Difficult landlord---help, please!

[dilbert]

Just a few days after I moved into his apartment, I find my landlord getting extremely difficult to deal with. He won't respond to emails, would hang up when I call him, and would not even accept the rental payment for the second month (the first month's was payed in advance) delivered by cheque. It seems he has second thoughts about the rental agreement, but is waiting for me to 'default on rental payment' so as to avoid paying me the agreed two months rent for early termination.

What recourse do I have according to HK tenancy law?

[Claire ex-ax]

From the RVD website:

Q14 What can a tenant do when the landlord refuses to accept rent ?

A14 If a landlord refuses to accept the rent, the tenant may send the rent by cheque
through the post to the landlord. If the letter is unclaimed, the tenant should keep it as
a proof for future legal proceedings.

From GovHK - one-stop portal of the Hong Kong SAR Government / ??????? website:

If for some reason your landlord refuses to accept your rent, you should send a cheque by registered mail. If the mail remains unclaimed, you can keep it as a proof for future legal proceedings if needed.

So send the cheque again, by registered mail.

[PDLM]

Send the rental cheques by registered mail. If he refuses to take delivery of them then keep the paperwork as evidence.

Make sure you've changed the locks on the door.

If the problem persists then take advice under the Duty Lawyer scheme.

Is your tenancy agreement properly stamped and registered?

[squid]

Have you had a local friend speak with your landlord...perhaps something is getting lost in translation (I assume that you are not a Canto speaker?)

The other posts are good resources for all of us renting here...thanks.

good luck .

[chimo]

Oh well what I was going to say has already been said. Do exactly what PLDM said. And I would like to emphasize to point about changing your locks.

[dilbert]

Thanks everyone who responded and made good suggestions. I have already changed the lock and have sent the cheque to the landlord by registered post yesterday.

[saun-fam]

HI- we're just about to sign our lease with what so far seems to be a fine landlord. Was curious why y'all recommend changing the locks? In the US that would be pretty odd for a rental, maybe even illegal, as the owner needs access to their property, as long as they give notice and receive permission. Is changing the locks standard procedure here? or just something to do if there are issues with the landlord?

Thanks!

[PDLM]

There are two potential problems: one is access by the landlord, the other is access by anyone else who may still have a key - which means any of the previous tenants or (often) any of their helpers. There's no real checking of how many keys a tenant gives back when they leave and, of course, you have no way of knowing how many copies they might have made.

It's certainly quite a common practice for a new tenant to change locks, but I don't think everyone does it by any means. It would be quite exceptional for a tenant to agree to the landlord accessing the premises without the tenant (or their representative) being present.