Thai Landlords That Don`t Play Ball.....

[midas]

I am disturbed to hear that sometimes property owners in Bangkok fail to refund the security deposit at the end of the lease for no valid reason.

This is really unfair because in many cases the tenant by then has probably returned to their home country and there's probably very little they would able to do at that point in time to pursue the owner legally and in any case it wouldn't be cost effective.

One foreigner has just moved out of Lumpini Park View condo and the owner who is overseas simply wont reimburse the two months deposit even though there's nothing wrong and the owner has no real justification for doing this so that particular tenant has now gone to the Royal Thai Police to see if they will help him.......

I am very cynical and suspicious regarding the true motives of many landlords about wanting to hold on to two months rental for weeks and months on end after the lease agreement has expired.

At the end of a residential lease, there is no reason why the Lessor shouldn't inspect the property on the same day as the keys are returned and provided there is no damage, at least 65% -70% of the security deposit should be given back to the tenant immediately at that time.

I don't understand why so many landlords want to hold on to two months rental to safeguard any possible debts by the tenant for electricity, telephone and water supply. There is only so much water and electricity that can be used

up in the final month so the only real unknown amount is the telephone charges for the final month. On this point the landlord would able to see what the average

monthly bill has been for all utilities actually and use this as a guide as to how much should be retained until all the bills have come through . 30% of the security deposit should be more than adequate protection for the landlord after the leases expired.

I wonder if anyone has had any experience of landlords not returning deposits or if they know of anyone that has suffered unjustifiably? Or does have any contrary views to what I have expressed ?

[Sulaphat]

If he is going to return your security deposit he will do so after the next tenant moves in and gives him a new security deposit. He has already spent your security deposit and needs the new one to be able to pay you back.

[george]

I have NEVER heard of a deposit beeing paid back....

[medicinebox]

They have all the aces. It all boils down to how black their hearts are.

Try offering only one months rent as deposit. Depends on how hot the property is.

I got screwed once to the sum of 7000bht. She actually let herself in and stole the receipt, then said i never paid a deposit.

I never got my money, but I got my satisfaction when I left 8 or 9 fish in the wall cavities and in the roof.

The place was empty for months.

Som Nom nah!!!

[GuestHouse]

I rented in Pattaya and had no problems getting my deposit back or indeed getting the landlady to pay for repairs that occasionally needed doing.

However, I did hear of one expat who had a complete nightmare.

Thge house he was renting a house from a Chinese Thai landlady had a small electrical fire that burned out the fuse box.

He arranged for the office maintenance man to help him repair the damage and sent the bill for parts to the landlady and deducted the amount (less than Bht2000) from his next months bill. This was completely as per the rental contract.

A few days after he paid the reduced rent he had a call from his landlady who was ranting at him that he owed her the difference. The next day he arranged for a Thai collegue to call his landlady and give a better explanation - she ranted at him too.

A few days later she turned up at the house with a couple of heavies, one of whom waved a hand gun in the face of the expat and his family. He was forced to pay the money he had rightly with held and as he did so his landlady threw the bill he had sent in his face.

Months later it was time for this guy to demob home and realising he was not going to get his deposite back he sent his family home a week or two before him and did not tell his landlady he was moving.

He spent his last days in Thailand painting the whole inside of the house gloss black and gloss purple. Walls, floors, doors, bathroom fittings, kitchen cabinets etc.

In a prominant place in the center of the main room floor he stuck the returned bil.

l

[meemiathai]

well done!

[PeaceBlondie]

My neighbor just moved out, and I'm 90% sure he got his deposit back, and maybe even the last month for free due to an accounting error. Or maybe because he paid his rent on time for 4 years.

After living in a condo for 15 months, we just had a lot of electrical trouble and replaced the air/con compressor. 12,600 baht (almost two months' rent) and the owner cheerfully refunded us the money in cash without waiting till month's end.

But cases of the landlord keeping the deposit (or waiting a long time to refund it) are common in the USA.

And there is always the other side to the story, such as tenants wrecking the place and causing damages equal to five months' rent.

[Dakhar]

As the future owner of 7 town houses in Thailand.... This thread scares me.

I hope if I treat my renters with honor they can do the same...

