture hooks. I offered on 30 Sep 2026 to have them filled (E-03). A fair figure is the cost of filling and touching them up, not S$950 for two rooms.

2. Joel Lim is a friend, but his photographs carry their own capture time, 09:38 to 09:44 on handover day (E-06). They show the hob wiped and the counters clear.

3. The living-room marks are the ones in my move-in photograph E-02 photo 7. I have never said bedroom 2 had marks at move-in, only the living room.

4. I ask for the return of S$1,400, or in the alternative S$1,400 less a modest sum for filling the nail holes.

127 of 600 words. hermes-tenant, DeepSeek (deepseek-chat). Receipt rcpt_c5b94467331b

Tan Boon Kiat (you)Reply

1. No contractor has done any work and there is no invoice. New tenants moved in on 01 Oct 2026. Before that I cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms myself. The walls were not repainted because there was not enough time before the new tenancy began.

2. That does not mean I suffered no loss. The quotes are from independent contractors at market rates for a 4-room flat.

3. Ms Goh took photographs 4 to 9 of L-04 during the inspection at about 10:35 on 14 Sep 2026. Photos 17, 18 and 21 have no capture date because they were sent to me through a messaging app.

4. The S$1,500 in my message of 22 Sep 2026 was an estimate before the quotes came in. The deductions are S$1,400, as itemised on 28 Sep 2026.

5. If the tribunal finds the living-room marks pre-date the tenancy, the repainting of bedroom 2 alone should be allowed.

154 of 600 words. House advocate, Claude Sonnet (claude-sonnet-5-5). Receipt rcpt_3379739404a8

Both replies are in. Disclosed together.

Tribunal secretaryFacts matrix, revised after the replies

9 facts from both submissions: 5 agreed by both sides, 3 disputed. 14 dated events in the chronology. The judge reads this with the index and the filings.

Facts matrix and chronology

Tribunal secretary, revised 07 Nov 2026, 18:12 SGT

Agreed and disputed facts

9 facts, 5 agreed by both sides. Revised after the replies, 07 Nov 2026, 18:12 SGT.
FactTenantLandlord
F-1

The tenant paid a deposit of S$2,600 on 12 Sep 2025 and the landlord refunded S$1,200 on 29 Sep 2026.

AgreesE-04
AgreesL-06
F-2

The amount withheld is S$1,400: S$450 for cleaning and S$950 for repainting.

Secretary's note.The landlord's message of 22 Sep 2026 says about S$1,500 (E-0003). His email of 28 Sep 2026 itemises S$1,400 (E-0012). Both statements say S$1,400.

AgreesE-03
AgreesL-06
F-3, on I-3

No inventory or condition report was signed at the start of the tenancy.

Secretary's note.Clause 4.3 of the agreement refers to an inventory in Schedule 2, which is blank (E-0001). The landlord's list (E-0009) is unsigned and was last modified on 12 Oct 2026.

AgreesE-01
AgreesL-03
F-4, on I-3

The living-room wall beside the TV console had marks at the start of the tenancy.

Secretary's note.E-0002 photo 7 (EXIF 15 Sep 2025) shows marks beside the TV console. E-0009 records 'walls: good'. The landlord's statement accepts 'one small mark near the TV console'.

AgreesE-02E-03
DisputesL-03
F-5, on I-1

The kitchen hob and backsplash were greasy at handover on 14 Sep 2026.

Secretary's note.The two photo sets were taken about 55 minutes apart (E-0006 at 09:40, E-0010 at 10:35, by EXIF). E-0010 photos 4 to 9 are flash close-ups; E-0006 photos 1 to 6 are taken from the doorway. The witness statements conflict: 'wiped down' (E-0005) and 'thick grease' (E-0011).

DisputesE-05E-06
AgreesL-04L-05
F-6, on I-2

There were four nail holes in the walls of bedroom 2 at handover, made by the tenant.

AgreesE-03
AgreesL-04
F-7, on I-2

There were stains on the walls of the living room and bedroom 2 at handover beyond the marks recorded at move-in.

Secretary's note.Three of the bedroom 2 photographs in E-0010 (17, 18, 21) have no EXIF date.

DisputesE-02E-05
AgreesL-04L-05
F-8, on I-2

No cleaning or painting has been carried out or paid for since the handover.

Secretary's note.E-0007 and E-0008 are quotes. No invoice or receipt is in evidence.

AgreesNone
AgreesL-01L-02
F-9, on I-2

The flat was re-let from 01 Oct 2026 without repainting, after the landlord cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms himself.

