Landlord Breaking Contract after 2 months to put rent up 20,000 baht!!

[Bangkok Barry]

17 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

Tel him you respect the contract and stay, no need to run like a mouse as others would do. You DO have rights in Thailand.

And the OP is asking what rights he has and what can he do. So maybe you can advise him on the steps he can take. Just staying put could lead to all kinds of 'reprisals' by the landlord, and in a dispute between two farangs the chance of local authorities getting involved would probably be somewhere around zero.

[vandeventer]

I myself would just go and find somewhere else to rent. Agents can make things hard for you to find another place. I have rented a very nice house for over 12 years now and my rent has not gone up 1 baht. Rent by the owner not by a agent is my advise.

[Card]

Tell him you will take the case to the Bureau of Consumer Protection in Bangkok. That it will involve investigations of tax and immigration. He will be avoiding tax and probably not notified immigration of your existence. Stand your ground. I did this and my landlord coughed up my deposit tout suite. You don't have to go to the BCP but I did and they said verbally they would support me which is what I told me landlord, although I doubt anything would come out of it. Don't email them with documents or nothing will happen . The last thing any landlord in Thailand wants is any kind of investigation, even if fictitious.

[oznomad]

16 hours ago, prchunter said:

Just refuse to move out until house is sold (which it won't).  

A grand plan, until the landlord or his agent disconnects the electricity. 

[hotchilli]

17 hours ago, Chris.B said:

Very sad situation. ☹️

 

But I am on the side of get out and get another place. I am sure there are landlords out there who are honest to deal with.

If your agent is a nice guy ask him about other locations?

Stuff the Frenchy and move out.

[FritsSikkink]

23 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 in a dispute between two farangs the chance of local authorities getting involved would probably be somewhere around zero.

Nonsense.

 

I already told him what to do.

[Speedhump]

15 hours ago, itsari said:

I believe the landlord can ask you to leave if he has sold the property or wishes to move in to the dwelling him self .

Asking for an increase of rent within the rental agreement is not possible .

I would consider taking the owner to a civil court for enforcing the contract . 

 

You seem to know all the terms of his contract? Because this is not any law of Thailand or any other country in which I've bought property and rented it out. 

[Sydebolle]

Suggest to look for new dwelling soonest while informing the land lord (verbally, not in writing) that you will be using the deposit for the remainder of the contractual period but will move out by (whenever the six months are over). 
Everything else would require an eviction order - which he will not get. In addition, rental income is taxable and you can take it to the bank (pun intended) that the land lord did not pay the tax. The boys down at the tax office are loving it and will put him into unchartered waters .......

But initially, if you have a written contract, then you need a written termination - until then there is nothing but hot air ???? 

[itsari]

1 minute ago, Speedhump said:

You seem to know all the terms of his contract? Because this is not any law of Thailand or any other country in which I've bought property and rented it out. 

Most rental contracts are standard . 

The contracts I have used had the clause I quoted .

Most contracts also say the rent can not be increased more than the official inflation rate .

[Pedrogaz]

I had a few emails exchanged with this French fellow to rent his 'villa' with an ocean view. I didn't like his approach and dumped the discussion.

[khunpa]

Personally, I would pack my bags, take any loss, move on and forget about the whole thing.

 

Sure it sucks to be cheated, but this is Thailand where seeking the truth or your “rights” often just brings you more problems.

 

I have been cheated a lot of times here over the years. Funny enough my worst encounter was a Farang. You should stay clear of doing any business with those.

 

 

 

 

[Scott Tracy]

I suggest the next month or so is taken in looking for somewhere else to stay.

 

I agree that you have rights, but at this stage, plenty of places to stay.

 

Move out, move on and let the owner do what he likes. Or just buy the place if you like it so much.

 

One has to ask if it is worth the hassel.

[Aliflair]

If it was me I'd try the compensation angle, most likely that will be rejected, so then I'd tell him to put his request in writing, if he didn't I'd say I can't just leave without a request in writing as I'd be accused of breaking the lease. If I got nothing in writing I'd pay rent for the first 4 months and then use the deposit for the final 2 months rent (based on their lack of scruples I wouldn't do it the conventional way where you do everything above board). If they have connections and get the police to kick you out for the period you aren't paying rent then so be it, I very much doubt you'll get any of the deposit back so try to minimise your losses that way. Once you stop paying rent try and have as little as possible that belongs to you there so that you can get out quick. My approach would be that way because he is French, if he was Thai, then all bets are off, I'd be cutting my losses because they can make more drama than its worth to stick around, TIT.

[SymS]

and he'll probably keep the deposit as well...

[steven100]

get hold of an AK-47 and blast the doorways and front entrance ,  let them know who you are and you mean business.

[itsari]

1 hour ago, Speedhump said:

You seem to know all the terms of his contract? Because this is not any law of Thailand or any other country in which I've bought property and rented it out. 

