No Farangs !!!

[mwb355]

Hello everyone,

I've started at a new school and have just spent the afternoon viewing apartments. In one of the apartments, the lady showing me around called the owner for more information, only to be told NO FARANGS !!  This is despite me saying that I'd already paid 5,000 baht back in February for a covid test (negative thankfully), and also will have the vaccine next week as a condition of my employment. Obviously I'm angry. Where do I stand here?  Are there any legal actions I can take, or is just a case of, oh well T.I.T.

Thank you in advance for your advice and comments

[tgw]

TiT

my hunch is you can consider yourself lucky, one possible reason why places refuse farangs is because we are more fussy. so chances are, that room had some hidden imperfections that a Thai is more likely to just quietly accept.

Edited May 22, 2021 by tgw

[Denim]

Some owners don't want the bother of TM 30 forms and dealing with immigration. Too much bother for them.

 

Didn't used to be like this but since the army took over the country , xenophobia set in.

[mwb355]

I hear ya, but the apartment is brand new and I would have been the first tenant.

[worgeordie]

Very strange the way things are in the rental market,

they should be happy finding anyone, 

regards Worgeordie

 

 

 

[mwb355]

Denim,

 Sad , but true

[mwb355]

Worgeordie,

Yes, it's a brand new apartment and was about 30% occupied !

[from the home of CC]

7 minutes ago, mwb355 said:

I hear ya, but the apartment is brand new and I would have been the first tenant.

he's probably basing his decision on being burned in the past - up to him. It's not like there's a shortage of rentals lol..

[swm59nj]

I dont blame you being angry. But you are lucky not to make a contract with such a  person. If you did, probably only problems and stress in the long run. There are plenty of people that will rent to farangs. But be prepared for some possible obstacles. When I rented my first condo when I moved here, the owner was very nice to me. She was Thai, spoke English fluently. Then when a couple of things needed to be repaired things changed. She told me I was responsible to repair them. One was one of the air conditioners. I told her according to the contract she signed, she was clearly responsible. She told me Im an American and I have no rights here. Luckily the listing agent stepped in and resolved it.

Im not saying all people are like that. But just be prepared here for anything.

[EricTh]

22 minutes ago, mwb355 said:

I hear ya, but the apartment is brand new and I would have been the first tenant.

 

 

Just find another apartment that will accept farang. If you're the owner of an apartment, you have the right to choose any tenant  you want too, right?

 

That's no point in making a big issue out of this because the police/lawyer won't do anything. It's not illegal to refuse a tenant.

 

If you're in CM, I can recommend a few places who will be more than happy to accept farang.

Edited May 22, 2021 by EricTh

[CALSinCM]

If there are any anti-discrimination laws regarding housing I doubt they'd be enforced.

If you have lived here long enough you know this is a racist country.  That's nothing new.  Perhaps your new and were surprised.  Now you know.  So, why would you want to live where the landlord is an avowed racist?  There are plenty of rentals where the landlords care about renting there apartment regardless of your race.  You'll both be happier.

[blackcab]

29 minutes ago, mwb355 said:

Are there any legal actions I can take...

 

No.

[ChaiyaTH]

What is the relevance to taking a covid test in February? This doesn't guarantee anything today. That aside, enough apartments, as much as there is racism too. I wouldn't even want to rent at such place after coming across that behavior in the first place, be happy you found out upfront.

 

Taking legal action? I guess you are new and are not going to live here long.

Edited May 22, 2021 by ChaiyaTH

[EricTh]

1 minute ago, CALSinCM said:

If there are any anti-discrimination laws regarding housing I doubt they'd be enforced.

If you have lived here long enough you know this is a racist country.  That's nothing new.  Perhaps your new and were surprised.  Now you know.  So, why would you want to live where the landlord is an avowed racist?  There are plenty of rentals where the landlords care about renting there apartment regardless of your race.  You'll both be happier.

 

 

Many people don't realize that owners in non-western countries have the right to refuse any tenants be it farang, Chinese, Korean, Japanese. This is all based on their previous experience in renting out.

 

There're no laws against this unlike western countries.

[ThailandRyan]

Depending on where you are looking, places are a dime a dozen right now.  Hit the same street and look in those around it if you like that neighborhood.  

[Ventenio]

I would be very angry as well.  Hopefully it's not a theme in your new city.

 

Zero legal recourse, that I'm sure of......and your new school would not be happy hearing about you going after a thai

 

This year has been hard on us falangs......we aren't wanted.......I"m too dumb to read the writing on the wall, but after COVID I will learn how to read and try another place.

