He said 85% (131) of the residents had defaulted on their RM150-a-month rent.

“There are some with arrears of more than RM30,000, having not paid for nearly 20 years. It is just RM100 for rent and RM50 for maintenance fees,” he was quoted by Harian Metro as saying.

“We feel that this refusal to pay rent can become like a virus, because it will only cause others not to pay rent when no action is taken against errant tenants,” Sinar Harian also quoted him as saying.

The Seremban City Council has said it will seal units and tear up agreements with residents who refuse to pay.

Chew said the council gave residents new agreements three months ago with stricter requirements to pay up on time.

He said people in financial difficulty can meet him or the council to discuss a repayment plan.

He also said the local government development ministry has allocated RM1 million to repair the Lobak flats.

Chew said that since his election, he has been working hard to shed the image of the flats being dirty and crime-ridden by carrying out cleaning operations from time to time.

He said water theft was also curbed by placing grilles on water meters.