Do you have a property to rent? If so, watch out for bluffer tenants (Cantonese: 租霸), a type of local scum that could give you hell like you’ve never imagined before.

Apple Daily told us the story earlier about this dopey poor landlady who has been given months of hell by a tenant occupying her flat in North Point. It started with the landlady wanting to rent the flat out. She left the door of the place unlocked and asked the security guard to take down the names of the prospective tenants who wanted to see it. In April, a certain bitch called and expressed interests in the property. HK$ 2,500 was credited to the owner’s bank account as deposit, the HK$ 7.500 monthly rent would be taken care of later.

By the end of April, the landlady discovered that the flat had already been occupied, although that same bitch claimed that the guy was only a renovation worker. Until June, the landlady still couldn’t get the agreement signed and rent paid. So she did what normal people would do; she called the police. Some police officers visited the flat with her, only to discover that the balcony connected to the flat had been turned into a barbecue site where HK$ 120 per head was charged for parties. Our bluffer here also sub-rented two bed spaces out at $1,000 per month. Home sweet home indeed..

The landlady begged the police to force the gang out of her flat. Anybody who has experience in dealing with the local police could guess what their reply was: they can do nothing. The landlady took it to the court and won. Just about the time she was trying to execute the ruling and drive the gang out, the bitch resurfaced and told her she had filed an appeal. Our law enforcers, after hearing that, asked our poor landlady to withhold her action, as it’s still in legal proceeding…

According to the Hong Kong Owners Club, some 租霸 managed to occupy a property once without paying a dime for 52 months. As what these bastards did are not criminal offenses, they can leave your flat anytime they feel like after burning and tearing down your place like this. So, any tips from this club? They provide different $200-500 seminars, teaching you how to identify bastards from good tenants and how to bust an unlawful occupation up. They even provide services to help you reclaim your flat.

I have no clue why they can do what the coppers can’t do… as to my humble knowledge, there’s only one member of society with that kind of mighty power. My advice to you is however a simple one: just don’t buy a flat at the moment. You’re destined to get screwed by developers anyway.

Henry has a weekly guest post on The Dark Side. He is one of the founders of the Libertines Pub and also writes for Global Voices Online.