Rental deposit - Unreasonable Claims of Damage?

[Elves377]

In the last Condo I lived in, the rollers ofmy computer chair made some minor damage to the floor as shown in the pic. Damage is in the living room. (fwiw, the same chair did no damage to the wooden floor of my previous and current condo rooms).

 

One quote is from the a contractor appointed by the juristic office and one quote is from a sub contractor through my real estate agent. They both quote to redo the whole living room instead of just tht damaged area, claiming that otherwise the colour will be inconsistent. 

 

In there is a sub quote for 18k to rewax the whole floor of the living room, which I think the owner is happy with. But to me this still seems excessive given how minor the damage is. If the owner insists, what can I do? She had already delayed my deposit for 6 weeks until I chased her up. She has given some back now but I still have 45k with her. 

[robblok]

Looks bad to be sure.. if this is a lot worse then the rest of the room I can understand the owner. Often they can't replace just a part of it. 

 

If waxin solves it then that would be great. How long did you stay.. if that is in just a year then I can understand the owner wanting it fixed if it is several years i am more on your side.

 

 

[brokenbone]

i would go with wax, much cheaper and its not deep damage, just the surface.

must say your painted toenails goes well with

the surface damage color tho,

why dont you stay and fix it yourself ?

[Vacuum]

18 minutes ago, Elves377 said:

They both quote to redo the whole living room instead of just tht damaged area, claiming that otherwise the colour will be inconsistent. 

What a load of <deleted>. The damage is hardly noticeable, and could be called normal wear and tear.

[Elves377]

@brokenbone

Didn't even think I would get charged for this. Owner only bought this issue up 4 weeks after I moved out when I chased up about my deposit. 

Freshly painted toenails ftw

[madmen]

3 minutes ago, Vacuum said:

The damage is hardly noticeable,

Your kidding? 

[sherwood]

If it was my floor I would want it fixed. 

Get rid of that chair mate, seems like it causes nothing but trouble 55

[Elves377]

2 minutes ago, sherwood said:

If it was my floor I would want it fixed. 

Get rid of that chair mate, seems like it causes nothing but trouble 55

Yeah ti's just an ikea chair. As I said, didn't cause any damage at two other rooms I lived in so never considered thsi would happen. 

[Vacuum]

10 minutes ago, madmen said:

Your kidding? 

Certainly not. See post #5, it's obvious that the landlord don't want to return the deposit (or all of it). Normal in Thailand.

[Don Mega]

Yeah I'd want the whole floor re-done unless it can be guaranteed the new pieces of wood match.

 

If it was mine though I'd get the floor sanders in and sand it all back to bare wood and redo the stain and wax.

[wisperone]

Should have just bought a little tin of wood stain...dipped a rag in and wipe over the bare spots, would blend it all right back in. 

[2008bangkok]

And this is why i refuse to move in anywhere thats 2+ months deposit as they just keep ya money, 1 is about manageable although still <deleted>.

[seajae]

 it has come off because it is old and the surface has started to break down(cheap coating, we have the same problem in our house) probably due to sunlight on the floor area and the rollers simply putting pressure  on it. A sand and re-coat would bring it back up, they do not prepare the surface area properly before coating here, this only happens when it is poorly done originally, the coating they put on has not bonded with the timber.

 

[madmen]

landlord won't fix it either. He already spent the deposit .OP is no longer in control but surely should have bought a cheap rubber mat after the very first scratch.

[kingofthemountain]

5 hours ago, Vacuum said:

Certainly not. See post #5, it's obvious that the landlord don't want to return the deposit (or all of it). Normal in Thailand.

indeed

the flux of money seems to work only in a one way here

the landlord try always to charge you with something and do not give the deposit back or a part of it.

The best thing IMHO is aceept only 1 month deposit and do not pay the last month of rental

so when you give them the key back the last day of the last month they can try to rip off you

but at least you are free to agree or not.

[alacrity]

y the 

8 hours ago, Vacuum said:

What a load of <deleted>. The damage is hardly noticeable, and could be called normal wear and tear.

Fair wear and tear? Say what???

 

Damage is obviously apparent and [the assumption is] it wasn't present when the tenant moved in. Ergo, it was caused by the last tenant.

 

If the flooring is laminate, it would be almost impossible to effect an invisible repair without a complete change and if it only means a loss of deposit, it could be a vey good deal. A good wooden floor would be simpler to repair, but the costs may not be disparate.

 

Landlords have rights also.

 

 

[Vacuum]

By a nice rug to cover it.

[PatOngo]

Elves, have you left the building?

[steven100]

Looking at the picture anyone can see the floor is damaged.

As the tenant, you must repair the damaged floor or come to an agreement with the landlord on what he or she should keep from the deposit.

You caused the problem, so you have to fix it.

[Chazar]

As a  landlord and  looking at that floor it isnt a  laminate its a  quite expensive  floor, wood  is  not that tough a material and personally  i always remove and replace with tile even though the modern trend ( as its  fast and cheap) is  laminate, I think laminates are <deleted> and in general wood   floors are  really not  suitable at  all in rental properties due  to ease  of  damage. Spilt Water, dragging furniture, stilletto heels  etc  all can damage  it easily

You might try buying some teak  oil and rub a  drop into those  areas  which might certainly improve it s  appearance if it can get under that varnish.

