Urgent help please, issue with a rental villa

[Doronazl]

Just rented a villa for a while in phuket

Its a pool villa that has a private swimming pool

Theres seem to be an issue with the water pump or anything related to it

Its our first night sleeping here, when we arrived last night, the security guard told us the main water pump is running on and off all the time, i didnt notice anything yesterday evening but when woke up this morning i could hear it running on and off all the time, till now.

Checked valved again, no water is being used

The only thing i can find that is running now is the pool water filtration system, i guess its doing its thing, is this normal? Does it use new water or something in order to operate? 

 

The worrying part is i spoke to a friend of mine who used to rent this place a couple of years ago and he told me he ended up with a big ass water or electric bill which he was forced to pay for. 

 

The current state is that i paid a 10k deposit and im supposed to pay the rest today, another 25.

I told the owner we need to come to an arrangement before i pay the rest or we will look for another place to stay in. 

 

The owner response was to send a technician which was the same has happened with my friend back then, they didnt manage to fix it then, i doubt it will be fixed now and i dont want to go into a loop of a daily technician coming here trying to fix the problem. 

 

How should i proceed? Im thinkin of asking to see the previous government water and electric bills and suggest the owner we deduct those amounts from future bills(assuming the villa was empty during previous month, which looks like it was) 

 

Or simply back off this place and go look for another villa, what do u guys think? 

[1FinickyOne]

The pump needs to run off and on to keep the water circulating and clean... yes, it costs money to have the pump working every day... at my home it runs 7-8 hours a day... I am told that is normal.. 

[Doronazl]

3 minutes ago, kenk24 said:

The pump needs to run off and on to keep the water circulating and clean... yes, it costs money to have the pump working every day... at my home it runs 7-8 hours a day... I am told that is normal.. 

So the main pump supposed to run together with the water filtration system? 

 

May i ask what its supposed to cost if the house is vacated? If u know

[sometimewoodworker]

5 minutes ago, Doronazl said:

The owner response was to send a technician which was the same has happened with my friend back then, they didnt manage to fix it then, i doubt it will be fixed now and i dont want to go into a loop of a daily technician coming here trying to fix the problem. 

 

How should i proceed? Im thinkin of asking to see the previous government water and electric bills and suggest the owner we deduct those amounts from future bills(assuming the villa was empty during previous month, which looks like it was) 

 

Or simply back off this place and go look for another villa, what do u guys think? 

You are fairly certain that the problem will not be fixed

 

The water and Electric could have been switched off during the previous period, so even if given may not be relevant.

 

Unless you can negotiate a fixed cost that you are OK with for water/electricity, back off now 

[Antonymous]

Maintenance of swimming pools can be very expensive and especially if the system is faulty.

 

If you rented through a reputable agent, ask them for advice. They will know the history of the place, assuming it has been on their books a while. And they should do the negotiation with the owner. If you rented directly with the owner though, study the contract details carefully.

 

If you are sure there's a problem and it looks likely nothing will be done to fix it, I'd up sticks and leave. Find another rental. There surely must be many available right now.

[Doronazl]

3 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

You are fairly certain that the problem will not be fixed

 

The water and Electric could have been switched off during the previous period, so even if given may not be relevant.

 

Unless you can negotiate a fixed cost that you are OK with for water/electricity, back off now 

May i ask if u know an estimation of how much bills should sum up to? 

I work from home so aircons running pretty much non stop, i just came in from a condo in bkk, cost me about 2-3k a month for bills. 

Obviously would be higher cause of the pool but about how much 

[Doronazl]

3 minutes ago, Antonymous said:

Maintenance of swimming pools can be very expensive and especially if the system is faulty.

 

If you rented through a reputable agent, ask them for advice. They will know the history of the place, assuming it has been on their books a while. And they should do the negotiation with the owner. If you rented directly with the owner though, study the contract details carefully.

 

If you are sure there's a problem and it looks likely nothing will be done to fix it, I'd up sticks and leave. Find another rental. There surely must be many available right now.

Its through an agent but i cant say i trust their word on it. 

The lease is on a monthly bases anyway so i can get up and leave with a 30 day notification, says so in the contract of course, that is an option but a better one would be to come to an agreement about the bills

[1FinickyOne]

23 minutes ago, Doronazl said:

higher cause of the pool but about how much 

I am not in Phuket, so don't know the electric rates but in CM area I was told to expect 1500 baht just for the pool

[Doronazl]

7 minutes ago, kenk24 said:

I am not in Phuket, so don't know the electric rates but in CM area I was told to expect 1500 baht just for the pool

I see, il try to ask around friends here in phuket and then maybe like someone suggested here i could try to get them to agree to a fixed amount to pay for bills. 

