Key Points For Lease Agreements

[DB84]

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Within the next 2-3 months, my wife & I will move into a new house & with that comes the lease agreement, of course. Our current landlord is a piece of work + the security is virtually non-existent. We haven't decided which house yet, so I am not sure of what nationality the owner will be. But one thing is for sure, we want to get out of there...

So I thought I would start this thread for my own benefit, if some of You have addtional points, as well as for everybody else who does not want to be bamboozled by their landlords. And they will try if they see an opening.

As per past experiences, dealing with a Thai landlord, every single thing you can think of that might come back to haunt you, should be included in the lease agreement. Don't rely on verbal agreements.

Below is what I have so far, please feel free to add points/tips. I have disregarded the obvious(standard) points in the lease agreement.

Key points for lease agreement:

1. If satelite(UBC)/Internet is not installed, the landlord should pay for the installation & you should pay the monthly subscription fees.

2. If monthly fees for security & garbage pick-up is not included in the rent, the landlord should be liable to pay.

^^A general rule of thumb is that the landlord will overcharge you for the rent. Chances are you will pay 20-30% more than a Thai, even after bargaining. Maybe even more. So you should try to get as many "extra costs" paid by the landlord, as possible.

3. A list of whom, on the landlords side, has duplicate keys to the house. And put emphasis on the point that these people should not come by unannounced or while you are not home.

4. All bills (UBC, Internet, water, elec. etc.) should be forwarded to your address, not the landlords address. I don't know if this is a rare case but in the beginning our landlord insisted on receiving the bills and then have us send the money to the landlord. I have a feeling they benefitted from this arrangement in the beginning. Their reason being that they had tenants before that moved out and left bills for them to pay. However after a while I asked them to make a copy the paid bill and send it to me & now suddenly all bills except UBC is forwarded straight to our address.

5. Usually You will get a better deal if you sign a lease contract for 1 or 2 years. The nature of being an expat means you never really know how long you will stay. We are planning to sign a 2 year lease agreement but I want the agreement to state what will happen if it is broken. It is hard to find out how you will be penalized if the agreement is broken, does anybody have any idea about common practice? I would expect they might dip into your deposit but I am not planning on letting them take it all.

6. If the lease agreement is terminated, the landlord needs to give 3 months notice and the tenant 1 months notice. Don't think this is standard in lease agreements in Thailand.

7. Any damages to the property caused by poor construction or natural disaster are the responsbility of the landlord/owner.

8. All land taxes, mortgages and so forth are to be paid by the owner of the house. I know, seems like I am being Captain Obvious but for my own sake I'd like to have it in the lease agreement

9. The procedure when you eventually move out, what maintenance etc. will have to be taken care of. Personally, I do not feel like you should be responsible for re-painting the inside of the house if you only stayed in a place for 1 year.

10. The lease agreements should state according to which standards it will be assessed if a portion of the deposit should be withheld or kept by the landlord. I would take pictures displaying the state of the house before you move in and when you move out. Use it for comparison, in case they try to charge you for damages which were there prior to you moving in.

11. The lease agreement should state how and when will the deposit be transferred back to you.

12. Before signing any lease agreements, make sure to get a copy of documents that state the landlords ownership(!)

Hope some of You have other valuable tips/tricks.

Edited March 19, 2008 by DB84