Another fallacy here is  not getting back the deposits, this for the most part  is untrue but you  will only  hear the stories of the folk who didnt, often those same folk are the ones who claim "damage is minimal" and my  experience  in this  business is  that they are also the ones who leave the rooms  filthy and then claim they left it  spotless and whinge and bitch how theyve never  had  a  problem before.

Ive seen it all in 15  odd  years  of renting rooms  out in more than one continent.

Youve probably left now so she holds  all the cards but thats  a  solid  floor  not a  thin crappy laminate, its  planks of  real  wood, colour  matching would be difficult, sanding and redoing would be the only real  option but some teak  oil might just hide it enough if it could soak under the  varnish.

Someone who was  really good  at finishing it  might be able to get away with patching a  small area with new varnish,laquer but its a suck it and see scenario.

Id  be more lenient on a  decent tenant who'd paid on time and who wasnt constantly  late and have to be reminded but everyones  different, an example of  whats acceptable or  not is  like this.............I  park my new  car in a car park and some dumbass opens their door  onto my car whilst im sat in it putting a  ding  in the door........... this is  really bad for me but  theyd  most  likely  say its  only really small and often they have no idea  the costs in fixing  this although paintless  dent  removal make it  much cheaper  than it  used to be ( but I dont see that in Thailand yet)

Edited September 14, 2019 by Chazar

[Lacessit]

I am impressed by the powers of divination by various posters on this thread with respect to the amount of damage, based on a single photo. Many seem to be landlords.

There is such a thing as fair wear and tear. I'd suggest waxing or varnishing, if that doesn't work the OP will just have to suck it up.

 

Edited September 14, 2019 by Lacessit

[Joromei]

20 hours ago, Vacuum said:

Certainly not. See post #5, it's obvious that the landlord don't want to return the deposit (or all of it). Normal in Thailand.

Never had a problem with deposit return when I rented, just didn't pay the equivalent of deposit in rent. After first loss of deposit I learnt to be careful, Thais don't like to return money once it's in their hands 

[Dazinoz]

15 hours ago, kingofthemountain said:

indeed

the flux of money seems to work only in a one way here

the landlord try always to charge you with something and do not give the deposit back or a part of it.

The best thing IMHO is aceept only 1 month deposit and do not pay the last month of rental

so when you give them the key back the last day of the last month they can try to rip off you

but at least you are free to agree or not.

My ex gf was asked to leave her last room due to ID issues. So she found a new room and we moved everything and cleaned up. Asked for her deposit back. Received a small percentage back and no reason given as to why not all. My ex did not want to make an issue due to her ID problem. So we went and got last few things from room and left. Oh, BTW, I have a feeling the landlord had to regass the AC in that room.

[justin case]

isn't there a thai magical spray that could even it out ?  acetone all over the floor ?

[ExpatOilWorker]

Tenant sometimes have a funny perspective of things. When they move in they demand a deep clean if they just see a flake of dust on the floor and often wants extras, such as microwave oven, new mattress, bedding, etc.

When they move out, their focus is on the new place they are moving to and expect just to pick up their stuff and get the full deposit back.

Often leaving food stains in the refrigerator, shower all scaled up, dust and dirt behind furniture, bed sheets dirty and bed not made up. Needless to say, windows never cleaned.

 

Landlords also do have rights. In this case you did the damage, you fix it or pay others to fix it.

What about the extra month the unit now will be empty while the work is being done? Don't you feel you should also compensate your poor landlord for that?

[madmen]

16 hours ago, kingofthemountain said:

The best thing IMHO is aceept only 1 month deposit and do not pay the last month of rental

Try that with my place and I would cut the water like I did a while back with a filthy Arab who left full ash trays in every room (was told no smoking)and garbage every where

Edited September 14, 2019 by madmen

[johnmcc6]

In most cases the owner won't return deposit because they have spent it!. Never met a thai who can sit on cash without finding a way to spend it,

[BobBKK]

Who bought the roller chair is the question to ask. If it was supplied then you have a case if you bought it then the damage is yours. Pay for the rewax if the chair is yours.

[BobBKK]

1 hour ago, Joromei said:

Never had a problem with deposit return when I rented, just didn't pay the equivalent of deposit in rent. After first loss of deposit I learnt to be careful, Thais don't like to return money once it's in their hands 

That is cheating and if any of my tenants did that they would be out within 5 days of not paying AND I'd keep the deposit.

[Jaxxper]

At least half of the landlords (including foreigners) are reluctant to give back deposits. Probably fewer than that actually file taxes against rental income so a negotiating tactic might be to state that you will be taking this up with the collector of taxes. That might frighten the landlord into being more reasonable. Nobody wants the tax people poking about in their affairs. Might work.

For your next move buy one of those plastic floor covers designed for this very reason.