Rental Exit Strategy

[Padthaigoong]

I entered into a six month rental agreement in haste, I'm not happy here and I want out ASAP.

My concern is how I should approach them on my departure.

I gave one month deposit so I am going to lose that.

Should I wait until the day before the rent is due and just say I am leaving and let them take anything owed for water and electric out of the deposit or would I still have to pay that on top ?

Would it be better to say I have to return home urgently or tell them the truth that the room is awful and I can't stand another day there?

Any other points to note when exiting earlier than expected ?

 

 

[Mac Mickmanus]

You signed a six month agreement , you will need to pay the rent for six months 

[Baron Samedi]

This is how you should play your cards.

 

1) Tell them the truth but don't tell them you wanna leave asap. Just tell them you are considering leaving at some point but you don't really know when and you would like to know how this would play out regarding your deposit.

 

2) If they tell you that you would lose your deposit, accept it and move on. If they ask for anything else, wait until night falls, pack your bags and sneak out never to return. You'd lose your deposit (would have been the case anyway) but you wouldn't lose anything else.

 

PS: If you have a rental agreement, surely it must be written somewhere what happens if you break the deal, right?

 

PS2: If you run, make sure to find another place on the other side of the city and change your Thai phone number ????

 

Edited October 29, 2022 by Baron Samedi

[Padthaigoong]

4 minutes ago, Baron Samedi said:

This is how you should play your cards.

 

1) Tell them the truth but don't tell them you wanna leave asap. Just tell them you are considering leaving at some point but you don't really know when and you would like to know how this would play out regarding your deposit.

 

2) If they tell you that you would lose your deposit, accept it and move on. If they ask for anything else, wait until night falls, pack your bags and sneak out never to return. You'd lose your deposit (would have been the case anyway) but you wouldn't lose anything else.

 

PS: If you have a rental agreement, surely it must be written somewhere what happens if you break the deal, right?

 

It says If I cancel no refund

[Padthaigoong]

11 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

You signed a six month agreement , you will need to pay the rent for six months 

Nonsense

If I don't pay they have the right to cancel the agreement that all.

[ozfarang]

18 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

You signed a six month agreement , you will need to pay the rent for six months 

MM you seem to troll the threads spreading bullish!t

[Mac Mickmanus]

3 minutes ago, ozfarang said:

MM you seem to troll the threads spreading bullish!t

What do you think signing an agreement means ?

Its a legal contact and you are required to abide by the contract 

[Mac Mickmanus]

12 minutes ago, Padthaigoong said:

Nonsense

If I don't pay they have the right to cancel the agreement that all.

Yes, they could just ignore the agreement or they could take legal action forcing you to pay the six months rent, as that is what you signed for and agreed to 

[Padthaigoong]

3 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

What do you think signing an agreement means ?

Its a legal contact and you are required to abide by the contract 

No you forfeit your deposit.

Have you ever had a long term contract ?

[bbi1]

10 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

What do you think signing an agreement means ?

Its a legal contact and you are required to abide by the contract 

Not if the rental contract is written purely in English. If it's written in both Thai with an English translation, then it is a legal contract with the Thai version in the contract being the legal version.

Edited October 29, 2022 by bbi1

[Mac Mickmanus]

2 minutes ago, Padthaigoong said:

No you forfeit your deposit.

Have you ever had a long term contract ?

Yes , What do the terms on your contract say ?

Does the contract say you will just forfeit the deposit ?

How much notice are you required to give ?

 

[Padthaigoong]

Moderator you might as well close this thread

[Mac Mickmanus]

3 minutes ago, bbi1 said:

Not if the rental contract is written purely in English. If it's written in both Thai with an English translation, then it is a legal contract with the Thai version in the contract being the legal version.

Is the contract written solely in English ?

[OneMoreFarang]

36 minutes ago, Baron Samedi said:

pack your bags and sneak out never to return. You'd lose your deposit (would have been the case anyway) but you wouldn't lose anything else.

Really?

 

The landlord has his name and his passport copy.

Lots of things can happen and might happen.

Do you really want to worry about the next time some official wants to see your passport?

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

Some rental contracts will state that the full amount of the rent is payable at the signing of the contract or upon receipt of the keys by the tenant, but the landlord grants the tenant the ability to pay on a monthly basis as long as the tenant abides by all terms of the contract and pays on time. Failure to pay monthly rent would then be breach of the contract and the entire remaining amount would become due immediately. Even if the contract is not this explicit, the rent is still due for the entire term of the contract.