[Bangel72]

Thought I'd pick up on this thread and see if anyone else has noticed generally pumps across Thailand are going much more than usual since last month. Sounds like a conspiracy theory I know, started with my Bangkok apartment, no water running, no leaks found but pump goes constantly, maybe a pressure offset but turned off at night and needs a big refil when turned back on in the morning.  As I sat with a beer with my pump off, I started noticing other pumps in the street also going constantly, so <deleted> maybe I have just never noticed this is norm before.  

 

I then move into a summer rental near the beach, and same thing, landlord send technician and does not find anything so its still going now, our case bills are included and have informed landlord oh and no pool so would not be as steep a bill anyway. landlords with rentals with bills included might be in for a surprise with the stay at home guides.

 

Anyway, likely just cabin fever madness on my part, but give it a listen in your neighbourhood and see if there are constant pumps going.

 

 

Edited April 5, 2020 by Bangel72

[MJKT2014]

1 hour ago, Doronazl said:

they didnt manage to fix it then, i doubt it will be fixed now

I think you answered it yourself. The techs should be fixing it. We had an issue with never ending pump running and it was due to an underground leakage that needed sealing off. Big water and electric bills unless its fixed properly.

[delgarcon]

I don't understand why the pump should run intermittently. I switch my pump on for 4 hours each day and the pool is cleaned. I am at home all day and use fans during the day and air con at night. My electricity bill last month was 2200bht

If you're not satisfied with the repairs and/or your agreement with the owner it might be cheaper to back out now.

[SteveK]

I would wager that the landlord is already aware of the issue and also aware that it is an expensive repair (especially if it involves digging to find an underwater leak from a shoddy installation). He was probably hoping that you wouldn't notice it and pay the rest of the deposit. So you've got 3 issues to worry about: being disturbed by the noise, inflated bills, and "technicians" coming around when they feel like it.

 

Personally, I would find somewhere else. The other option being not giving him the remaining deposit money until the issue is fixed. It's undoubtedly a buyer's market right now so you should find somewhere easily enough. Don't be hoodwinked by lip service - once you've handed over the money I think it's probably very unlikely that the landlord will address the issue in my experience.

Edited April 5, 2020 by SteveK

[Doronazl]

2 minutes ago, delgarcon said:

I don't understand why the pump should run intermittently. I switch my pump on for 4 hours each day and the pool is cleaned. I am at home all day and use fans during the day and air con at night. My electricity bill last month was 2200bht

If you're not satisfied with the repairs and/or your agreement with the owner it might be cheaper to back out now.

If the pool pump working, does the main water pumo supposed to be working as well because of it? 

Isnt the pool system should be closed circuit? 

[SteveK]

1 minute ago, Doronazl said:

Isnt the pool system should be closed circuit? 

Yes, unless there's a leak.

[CharlieH]

When I had a similar issue it turned out to be a broken underground pipe ! tiny fracture, the pump would keep clicking in and out and as the pressure dropped due to leakage it would kick in again. Hope it isnt the same for you as its really hard to locate that issue if pipes are underground/hidden.

 

Also check sticky float valves in any water tank./cisterns etc

[Crossy]

12 minutes ago, Doronazl said:

If the pool pump working, does the main water pumo supposed to be working as well because of it? 

Isnt the pool system should be closed circuit? 

 

The pool is a separate system so the house pump shouldn't be running if there is no consumption in the house.

 

Check all the toilets for dripping valves, it doesn't take much to trigger the pump to start occasionally.

 

If you're only going to be there for a short time turn off the power to the pump until you need to use water.

 

I would go and read the electric and water meters now, and again tomorrow at the same time, that should give you an idea what level of bill to expect.

 

 

 

 

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, Doronazl said:

Its through an agent but i cant say i trust their word on it. 

The lease is on a monthly bases anyway so i can get up and leave with a 30 day notification, says so in the contract of course, that is an option but a better one would be to come to an agreement about the bills

Give notice today.

Negotiate from a position of power, there won't be any more tenants.

[Olmate]

Can you turn the main water off to the pool? Leave everything else as normal..Then monitor water level in the pool,if it drops more than usual evaporation ,not sure how much that would be tho, would suggest a leak in pool system?

[Skallywag]

1 hour ago, Doronazl said:

he told me he ended up with a big ass water or electric bill which he was forced to pay for. 

 

The current state is that i paid a 10k deposit and im supposed to pay the rest today, another 25.

35K baht Villa could have a huge electric bill just for A/C, depending on square meters and how much you use.  Big ass is a bit vague, do you know what the normal electric bill amount is for the Villa?  Water bills very low in most of LOS, if pool has a crack letting water seep out, yes that is a problem

7-8 hours a day is normal for a pool pump to circulate/filter water, also circulates the chlorine.

