Thais have a habit of making excuses for not returning rental deposits.

 

Curious to learn what others have found to be the best way of handling this.

 

Thanks to all for replies.

Easy. Just don’t pay the last month/s rent. Tell them that you’ve been ripped-off before by other Thai landlords and to take the final month/s rent from your deposit. 

I've always had my deposit returned. Six times 

23 minutes ago, Nemises said:

Easy. Just don’t pay the last month/s rent. Tell them that you’ve been ripped-off before by other Thai landlords and to take the final month/s rent from your deposit. 

So you never pay more than 1-month deposit.

1 minute ago, freedomnow said:

So you never pay more than 1-month deposit.

Which significantly reduces what is available. 

On 9/19/2025 at 9:41 PM, Nemises said:

Easy. Just don’t pay the last month/s rent. Tell them that you’ve been ripped-off before by other Thai landlords and to take the final month/s rent from your deposit. 

The contract says they have the right to lock you out if you don't pay the rent. So you can't use the deposit for the rent.

Rent directly with building management. They often only require a small deposit. A lot of condo buildings will have units available through the juristic office.

 

The place I'm in now only required a small deposit and it's furnished better then the other place I had that wanted 2 months deposit. Deposits are basically a windfall for the landlord, not reflecting what's in the unit.

18 hours ago, Mark1969 said:

Rent directly with building management. They often only require a small deposit. A lot of condo buildings will have units available through the juristic office.

 

The place I'm in now only required a small deposit and it's furnished better then the other place I had that wanted 2 months deposit. Deposits are basically a windfall for the landlord, not reflecting what's in the unit.

That does not help when they have locked you out

Here's a thought, why not save enough money such that in the event you do not get the deposit back it's not that big a deal?

 

 

I once asked the Thai man who spoke good English why Thais seem to lack common sense and reason and he laughed and he said, well as to common sense you might be right, but about reason we have it, it's just we have Thai reasoning, we don't have Western reason. And they are two very different things. Ha! 

 

I love the Thai people on so many different levels, but I try to not make that much effort to really understand them. It bends the brain too much. 

 

I always tell people who are coming here for the first time to bear in mind the Thailand is not a foreign country, Thailand is a distant planet. If you treat it as such, you'll be less astonished by things that take place here. 

 

A while back I went to a local mini mart. Bought six bottle of soda water. The old guy told me I had to pay 5 baht deposit, per bottle. I said ok. Went back with my bottles later, and wanted to buy some more. He quoted me a price that did not take into account my 30 baht deposit. I said I get the deposit back, and then pay you for the water, right? He said no, the deposit is one way! You don't get it back. I would have been upset, if I was not laughing so hard. I said no, farang is one way, that way, and never come back. I took my bottles and left. It was well worth it. Have been telling that story to my friends for years. We all love it!

 

I have had hundreds of these kinds of encounters here in LOS. Always amazed by them. There is a complete disregard for the future, for future patronage, for the idea of loyalty, and rewarding you for such. It has happened with so many merchants I had been dealing with for years. Over tiny amounts of money. Of course, they lose me for life. But, they do not seem to care one iota.

 

I am a business owner. I will do nearly anything to retain a loyal customer. Whatever it takes. A full refund, an exchange, just tell me what you want. Here? None of that. Tomorrow? Why think about tomorrow, when I can make an extra 30 baht today?

 

The tale of the One Way store. Great stuff. You could not make this stuff up, if you tried!

 

 

18 minutes ago, DaRoadrunner said:

That does not help when they have locked you out

Won't happen, rent is always paid. The point is I never paid a large deposit, so if it was not returned it's not a huge setback.

 

10 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I once asked the Thai man who spoke good English why Thais seem to lack common sense and reason and he laughed and he said, well as to common sense you might be right, but about reason we have it, it's just we have Thai reasoning, we don't have Western reason. And they are two very different things. Ha! 

 

I love the Thai people on so many different levels, but I try to not make that much effort to really understand them. It bends the brain too much. 

 

I always tell people who are coming here for the first time to bear in mind the Thailand is not a foreign country, Thailand is a distant planet. If you treat it as such, you'll be less astonished by things that take place here. 

 

A while back I went to a local mini mart. Bought six bottle of soda water. The old guy told me I had to pay 5 baht deposit, per bottle. I said ok. Went back with my bottles later, and wanted to buy some more. He quoted me a price that did not take into account my 30 baht deposit. I said I get the deposit back, and then pay you for the water, right? He said no, the deposit is one way! You don't get it back. I would have been upset, if I was not laughing so hard. I said no, farang is one way, that way, and never come back. I took my bottles and left. It was well worth it. Have been telling that story to my friends for years. We all love it!

 

I have had hundreds of these kinds of encounters here in LOS. Always amazed by them. There is a complete disregard for the future, for future patronage, for the idea of loyalty, and rewarding you for such. It has happened with so many merchants I had been dealing with for years. Over tiny amounts of money. Of course, they lose me for life. But, they do not seem to care one iota.

