JFT & Anor v JFV

[2026] SGSCT 5 Small Claims Tribunals 6 April 2026 SCT/19617/2024 17 min read

3 cases cited

Key facts

Court	Small Claims Tribunals
Decided	6 April 2026
Judge	Jared Kang Chern Wey
Charges / claim	Contract, Courts and Jurisdiction

Source: [2026] SGSCT 5, Small Claims Tribunals, decided 6 April 2026 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Contract — Illegality and public policy — Statutory illegality Courts and Jurisdiction — Small Claims Tribunals — Transfer Courts and Jurisdiction — Small Claims Tribunals — Jurisdiction

Practice Areas

Contract Courts and Jurisdiction

Judges (1)

Jared Kang Chern Wey Delivered

Parties (3)

JFT Claimant JFU Claimant JFV Respondent

Case Significance

In JFT and another v JFV [2026] SGSCT 5, decided 6 April 2026, Tribunal Magistrate Jared Kang Chern Wey ordered that Small Claims Tribunal Claim No 19617 of 2024 and Counterclaim No 1017 of 2025 be transferred to the Magistrates' Court, following a trial held on 17 March 2025. The dispute arose from a "room rental agreement" entered into in March 2024 between the first claimant, described in the judgment as the second claimant's son, and the respondent JFV, for a room in a Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat let for a 12-month term; the claimants moved out after six months and then complained to the Ministry for National Development and the HDB about the respondent and the property agent who had facilitated the agreement.

Summary

Two claimants, a mother and son, entered a "room rental agreement" with the respondent for a room in an HDB flat and, after moving out after six months, claimed a money order of $16,325 as a refund of all sums paid as "rent", alleging among other things that the respondent had illegally partitioned the flat without HDB approval; the respondent filed a counterclaim. At trial on 17 March 2025, the Tribunal Magistrate ordered that both the claim and the counterclaim be transferred to the Magistrates' Court pursuant to section 7 of the Small Claims Tribunals Act 1984. No findings were made on the merits of the parties' allegations, and no order was made as to costs or disbursements.

Why was the claim in JFT and another v JFV [2026] SGSCT 5 transferred to the Magistrates' Court?

In [2026] SGSCT 5 (6 April 2026), Tribunal Magistrate Jared Kang Chern Wey ordered a Small Claims Tribunal claim and counterclaim over a March 2024 HDB room rental agreement transferred to the Magistrates' Court, following a trial held on 17 March 2025.