Best to worry about Food and Water dude.  We are in the middle of a pandemic.  Surprised they let you travel from one province to another.  Good luck!  Stay safe

[Doronazl]

15 minutes ago, Olmate said:

Can you turn the main water off to the pool? Leave everything else as normal..Then monitor water level in the pool,if it drops more than usual evaporation ,not sure how much that would be tho, would suggest a leak in pool system?

So technician is here, they turned off the pool water pump and the main pump seem to have stopped for now

This means the leak is from that end then?

 

Right now the only indication i have for a leak is if i hear the pump yes? 

[delgarcon]

I fill my pool manually and I wasn't thinking about the water pump automatically filling it. If the pump is coming on intermittently there is definitely a leak.

[Doronazl]

14 minutes ago, Skallywag said:

35K baht Villa could have a huge electric bill just for A/C, depending on square meters and how much you use.  Big ass is a bit vague, do you know what the normal electric bill amount is for the Villa?  Water bills very low in most of LOS, if pool has a crack letting water seep out, yes that is a problem

7-8 hours a day is normal for a pool pump to circulate/filter water, also circulates the chlorine.

Best to worry about Food and Water dude.  We are in the middle of a pandemic.  Surprised they let you travel from one province to another.  Good luck!  Stay safe

trust me bro i totally agree, all i want is to just sit at home and relax my mind from all this crazyness we all going through, i just dont want to have to worry about unnecessary high bills that will come as a surprise later

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, Antonymous said:

Maintenance of swimming pools can be very expensive and especially if the system is faulty.

 

If you rented through a reputable agent, ask them for advice. They will know the history of the place, assuming it has been on their books a while. And they should do the negotiation with the owner. If you rented directly with the owner though, study the contract details carefully.

 

If you are sure there's a problem and it looks likely nothing will be done to fix it, I'd up sticks and leave. Find another rental. There surely must be many available right now.

The OP already knows the history of the place with regard to this particular issue.

 

2 hours ago, Doronazl said:

The worrying part is i spoke to a friend of mine who used to rent this place a couple of years ago and he told me he ended up with a big ass water or electric bill which he was forced to pay for. 

Caveat emptor. If the split payment was so you could evaluate the place then job well done. You've identified a problem that hasn't been solved for some time so maybe best to check out some other rentals instead.

Edited April 5, 2020 by NanLaew

[OneMoreFarang]

Ask for a reasonable fixed price for water and electricity. 

[Chalong circle]

Villa with a pool : use of air con only in room night time : Electric bill 2600 bahts. Water : 800 bahts.

[1FinickyOne]

2 hours ago, Doronazl said:

I see, il try to ask around friends here in phuket and then maybe like someone suggested here i could try to get them to agree to a fixed amount to pay for bills. 

you might be better off asking for a straight price reduction... I think no landlord wants to be limitlessly responsible for how much electric a customer might use... I once visited a home where it was air bnb rented all inclusive... the people had the exterior doors wide open and the a/c blasting.. try an be reasonable... you did rent a home w/a pool. 

[Doronazl]

OK just talked to the owner, gonna wait for a few neighbours here to show their bills and to see they have about the same occupancy as us(2 people) and we gonna decide on an amount limit, say for example 5k a month, if its over that she pays the difference.

Thank you all for your comments, very helpful, good people.

[Odin Norway]

2 hours ago, delgarcon said:

I don't understand why the pump should run intermittently. I switch my pump on for 4 hours each day and the pool is cleaned. I am at home all day and use fans during the day and air con at night. My electricity bill last month was 2200bht

If you're not satisfied with the repairs and/or your agreement with the owner it might be cheaper to back out now.

Manually running your pump 4 hrs a day is not keeping your pool clean.It is only keeping your water clear.A pool needs sirculation just as much as added clorine. Unless your pool is very small like 2x2-3 meters.Specially now when its hot it needs more running then the cold months.It all depends on the sice of clorinator ,filter and sice pump how many hrs a day it needs,but it is better to run a pool pump 4x1 hr rather then 4 hrs in one go.You also have vaporation now that will consume quite a bit of water.It also depend on what kind of test kit you use for your water.The most common test kit sold by so called pro shops here is rubbish.Auto top up of the pool would start and stop the water pump all the time

Edited April 5, 2020 by Odin Norway

[Greenside]

57 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Ask for a reasonable fixed price for water and electricity. 

Very unlikely any landlord will agree to that in a house where the usage habits of the specific tenant(s) have no history.  I know people who maintain three or four rooms at 22° for most of the day and half the night.