Your Two Months Rental Deposit

[koolkarl]

Apparently it is a national past time in Thailand for landlords to keep the 2 months deposit.  Has this happened to many of you and if so, what did you do?

[marin]

5 minutes ago, koolkarl said:

Apparently it is a national past time in Thailand for landlords to keep the 2 months deposit. 

What is your source for this statement? 

[Henryford]

My tgf stayed at many apartments. She never got her deposit back. Just assume it's lost money.

[bkk6060]

I always negotiate one month deposit. 

I have always gotten it back.  I leave the room like when I moved in everything in proper repair and professionally cleaned.

[Gsxrnz]

I successfully received my two months deposit back each time, from four different landlords.  All involving houses in a Moo Bahn and being 50-60K. One landlord deducted a 2K cleaning fee which was mentioned in the lease agreement.

 

I do know of several blokes who have not received their deposits back. Usually in low rent apartments. And having seen the state they have left these places, I'm not surprised it was withheld.

 

I know dozens of people who have never had a problem recovering their deposits.

[OneMoreFarang]

I stayed in one apartment for many years. There was certainly some repair to be done when I left. Was this normal use? Or am I responsible for the damage? I guess part/part.

I didn't pay the last month rent and didn't expect to get the deposit back.

 

I rented the next apartment for about 2 years. I returned it as good as I received it. I got my whole deposit back.

 

I guess in part it has to do with us and our attitude and in part with the owner. And then obviously possible damages.

If people behave like they have to fight the owner than they should not be surprised if the owner also fights.

 

In my case, with my second apartment, I cleaned it thoroughly and agreed with the owner when she will inspect it.

She inspected it and didn't find any problems. And then I asked her about the return of my deposit, and she agreed and deposited it to my account in the next days.

If I would have told her: I want my deposit back now, otherwise I won't even clean the place, then I guess she would not have returned the money. 

[JBChiangRai]

3 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

I always negotiate one month deposit. 

I have always gotten it back.  I leave the room like when I moved in everything in proper repair and professionally cleaned.

You could visit my house after I’ve lived it in it 5 years and it would be practically perfect.

 

I'm amazed at the poor decisions some tenants make causing serious damage and then expect not to pay for it.

Sitting on glass coffee tables

putting a glass of wine on a chair armrest

standing on a dining table

bouncing a ball off a white wall 

puttin inappropriate things in washing machines 

pushing people through doors

 

The difference between owning your own place and renting it, is if you own it and damage it, you can decide whether or not to repair it, if you rent it, you WILL pay for the damage

[novacova]

Personally have never paid two months deposit, just first and last at the three places we lived, though I’m just as picky about landlords (1: local lanna & 2: they live in cm) as I am about the house and it’s setting, spent over a year looking for the place we’re in now. Always got the refund minus ฿500 cleaning even though we left the place spotless and in the same condition as before. Never dealt with an agent, always directly with the owner.

Edited September 28 by novacova

[JBChiangRai]

As a landlord it’s the little things that niggle me.

 

Using a scouring pad on stainless steel kitchen cabinet doors. The doors are no longer available, do you replace them all so they match?

 

Wine/beer ring stains on wooden furniture. This can be VERY expensive to fix.

 

Lemon juice/other stains on Granite countertops/window sills. Need to replace the entire countertop, you can’t get lemon juice stain out when it’s left overnight on a black granite countertop.

 

Red wine stain on a seat, fabric no longer available, all matching seats need recovering.

Even 100,000 THB in deposits wouldn’t be enough.

[jippytum]

it's getting to be normal for them to try. 

 However the way some tenants abuse the amenenties in our condo i'm not suprised. 

[mokwit]

3 minutes ago, jippytum said:

it's getting to be normal for them to try. 

 However the way some tenants abuse the amenenties in our condo i'm not suprised. 

It's always been an issue. Somebody took the Landlord to court and the ruling was to split down the middle.

[RichardColeman]

The way round this is to tell your landlord when you intend to move out and ask them to come and inspect the property beforehand so you can put anything wrong with the house correct, then tell them to keep the deposit as the last 2 months rent - or simply do not pay it

[JBChiangRai]

11 minutes ago, mokwit said:

It's always been an issue. Somebody took the Landlord to court and the ruling was to split down the middle.

don’t expect a tie court to follow the law. Even when it’s clear cut.

 

We had some children trespass and set fire to some of our property. Under law, the parents are responsible for their children. The damage was about ฿70,000, we sued in the court and we lost, and the judge’s ruling was that the plaintiff was a rich Farang and the defendants were poor Thai people and the rich Farang could afford the loss whereas the poor defendants couldn’t afford to pay.

 

Go figure.

[Genericnic]

Not just Thai landlords. I rented a condo from a Brit for 11 years. During that time, I put up half the cost of a new air con and brought in a new refrigerator. Left the place as I had found it. 