Secretary's note.From the landlord's reply. No document supports or contradicts it.

SilentNone
AgreesNone

Built by the tribunal secretary (Claude Sonnet (claude-sonnet-5-5), vision) from both submissions and revised after the replies. The secretary records what each side says; it decides nothing. The evidence ids under each side are the items that side relies on. Disagree with how a fact is put? Say so in your challenge or reply.

Chronology

Dates as the documents give them, SGT
  1. 08 Sep 2025

    Tenancy agreement signed. Schedule 2 (inventory) left blank.

    Common groundE-01
  2. 10 Sep 2025

    Landlord's agent prepares an inventory list. Not signed by either party.

    From the landlord's evidenceL-03Disputed
  3. 12 Sep 2025

    Tenant pays the S$2,600 deposit by FAST transfer.

    Common groundE-04
  4. 15 Sep 2025, 20:41 SGT

    Tenant sends 14 move-in photographs to the landlord on WhatsApp, noting wall marks. Landlord replies 'Ok noted'.

    From the tenant's evidenceE-02E-03
  5. 14 Sep 2026, 09:40 SGT

    Joel Lim photographs the kitchen and rooms before the inspection.

    From the tenant's evidenceE-06E-05
  6. 14 Sep 2026, 10:30 SGT

    Handover inspection by Rachel Goh. Keys returned. Photographs taken.

    From the landlord's evidenceL-04L-05Disputed
  7. 16 Sep 2026

    BrightNest Cleaning quotes S$450 for post-tenancy cleaning.

    From the landlord's evidenceL-01
  8. 18 Sep 2026

    Seng Hup Painting Works quotes S$950 to repaint the living room and bedroom 2.

    From the landlord's evidenceL-02
  9. 22 Sep 2026, 11:18 SGT

    Landlord tells the tenant he will deduct about S$1,500.

    From the tenant's evidenceE-03
  10. 28 Sep 2026

    Landlord emails the deductions: cleaning S$450, repainting S$950.

    From the landlord's evidenceL-06
  11. 29 Sep 2026

    Landlord refunds S$1,200.

    Common groundE-04
  12. 30 Sep 2026, 19:02 SGT

    Tenant disputes the deductions and offers to fill the four nail holes.

    From the tenant's evidenceE-03
  13. 01 Oct 2026

    New tenants move in. No repainting done.

    From the landlord's evidence
  14. 20 Oct 2026, 10:12 SGT

    Tenant files the claim with Claimingo.

    Registry record

The tribunal began deliberating. Judge Claude Opus (claude-opus-5-5), precedent bank bank-2026.11.02-7c41e9.

Record frozen for the consistency check: 10 reruns of the judge on the same record.

TribunalAward AWD-0142-1

Claim allowed in part

S$1,000

Tan Boon Kiat pays Meera Pillai by 29 Nov 2026, 18:00 SGT. The tenant gets S$2,200 of the deposit back in all.

The landlord may keep S$400 of the S$1,400 withheld: S$180 to degrease the kitchen and S$220 to fill and paint over four nail holes in bedroom 2. The rest of the cleaning charge and the living-room repainting are refused. The landlord pays the tenant S$1,000.

What this means for you. You may keep S$400 of the S$1,400 you withheld and must pay the tenant S$1,000. Kitchen degreasing and the bedroom 2 patching are allowed. The living-room repainting is refused because the marks were there at move-in, and the rest of the cleaning is refused because the photographs show only the kitchen needed it.

Accept or appeal

Open until 22 Nov 2026, 18:00 SGT
  • Only you can accept or appeal. Your agent has no tool for it.
  • Accepting makes the award a settlement between you both.
  • An appeal sends the case to a human reviewer.
  • Meera PillaiNot decided yet
  • Tan Boon Kiat (you)Not decided yet

Accept the award

You agree to settle on the award's terms: Tan Boon Kiat pays Meera Pillai S$1,000 by 29 Nov 2026, 18:00 SGT. Once both sides accept, this is a settlement agreement between you. It is not a court order, and the Small Claims Tribunals stay open to either side if it is not honoured.

The sums

CleaningKitchen degreasing only, at the quoted line price.S$450S$180
RepaintingBedroom 2 patching and paint only. Living room refused: the marks pre-date the tenancy.S$950S$220
The landlord keepsS$1,400S$400

Claimed, then allowed.

Authorities cited

Contrary authority considered:

Every authority was returned by the judge's own searches of the precedent bank in this case. Click one to read the passage it was cited for.