 

The reality is of course that it is difficult and expensive to go after deadbeat tenants, so you may get away with absconding. I would recommend trying for a negotiated exit, but It might not be advisable to tell the landlord that you find the unit terrible. 

[tomazbodner]

Well I remember my previous place reporting the foreigner to immigration after he disappeared like that. But he also stole many things from the room, so I don't know whether he was reported because of disappearing without paying the rent, or because he stole stuff.

 

Knew about it because I asked at reception about him since he borrowed quite a lot from me, and after a few months returned nothing... it was a "damaged ATM card and his wife/gf having birthday and he'll pay back blah blah blah" story... So when asking at reception, I was asked what has he done to me, then told me the rest of the story.

 

Saw the <deleted> at Robinson Asoke but was with others, so I didn't want to make a scene.

[rankric]

1 hour ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

What do you think signing an agreement means ?

Its a legal contact and you are required to abide by the contract 

You should quieten down. You know zilch on this. 

[Mac Mickmanus]

Just now, rankric said:

You should quieten down. You know zilch on this. 

Being a landlord myself, I do know a bit about what the signing of a tenancy agreement means 

[Mac Mickmanus]

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Really?

 

The landlord has his name and his passport copy.

Lots of things can happen and might happen.

Do you really want to worry about the next time some official wants to see your passport?

I recall when some people came to Thailand for a holiday and they were arrested at the airport on entry , they had been to Thailand a few years previously and hadn't settled a hotel bill 

[Iamfalang]

I would give a 30-day notice and do that at the first of the month.   Tell them you must go back home, emergency, Thai gf pregnant must move, Thai kids whatever..... give them a sad story.    Make it seem like you would really want to stay but the aliens took your money and you must leave........do a formal checkout at the end, done.  Yes, they might try to get more money, just say no, impossible.   

 

 

[JimTripper]

It probably says if you break the lease early you forfeit the deposit. That would imply the agreement is void. It's broken usually a couple days after that months rent is due if you don't send the payment.

 

Just guessing ????‍♂️. Can you read the lease? Do you know how to read?

Edited October 30, 2022 by JimTripper

[userabcd]

You need to read the lease/rental agreement you signed and see what is states there.

 

It seems there is a revised version of consumer protection rights issued in 2020.

 

From a website:

"On 31 October 2019, a New Notification of the Contract Committee Re: The Stipulation of Residential Property Leasing as a Contract-Controlled Business was issued. The New Notification went into effect on 30 January 2020 and repealed the Previous Notification. And although the New Notification largely followed the provisions of the Previous Notification it significantly revised and reduced the rights and protections of the lessees (and, thereby, increased the rights and protections of the lessors) covered by the New Notification. Unfortunately, however, the New Notification did not resolve some of the most significant unanswered questions raised by the Previous Notification. 

The New Notification provides the following:

• “Residential property leasing business” means a business that leases five or more property units to individual lessees for residential proposes. “Lessor” means anyone who leases property for residential purposes and receives a rental fee from the lessees in return. This remains unchanged from the Prior Notification.

• “Property” means a house, apartment, condominium, or other residential property. However, dormitories, hostels, and hotels that are regulated under separate statues are excluded. This too remained unchanged by the New Notification.

• A tenant or “lessee” can terminate the lease agreement by giving 30-days’ notice.  However, unlike the Previous Notice, the New Notice requires that at least half of the lease term be expired before the lessee can exercise this right.

• With regard to termination by the landlord or “lessor”, the terms under which he can do so must be displayed in the lease agreement in a format that is clearly visible, such as typed in red or bold and black font, or font that italic and underlined. But the New Notification further provides and categorizes the landlord’s termination rights as follows:

• if the lessee breaches a provision in the lease contract the lessor can terminate the lease by serving a written notice to the lessee at least 30 days in advance;

• if the lessee’s action directly disturbs the peaceful living of other tenants, the lessor can terminate the lease by serving a written notice to the lessee at least seven days in advance; or

• if the lessee does not comply with the law relating to public order or good morals, the lessor can terminate the lease, effective immediately.

These new provisions make it much easier for a landlord to terminate the lease contract than under the Previous Notification, which required the lessor to provide the lessee with 30-days’ notice of any breach of the contract during which the lessee could cure the alleged breach. 

The New Notification has also significantly revised, in a largely landlord-friendly manner, what a covered lease agreement is not allowed to include as follows:

• Under the Previous Notification, the lease agreement could not exclude the lessor’s liability for breach of the agreement or tort against the lessee. However, now the lease agreement may exclude the lessor’s liability for any “non-material” breach of the agreement or any “justifiable” tort against the lessee. 