If you are renting property in Thailand I suggest you read the Thai law on rental agreement's .

Good luck to you Mr Speedhump , fart bump if translated to Norwegian 

[Al BB]

1 hour ago, Speedhump said:

You seem to know all the terms of his contract? Because this is not any law of Thailand or any other country in which I've bought property and rented it out. 

I don't know the Terms of the OPs Contract,  (Written or otherwise ).  In Thailand,  maybe a Written Contract can be amended verbally ?.   In UK,  I believe,  both parties can to agree to a verbal amendment IF that agreement is written into the contract.

The OP has been given lots of answers and IMO, some very valid options. There are also some interesting questions regarding the "Agent" and the French Property

Owner.

Would love to know the outcome.

Regards

 

[kg1947]

20 hours ago, bolt said:

Short term answer,

Get out now who knows what else this landlord will pull later.

As you said its Thailand, leave this mess to the next mug

very wise answer , leave your " Western Common sense " and find another LandLord , get a good lawyer to write up a new lease/rent contract .  NOT worth the cost of fighting this .

Your water / electricity / wifi , etc. might be cut-off  ......    then what  ??

[peter zwart]

Whats a second hand aircon doing these days?

[itsari]

1 minute ago, kg1947 said:

very wise answer , leave your " Western Common sense " and

find another LandLord , get a good lawyer to write up a new

lease/rent contract .  NOT worth the cost of fighting this .

Your water / electricity / wifi , etc. might be cut-off  ......

then what  ??

When living in Thailand leave your western common sense ? 

Common sense is something east and west have in common .

Not all have it from either location .

[ujayujay]

18 hours ago, steven100 said:

SamuiAddict  ........     take this advice ....         ( you've been given 2 months notice which is pretty good ) it's not like a week.

 

do you want hassle and grief ......   ?

do you want to get mixed up in a stressful situation which likely will amount to the owner winning .... ?

do you want to cause friction and have some Thai thug cause problem in a bar or whatever later ...  ?

 

because I can tell you that even though you may well be within your rights and bla ... bla ... bla .....  

TIT .... it's not Australia or the UK ,     

just move on,  find another nice place and go from their ,   why give yourself a big problem because that's what will happen if you start trying the Lawyer act .........

Stupid advise????????????

[steven100]

14 minutes ago, ujayujay said:

Stupid advise????????????

why ?    it's pointless giving yourself grief & stress over something that you likely won't win.

You are stupid and you can't spell correctly either   !!   

[Harveyboy]

20 hours ago, bolt said:

Short term answer,

Get out now who knows what else this landlord will pull later.

 

As you said its Thailand, leave this mess to the next mug

Thailand it is ...But he's being screwed by a Frenchman....but from  British point of view that's nothing unusual ha !!!

[bolt]

1 minute ago, Harveyboy said:

Thailand it is ...But he's being screwed by a Frenchman....but from  British point of view that's nothing unusual ha !!!

Take your heart of it, use your head 

don't waste any time or energy on this, move on with your life

at the very very end of this the OP will need to move out and find a new place, why not skip all the <deleted> in the middle and go straight to moving out and finding a new place.

[crazykopite]

Did you pay a deposit up front or did you pay rent in advance if you like the place I would stand my ground and tell the agent you won’t move until the contract is up or until you find a suitable place if you have a solid agreement then there is not a lot the landlord can do except making your life a misery if it were me I would refuse to move unless he is prepared to refund the rent I’ve already paid if it was you breaking the contract that is what the landlord would be demanding 

[crazykopite]

42 minutes ago, ujayujay said:

Stupid advise????????????

What a pathetic response the guy has a contract it doesn’t matter where in the world he lives and it’s not a Thai he is dealing with the owner is a miserable French Frog .It sounds to me that you have gone through life giving into people you need to grow a pair of B@lls

[dundas]

Revenge can come in many forms. I think it's prudent to stop paying rent until you have the deposit back. Once you've moved out, go to the tax office. 

[The Theory]

My guess is this kind of cases happen when the owner have someone ready to move in with higher rent. Perhaps some other farang from their homeland. 
you don't have to move out and if anything wrong happens by the owner you can go to police with your contract for disturbance caused by owner. 

Always sign a 2 way contract, not only benefit toward the owner. Add section/sections to contract to save your rights. Do not sign if they don't agree. 

[FritsSikkink]

4 hours ago, oznomad said:

A grand plan, until the landlord or his agent disconnects the electricity. 

Which is a criminal offense and can be dealt with by the police.

[FritsSikkink]

1 hour ago, kg1947 said:

very wise answer , leave your " Western Common sense " and find another LandLord , get a good lawyer to write up a new lease/rent contract .  NOT worth the cost of fighting this .

Your water / electricity / wifi , etc. might be cut-off  ......    then what  ??

Don't see any common sense here. Why should he need a lawyer, he already has a valid contract. If the landlord resorts to illegal actions, he will face the law.