Consistency check Experimental

Same disposition in 9 of 10 reruns. Deposit returned to the tenant: S$1,900 to S$2,300 across the agreeing runs, median S$2,200.

Claim allowed in part
9
Claim allowed in full
1
Pairwise agreement
0.80
Failed or refused runs
0

Ten runs of the judge on the frozen record: same submissions, same retrieved passages, same model, prompt, schema and sampling settings. This measures gross instability only. It says nothing about whether the award is correct, and ten identical wrong answers would score perfectly. Frozen 07 Nov 2026, 18:20 SGT. The ringed mark is this award.

Judge Claude Opus (claude-opus-5-5)Bank bank-2026.11.02-7c41e9Chain head 34bb112a5dce

Award AWD-0142-1

Claim allowed in part. Issued 08 Nov 2026, 10:00 SGT.

1. Issues

I-1, S$450 in dispute

Was the flat handed back clean, and if not, what is the reasonable cost of cleaning?

I-2, S$950 in dispute

Were the walls damaged beyond fair wear and tear, and is repainting chargeable?

I-3

With no signed inventory, what was the condition of the flat at move-in?

2. Findings of fact

FF-1, on I-3

No inventory was signed. The tenant's photographs of 15 Sep 2025, sent to the landlord that evening and acknowledged without dispute at the time, are the best evidence of the condition of the flat at move-in.

E-01E-02E-03L-03High confidence 0.91
FF-2, on I-2

The marks on the living-room wall beside the TV console were there at move-in.

E-02E-03Medium confidence 0.78
FF-3, on I-2

The tenant made four nail holes in the walls of bedroom 2, as she admits.

E-03L-04High confidence 0.95
FF-4, on I-2

Stains beyond ordinary marking are not proved. The bedroom 2 photographs said to show them include three with no capture date, and the agent's statement is general.

L-04L-05E-05Medium confidence 0.64
FF-5, on I-1

The hob and backsplash had some grease at the inspection. The rest of the flat had been swept and mopped.

E-05E-06L-04L-05Medium confidence 0.61
FF-6, on I-2

No cleaning or painting has been done or paid for, and the flat was re-let on 01 Oct 2026 without repainting.

L-01L-02High confidence 0.93

3. Applicable rules

R-1

A landlord who keeps part of a deposit must prove the breach and the loss for each deduction.

R-2

Fair wear and tear is not chargeable. Holes made by the tenant are, at the cost of making them good.

R-3

Without a signed inventory, the condition at move-in may be proved by dated photographs and messages.

R-4

A quote for work that was never done, where the flat was re-let, is treated with caution. Only the work shown to be needed is allowed.

4. Reasoning

[1]

The landlord kept S$1,400 of a S$2,600 deposit. He must prove each deduction. The tenant does not have to disprove them.

R-1
[2]

There was no signed inventory. The tenant's move-in photographs were sent on the day and acknowledged. I prefer them to the landlord's unsigned list, which the secretary flags as modified after the dispute began.

FF-1R-3L-03
[3]

The living-room marks pre-date the tenancy. The repainting of the living room is refused.

FF-2R-2
[4]

The four nail holes in bedroom 2 are damage, not wear. The painting quote prices the patching and painting of bedroom 2 at S$220. I allow that sum.

FF-3R-2L-02
[5]

Stains beyond ordinary marking are not proved. The one contrary authority in the bank concerns staining throughout a flat from indoor smoking over two years, which is not this case.

FF-4
[6]

The two sets of kitchen photographs were taken 55 minutes apart and are not like for like, as the tenant pointed out in her challenge. I accept there was some grease on the hob and backsplash. The cleaning quote prices kitchen degreasing at S$180. I allow that sum and refuse the rest of the cleaning charge.

FF-5R-4L-01
[7]

The landlord says in his reply that no work has been done and the flat was re-let without repainting. That supports limiting the deductions to the two items above.

FF-6R-4
[8]

The landlord may keep S$400. Of the S$1,400 withheld he must return S$1,000, so the tenant receives S$2,200 of her deposit in all.

[9]

One document in the landlord's bundle carried hidden text addressed to an AI reviewer. The secretary stripped it from the index and it played no part in this award. I draw no inference against the landlord, who may not have known it was there.

L-02

5. Left unresolved

Whether the landlord's own cleaning before re-letting had a value. Neither side put a figure on it, so none is allowed.

Precedent bank

Award served on both sides. Each side may accept or appeal until 22 Nov 2026, 18:00 SGT.

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