• The New Notification allows the lessor to require a total advance rental payment plus security deposit in an amount equivalent to three months of rent payment. This provides more security for the lessor than the Previous Notification’s one-month advance and one-month security deposit limitations. 

• Under the Previous Notification, the lessor could not confiscate the security deposit or advance rental payment. However, the New Notification allows the lessor to do so if the reason for doing so is due to the lessee’s fault. 

• The Previous Notification did not allow the lessor to enter the property without prior notice to the lessee. But the New Notification allows the lessor to do so to avoid harm to the lessor or others.

• Under the Previous Notification if the lessee defaulted on the lease agreement, the lessor could not prevent the lessee from entering the property nor could the lessor enter the property and seize the assets of the lessee. Under the New Notification, however, the lessor can do so as long as the lessor first properly terminates the lease agreement."

Edited October 30, 2022 by userabcd

[Andre0720]

12 hours ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

What do you think signing an agreement means ?

Its a legal contact and you are required to abide by the contract 

So there are rights and responsibilities in such a case.

And it goes both ways.

Renter:

The right to obtain the rental fee as agreed upon.

The responsibility to provide a place that is exempt from hidden flaws that would make a place unlivable.

 

Tenant:

The right to a normal occupation of the rented place, including peace and quietness.

The responsibility to maintain the rented place the way it was at the time of renting.

The responsibility to pay the rent as agreed upon, when there are no hidden flaws that would make the rented place unlivable.

 

In this instance, the poster did not describe his reasons for wanting to break a contract, with or with out penalty.

 

[Mac Mickmanus]

9 hours ago, Iamfalang said:

I would give a 30-day notice and do that at the first of the month.   Tell them you must go back home, emergency, Thai gf pregnant must move, Thai kids whatever..... give them a sad story.    Make it seem like you would really want to stay but the aliens took your money and you must leave........do a formal checkout at the end, done.  Yes, they might try to get more money, just say no, impossible.   

 

 

I do dislike people who tell lies .

[Baron Samedi]

18 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Really?

 

The landlord has his name and his passport copy.

Lots of things can happen and might happen.

Do you really want to worry about the next time some official wants to see your passport?

Have you ever heard of a farang getting arrested because he left its condo without notice leaving his deposit behind ? I haven't.

 

I don't think any landlord - even in the West - would bother with that kind of stunt. They would keep the deposit and move on.

 

18 hours ago, Padthaigoong said:

It says If I cancel no refund

Yeah I thought so. Man, just take the hit and move on. If you really don't like the place, no point staying there for 6 months to save a month worth of cash. Just accept the loss, learn from it and find yourself a decent place to stay. Good luck ????

[OneMoreFarang]

4 minutes ago, Baron Samedi said:

Have you ever heard of a farang getting arrested because he left its condo without notice leaving his deposit behind ? I haven't.

 

I don't think any landlord - even in the West - would bother with that kind of stunt. They would keep the deposit and move on.

No, I never heard of such a case. 

But why not just clear all issues?

Running away sounds like exactly that: running away.

That's not what innocent people who have contracts do to each other.

[Mac Mickmanus]

A six month agreement would be at a discount price , usually about three times less than the combined daily fee , like  1000 Baht a night place would be 10 000 per month .

   So you really should pay the daily rate if you are staying for less than a month 

[Baron Samedi]

2 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

No, I never heard of such a case. 

But why not just clear all issues?

Running away sounds like exactly that: running away.

That's not what innocent people who have contracts do to each other.

Fair point. You're right.

[Onerak]

I have breached many rental contract in my two decades living/travelling to Thailand. In all cases, I accepted the loss of deposit. Cleared all rents due. For electricity and water, I would estimate an average and pay it. Inform the landlord I am leaving and he can keep the deposit. Never had any problem. Except in one case when I had abscond without paying two months rent. That is another story for another day. 

Edited October 30, 2022 by Onerak

[Mac Mickmanus]

19 minutes ago, Baron Samedi said:

Have you ever heard of a farang getting arrested because he left its condo without notice leaving his deposit behind ? I haven't.

 

I don't think any landlord - even in the West - would bother with that kind of stunt. They would keep the deposit and move on.

 

Quite a few Landlords in the West would take legal action through the Courts to get the money they are owed, especially if the tenant was rich , just need to make a claim in the small claims Court and the tenant would end up with a CCJ in their name