 

I am a business owner. I will do nearly anything to retain a loyal customer. Whatever it takes. A full refund, an exchange, just tell me what you want. Here? None of that. Tomorrow? Why think about tomorrow, when I can make an extra 30 baht today?

 

The tale of the One Way store. Great stuff. You could not make this stuff up, if you tried!

The deposit thing sounds like a scam to me. That's not a deposit, but a simple overcharging. You laughed at yourself about getting ripped off.

18 hours ago, DaRoadrunner said:

The contract says they have the right to lock you out if you don't pay the rent. So you can't use the deposit for the rent.

in that case do the equivalent value in damage to the property as you walk out the door.

12 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I once asked the Thai man who spoke good English why Thais seem to lack common sense and reason and he laughed and he said, well as to common sense you might be right, but about reason we have it, it's just we have Thai reasoning, we don't have Western reason. And they are two very different things. Ha! 

 

I love the Thai people on so many different levels, but I try to not make that much effort to really understand them. It bends the brain too much. 

 

I always tell people who are coming here for the first time to bear in mind the Thailand is not a foreign country, Thailand is a distant planet. If you treat it as such, you'll be less astonished by things that take place here. 

 

A while back I went to a local mini mart. Bought six bottle of soda water. The old guy told me I had to pay 5 baht deposit, per bottle. I said ok. Went back with my bottles later, and wanted to buy some more. He quoted me a price that did not take into account my 30 baht deposit. I said I get the deposit back, and then pay you for the water, right? He said no, the deposit is one way! You don't get it back. I would have been upset, if I was not laughing so hard. I said no, farang is one way, that way, and never come back. I took my bottles and left. It was well worth it. Have been telling that story to my friends for years. We all love it!

 

I have had hundreds of these kinds of encounters here in LOS. Always amazed by them. There is a complete disregard for the future, for future patronage, for the idea of loyalty, and rewarding you for such. It has happened with so many merchants I had been dealing with for years. Over tiny amounts of money. Of course, they lose me for life. But, they do not seem to care one iota.

 

I am a business owner. I will do nearly anything to retain a loyal customer. Whatever it takes. A full refund, an exchange, just tell me what you want. Here? None of that. Tomorrow? Why think about tomorrow, when I can make an extra 30 baht today?

 

The tale of the One Way store. Great stuff. You could not make this stuff up, if you tried!

 

 

I'm pretty sure the "deposit" is one way in California and any number of other US states as well. 

 

On 9/19/2025 at 9:26 PM, DaRoadrunner said:

Thais have a habit of making excuses for not returning rental deposits.

 

Curious to learn what others have found to be the best way of handling this.

 

Thanks to all for replies.

Don't have that problem, had deposits of 1.5 month and 2 times 2 months. Didn't pay the last month rent and got the rest refunded. Once had to pay some cleaning costs, which was fair.

On 9/19/2025 at 9:26 PM, DaRoadrunner said:

Thais have a habit of making excuses for not returning rental deposits.

 

Curious to learn what others have found to be the best way of handling this.

 

Thanks to all for replies.

Buy your own place.

5 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

in that case do the equivalent value in damage to the property as you walk out the door.

Pretty stupid as they have a copy of your passport and can sue for criminal damage.

3 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

Pretty stupid as they have a copy of your passport and can sue for criminal damage.

 

I do not give out copies of my real passport.

On 9/19/2025 at 9:48 PM, Yellowtail said:

I've always had my deposit returned. Six times 

The only time I didn't get my deposit back, it was a Dutch landlord.

15 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

in that case do the equivalent value in damage to the property as you walk out the door.

To have problems with the Thai police added to your lost deposit?

The longer you rent the place, the less financial impact it will have on you once you leave (if they don't return any of the deposit).  In other words, if you rent a 20,000 THB condo and the owner charges you 40,000 as a deposit, that you must pay upon moving in, plus first month's rent in advance, and you leave after one year - you're out a lot of money. On the other hand, if you keep extending the lease for 5 or 6 years, then move out and don;t get anything back - you're out 7-8,000 a year (or 500 baht extra per month). So that's the sunny-side-up way of thinking. And no confrontations (which, as mentioned often can be dangerous here).

 

If you have a lease in hand, drafted through a reputable agent, it usually specifies a time period after you vacate the premises that the owner must inspect, make any repairs, produce receipts, and then return any balance. The law is very clear on this - and it's on your side as a tenant. For example the law (modified a few years ago) also makes clear the owner cannot use the excuse of some minor damage to pay for improvements to the place that were better than before you moved in. This is why time-stamped photos from your phone when you move in are evidence (as part of the inventory inspection). Other threads on here and elsewhere have more info on this. One reason that (some) Thai landlords/owners won't return a deposit is because they think the farang/foreign tenant is moving away from Thailand. So they can just wait them out (remember what the Russian/Ukrainian girl did to get even - which backfired on her at the airport?). But if you are not leaving the country, you have time and you should can make a police report, get a court date, and quite often (apparently) that's enough to scare the dodgy landlord to return some or all of the deposit. Why? Because they are probably doing other things they shouldn't - like renting out too many condos (I think the law specifies fewer than five - or it's considered a business, and they have to pay big tax on rent), so as a workaround they use proxies like extended family members as owners. For 30-40,000 baht it's easier for the dodgy landlord to pay it before they and family proxies end up under the scrutiny of the courts and police. Edit to add: In the contract where it says two months rent as deposit - that's actually against the law. While they all ask for 2 months, the law says a deposit should be only one month - another reason they don't want police or courts involved.