 

I've not been in your shoes........and curious if you speak Thai (that has helped me).....but it's too bad.

 

it is not a good start.......    surely you can tell us the name of the city?

Edited May 22, 2021 by Ventenio

[Kwasaki]

32 minutes ago, mwb355 said:

just spent the afternoon viewing apartments. In one of the apartments

Where are you, maybe someone can help you,  if you were in Old  Sukhothai I could help you no problem. 

[Surelynot]

Thailand is a foreign country, they do things differently there.......(one for the literary buffs)

[ChaiyaTH]

1 minute ago, Kwasaki said:

Where are you, maybe someone can help you,  if you were in Old  Sukhothai I could help you no problem. 

If one needs help finding a place to rent, I do not think they can be helped. There is like tens of millions of empty units.

[Dinand]

Do you really want to stay in a place where the owner doesn't want you?

[Andre0720]

Might be that having a farang as a tenant means having to fill in governmental forms, immigration forms, proof of residence forms, suggesting income for which taxes need to be paid. Some Thai property owners get nervous about that...

No farangs safer.

Just find some other place of residence, as there are some...

[Liverpool Lou]

8 minutes ago, EricTh said:

Many people don't realize that owners in non-western countries have the right to refuse any tenants be it farang, Chinese, Korean, Japanese. This is all based on their previous experience in renting out.

 

There're no laws against this unlike western countries.

You're not trying to say that owners of rental properties in the west are obliged to accept any tenant that comes along and that they don't have the right to reject them, are you?

[Liverpool Lou]

4 minutes ago, Dinand said:

Do you really want to stay in a place where the owner doesn't want you?

More to the point, does he really want to stay in a place where the owner has been forced to accept him?

[Surelynot]

1 minute ago, Liverpool Lou said:

You're not trying to say that owners of rental properties in the west are obliged to accept any tenant that comes along and that they don't have the right to reject them, are you?

You have very limited rights in the UK (or England)........obviously you can lie and say the place has been taken.......but they could take you to court, I suspect, if there is evidence of discrimination on any grounds.

[Liverpool Lou]

46 minutes ago, mwb355 said:

Where do I stand here?  Are there any legal actions I can take,

Yes, there is an option.   You can find a lawyer and sue him for racial discrimination and then have the court force him to have you as a tenant...if you win.

 

Enjoy your stay in his room.

[BenDeCosta]

The big double-decker buses that go from my village to Bangkok also told me they aren't accepting foreign passengers at the moment.

 

Obviously in the West, this would cause a furore given the anti-discrimination laws, but Thailand is a long way behind in that regard.

Edited May 22, 2021 by BenDeCosta

[Liverpool Lou]

12 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

15 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

You're not trying to say that owners of rental properties in the west are obliged to accept any tenant that comes along and that they don't have the right to reject them, are you?

You have very limited rights in the UK

Not exactly the case...

"While unlawful discrimination can be hard to prove, you could theoretically be prosecuted if you refuse to rent to someone specifically due to their:

• Age
• Race
• Sex
• Gender identity
• Sexual orientation
• Marital status
• Disability
• Religion
• Pregnancy or their being on maternity leave

A key point to understand is that you are free to refuse to rent to anyone for any reason, as long as it is not with respect to one of these characteristics. For example, you can still refuse to rent to someone on the grounds that they are claiming housing benefit.

It is worth bearing in mind that you do not need to give a reason when deciding not to rent to someone. It is often safest to politely say no without giving a reason as this makes it much harder for anyone to suggest that you were discriminating against them based on a protected characteristic".

https://www.prestonredman.co.uk/site/news/how-to-avoid-unlawful-discrimination-when-renting-property

Edited May 22, 2021 by Liverpool Lou

[Ralf001]

50 minutes ago, Johnny Mac said:

Legal action? Hahahahahaha. Please tell me you are joking!! Suck it up and look elsewhere.

 

I did chuckle heartily as well.

 

Wonder if the issue is body odour ?

[thooktong]

Thai economy is very weak, (many Big roads in Hua Hin for exxample are empty...) many thai are poor and afraid about the lack of money to go on living. Many thai are now over-indebted. So it is Thailand first, as Thai people first ... ( even Trump said America first whereas average american people are much richer than a thai)

[Logosone]

It could have nothing to do with Covid, foreigners are known to disappear without paying the last few months rent. Because they leave the country they have no concern about repercussions. Very common in Japan as well not to want to rent to foreigners.