 

Landlord refused to return the deposit. Finally threatened to turn him in to Immigration for working without a work permit and working in a reserved occupation - tour guide. He finally returned half the deposit.

 

[JBChiangRai]

2 minutes ago, Genericnic said:

Not just Thai landlords. I rented a condo from a Brit for 11 years. During that time, I put up half the cost of a new air con and brought in a new refrigerator. Left the place as I had found it. 

 

Landlord refused to return the deposit. Finally threatened to turn him in to Immigration for working without a work permit and working in a reserved occupation - tour guide. He finally returned half the deposit.

 

An 11 year long tenant is a gift from the gods.

[ThaiFelix]

4 hours ago, koolkarl said:

Apparently it is a national past time in Thailand for landlords to keep the 2 months deposit.  Has this happened to many of you and if so, what did you do?

Deposit?  Whats that?  Oh no the tenant wanted to pay twice as much for the first 2 months coz he really liked the peeling paintwork affect.

[Mark Nothing]

It is not a national past  time in thailand to keep the security deposit, if you abide by the contract and maintain the condo.

 

In my circle of friends they all get their deposit back, but they clean the unit, maintain it, and don't damage it.

 

If you put out your cigarette butts on the sofa, pop off beer tabs on the countertops and wood tables, and damage the unit you are responsible and should reimburse the landlord via deductions from the deposit.

[ThaiFelix]

6 minutes ago, Mark Nothing said:

It is not a national past  time in thailand to keep the security deposit, if you abide by the contract and maintain the condo.

 

In my circle of friends they all get their deposit back, but they clean the unit, maintain it, and don't damage it.

 

If you put out your cigarette butts on the sofa, pop off beer tabs on the countertops and wood tables, and damage the unit you are responsible and should reimburse the landlord via deductions from the deposit.

Wow havnt you been lucky, certainly not the case among people I know and worked with nor a lot of the posts you read here.

[JBChiangRai]

I have refunded deposits even when I shouldn’t.

 

The only time I kept a 2 month deposit was in Pattaya when someone signed a 12 month contract and wanted to move out after two months, I had a clause in the lease agreement about that, they could provide another tenant acceptable to me and for a small administrative fee, we would change the lease over to them. However, they didn’t offer any new tenant at all and just wanted their deposit back. 
 

I told them if I got a new tenant within two months I would refund that portion of the deposit, but it took longer than that so they got nothing back.

[brianthainess]

4 hours ago, Henryford said:

My tgf stayed at many apartments. She never got her deposit back. Just assume it's lost money.

Did she leave it in a mess, damage something, pay the bills ?

[brianthainess]

40 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

don’t expect a tie court to follow the law. Even when it’s clear cut.

 

We had some children trespass and set fire to some of our property. Under law, the parents are responsible for their children. The damage was about ฿70,000, we sued in the court and we lost, and the judge’s ruling was that the plaintiff was a rich Farang and the defendants were poor Thai people and the rich Farang could afford the loss whereas the poor defendants couldn’t afford to pay.

 

Go figure.

So nothing to do with a deposit then. 

[Crazy Noobie]

My family has lived in 4 different houses over the last 8 years and NEVER had a problem with getting the FULL deposit back. I always leave the place in better condition then I receive it. I also don't rent from "fly by night" type landlords. To me it is important to have the right landlord as well as the right house. They go hand in hand. Anytime I had a issue with something, the landlord has always been there to fix whatever. And out of all of the expats that I know, none has ever not received their deposit back.

[CHdiver]

Thais paid my deposit back every time without delay. Unfortunately I rentet 2 time from fellow Farangs. With both I had to put pressure on them, till I finally got my money back. 

 

 

[JBChiangRai]

38 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

So nothing to do with a deposit then. 

But everything to do with the post I quoted and was replying to.

[john donson]

5 hours ago, koolkarl said:

Apparently it is a national past time in Thailand for landlords to keep the 2 months deposit.  Has this happened to many of you and if so, what did you do?

 

did you leave early? then sure you lose

[JBChiangRai]

I think it’s worth mentioning that as a tenant, your total liability for damage is not limited by the amount of your deposit. You could easily be on the hook for a lot more.

[Jerry777]

Never got my last one back

[crazykopite]

They spend it as soon as you hand it over

[JBChiangRai]

2 hours ago, crazykopite said:

They spend it as soon as you hand it over

Sadly, you are right, most do. The good landlords put the deposit into a separate bank account, that they forget about until the tenant is ready to move out.

[timendres]

I have rented 2 apartments, 3 townhouses, and my current condo.

In every case, I have gotten back all of my deposit.

 

With one exception.

My current landlord, from whom I rented my previous townhouse,

took 6,000 THB from my 100,000 THB deposit, when I moved from

there to here. I felt it was a fair assessment and had no real complaints.

 

All landlords were Thai. All were exceptionally fair and reasonable.