37 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I have had hundreds of these kinds of encounters here in LOS. Always amazed by them. There is a complete disregard for the future, for future patronage, for the idea of loyalty, and rewarding you for such. It has happened with so many merchants I had been dealing with for years. Over tiny amounts of money. Of course, they lose me for life. But, they do not seem to care one iota.

Very true.  It even happens in banks.  I was on the Committee of a Juristic Entity and each month the treasurer would give me a cheque for staff wages.

I would take the cheque to be cashed & usually the assistant wrote in the Thai date before she cashed it.  On one occasion she wrote it on a paper & I copied it onto the cheque and handed it over.  She pushed it back to me, 'Cheque no good.'  One of us had put the wrong figures in the wrong space. 

'No problem, call the manager and I will change the date in her presence and she can witness and initial the change.' 

'Cannot,' said the manager.  'Need new cheque,'.

'If you make me drive 40 kms round trip for a new cheque, we will cancel our account.'  She shrugged. 

The next day we withdrew 1.7 million baht from our Kasikorn bank and went elsewhere.

1 hour ago, Ralf001 said:

in that case do the equivalent value in damage to the property as you walk out the door.

They do it when you are not home and don't notify you. Leave your stuff outside.

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

I'm pretty sure the "deposit" is one way in California and any number of other US states as well. 

 

It's included in the advertised price in the US. The shop owner in thailand added on whatever he wanted and pocketed the money.

I was just in court in Chiang Mai suing my old landlord for ฿100,000. It cost me ฿20,000 to sue him. Plus about ฿10,000 to fly back to Chiang Mai to sue him.It took seven months to get to court.
 

The verdict, which I think will strongly be in my favor, will not be rendered until early November. Then he has 90 days to pay. Then I can hire Marshalls to go remove items from his home to be sold to pay me.

 

I agree with the excellent suggestion to go through the building office to rent for a better outcome.

 

 

On 9/19/2025 at 9:41 PM, Nemises said:

Easy. Just don’t pay the last month/s rent. Tell them that you’ve been ripped-off before by other Thai landlords and to take the final month/s rent from your deposit. 

I have alway 35+ years, have had that very clause as a standard in the rental department - but I also have never had a landlord not return the deposit, probably because the rental was in better and cleaner shape than when I leased it!

1 hour ago, Ralf001 said:

in that case do the equivalent value in damage to the property as you walk out the door.

If you do this the police will be happy to arrest you. 🤗

1 hour ago, mikebell said:

Very true.  It even happens in banks.  I was on the Committee of a Juristic Entity and each month the treasurer would give me a cheque for staff wages.

I would take the cheque to be cashed & usually the assistant wrote in the Thai date before she cashed it.  On one occasion she wrote it on a paper & I copied it onto the cheque and handed it over.  She pushed it back to me, 'Cheque no good.'  One of us had put the wrong figures in the wrong space. 

'No problem, call the manager and I will change the date in her presence and she can witness and initial the change.' 

'Cannot,' said the manager.  'Need new cheque,'.

'If you make me drive 40 kms round trip for a new cheque, we will cancel our account.'  She shrugged. 

The next day we withdrew 1.7 million baht from our Kasikorn bank and went elsewhere.

Cannot usually prompts me to ask for the manager, and nine times out of 10 the manager is able to resolve the problem. There are a lot of low level employees here who just don't know much, and their standard reply is cannot, cannot. 

 

I don't really respond very well to that word. 

2 hours ago, Mark1969 said:

Won't happen, rent is always paid. The point is I never paid a large deposit, so if it was not returned it's not a huge setback.

 

The deposit thing sounds like a scam to me. That's not a deposit, but a simple overcharging. You laughed at yourself about getting ripped off.

There are some things in life that are worth getting upset about, and other things you just have to let go. When we're talking about a 30 baht loss which resulted in an incredibly amusing situation, a story that I have been telling for years, I would pay that 30 baht again today to have a similarly bizarre and noteworthy experience. 

 

It is referred to as having a light heart and a sense of humor. 

1 hour ago, Mark1969 said:

It's included in the advertised price in the US. The shop owner in thailand added on whatever he wanted and pocketed the money.

So? In both cases you pay it, and in both cases, you have to take it to a recycling center to get the money back. 

 

57 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

So? In both cases you pay it, and in both cases, you have to take it to a recycling center to get the money back. 

Agreed, except in thailand he had to deal with a thai guy possibly making up the price. I like just having the price listed so I don't need to worry about it. I guess it works if he liked the negotiation for a novel experience which it appears he does. I don't, I just want to get out with the soda water at a price I know for sure everybody else is paying.