Hi! I'm asking for a friend and I am not sure if this is the right place to post it. 

 

My friend rented out his condo without taking a deposit from the tenant (not the smartest move, I know). When the tenant moved out he refused to pay the 2 electricity bills and blocked my friends number. 

 

He has a rental contract with the tenants passport number, full name, phone number and a copy of the tenants passport. 

 

What are his options? Should/can he contact the police or is it a lawyer he should get in touch with? 

Go to the police but you will need to give them something for their trouble. If the bill is less than 10k, forget it and learn a lesson, take a deposit. 

1 minute ago, Questionable said:

My friend rented out his condo without taking a deposit from the tenant

Your friends fault.

 

Police wont do anything. Strictly a civil matter.

In fact, if your friend decides to get the plod involved it will end up costing him more.

 

Tell your friend to let it slide and be wiser next time round. 

Yes. It's a civil matter. The police will ask your friend to get a lawyer. That will cost more than the electric bill. 

You could try the Ombudsman.

So even if he goes to the police they will not be able to do anything since it is a civil matter? Wouldnt the tenant get in trouble with the police? 

 

And thank you guys for all the answers, much appreciated. I guess contacting a lawyer is the only option and it hardly seems worth it. I will pass this information along to my friend. 

Quite possible that Crooked tenant do not know that this is civil matter so just tell tenant that pay or you will be reported to police/immigration. 

2 hours ago, Questionable said:

So even if he goes to the police they will not be able to do anything since it is a civil matter?

 

Correct.

 

2 hours ago, Questionable said:

Wouldnt the tenant get in trouble with the police? 

 

No, because it is a civil matter.

 

It will only go wrong for the ex tenant if the landlord has money and feels they have lost face. If the landlord takes the ex tenant to civil Court the Court can order that the defendant is blocked from leaving the country, and immigration will enforce this.

 

If the landlord refuses to settle it will take quite a long time and your friend will be stuck here, making Court appearances and paying for their own solicitor until things are resolved. If your friend does not have a work permit then the chances are they will not get one so they will have to fund their stay here themself.

 

This is unlikely to happen, but it could happen nonetheless. Personally I would just pay the bill for the electricity used and avoid a lot of potential problems.

2 hours ago, Questionable said:

I guess contacting a lawyer is the only option and it hardly seems worth it. I will pass this information along to my friend. 

Also don't forget the old saying:

if you want to climb the coconut tree, you must have a clean a...

 

Traduction if your friend rent his condo himself, it's considered as a work in Thailand

also taxes must be paid on the rent, if he hasn't a work permit and if he doesn't pay

any taxes on the revenue of the rents, he is himself in an illegal situation

and going to a court could bring eventually more troubles for him

Okay! 

 

Thanks a lot for all the helpful answers, I really appreciate it. I got all the information that I required. The matter is pretty much resolved and my friend said he won't bother with taking it to court given the costs and headache of it all.

 

I would close the thread if I knew how to since I already got the answers I was looking for. 

 

Once again, thank you everyone who took the time to provide me with useful information. 

 

Best regards, 

Q. 

3 minutes ago, Questionable said:

Okay! 

 

Thanks a lot for all the helpful answers, I really appreciate it. I got all the information that I required. The matter is pretty much resolved and my friend said he won't bother with taking it to court given the costs and headache of it all.

 

I would close the thread if I knew how to since I already got the answers I was looking for. 

 

Once again, thank you everyone who took the time to provide me with useful information. 

 

Best regards, 

Q. 

You are welcome

as a member you can not close a topic, even if you opened it

only a moderator can do it

one of them Blackcab has answered to you on this topic

maybe you could send a private message to him and ask to him to close the thread

Haven't had a tenant skip out like that for a long time, but if they did (and even with deposits, sometimes over time..... especially during Covid, we tend to cut them some slack so that the last month's rent is pretty much the deposit...), I'd just write it off and add it to the building/condo/house cleaning costs getting it ready for the next tenant.   The police can barely keep up with all the murders, I tend not to want to bother them with life's minor hiccups...

Per OP request the topic can now be closed

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