Painting the entire place black, rotten fish etc.... I hope to avoid.

I also hope there is little up keep compared to housing in America. Our thin skined walls.... people punch holes in them all the time.

In Thailand, with the solid cement walls... I don't expect that to be a problem.

[lowersmiths]

It's not a prob with Thai landlords, it's a problem with landlords full stop. Had in done in England a few times. It's better not to pay the last month's rent and let the bills run up. Then if you do get stiffed at least you haven't lost everything. If everything is done properly then you pay up to date and everyone is happy.

[RDN]

I didn't have a problem in Bangkok, Sukhumvit Suites. Paid 3 months in advance. After ten months, stopped paying rent as agreed. After I left, the landlord sent me the last bills for telephone and electricity and put the difference into my bank account. And during my stay, any light bulbs that failed, I took out of the rent and gave him the receipts.

In Phuket, I stayed at one place for only one month - because the landlord couldn't get me a phone line - and he paid me back the extra two months rent I had given him AND he paid me 14,000 baht for the curtains that I had had fitted.

Another place in Phuket, I left after 3 months because they started building right next to where I was staying. I got my telephone deposit back, less the bill, without problem.

I think if you treat people right, they will treat you right.

[medicinebox]

I think if you treat people right, they will treat you right.

Have to disagree. This woman was rotten to the core. I think you've been lucky. Or maybe I was unlucky.

[jackr]

I rented in Pattaya and had no problems getting my deposit back or indeed getting the landlady to pay for repairs that occasionally needed doing.

However, I did hear of one expat who had a complete nightmare.

Thge house he was renting a house from a Chinese Thai landlady had a small electrical fire that burned out the fuse box.

He arranged for the office maintenance man to help him repair the damage and sent the bill for parts to the landlady and deducted the amount (less than Bht2000) from his next months bill. This was completely as per the rental contract.

A few days after he paid the reduced rent he had a call from his landlady who was ranting at him that he owed her the difference. The next day he arranged for a Thai collegue to call his landlady and give a better explanation - she ranted at him too.

A few days later she turned up at the house with a couple of heavies, one of whom waved a hand gun in the face of the expat and his family. He was forced to pay the money he had rightly with held and as he did so his landlady threw the bill he had sent in his face.

Months later it was time for this guy to demob home and realising he was not going to get his deposite back he sent his family home a week or two before him and did not tell his landlady he was moving.

He spent his last days in Thailand painting the whole inside of the house gloss black and gloss purple. Walls, floors, doors, bathroom fittings, kitchen cabinets etc.

In a prominant place in the center of the main room floor he stuck the returned bil.

l

Excellent. What a bitch. The fish inside the walls is a good one too. If you get had like this and are going home, don't forget to tamper with the airc-cons as well; they're pretty expensive to replace.

[astral]

Unless you are around to chase up the deposit, after the outstanding bills are paid, which can take two month, you do not have much chance.

Just write it off to experience.

I agree with limiting the deposit to one month, not two or three.

As for the revenge, interesting thought......................

[Neeranam]

I have never had a problem with getting my deposit back. I can remember at least 7 apartments I lived in Bangkok. The only annoying thing was them charging 1000 baht to clean a perfectly clean apt. I used to always worry about not getting it back in my first couple of years here.

Got thrown out a townhouse in a posh area once for having drunken parties. She didn't give us any notice(well 3 days) - we used the phone to call around the world around the clock. God, that must have been an ernomous bill!!!

[Ajarn]

I have NEVER heard of a deposit beeing paid back....

Well, you can't say that (truthfully) any longer. I've ALWAYS had my deposits returned.

[RDN]

I have NEVER heard of a deposit beeing paid back....

Well, you can't say that (truthfully) any longer. I've ALWAYS had my deposits returned.

Make that 'two'.

[RDN]

...I got my satisfaction when I left 8 or 9 fish in the wall cavities and in the roof. The place was empty for months.

...don't forget to tamper with the airc-cons as well; they're pretty expensive to replace.

...He spent his last days in Thailand painting the whole inside of the house gloss black and gloss purple. Walls, floors, doors, bathroom fittings, kitchen cabinets etc.

It all boils down to how black their hearts are...

Whose black heart are you talking about here? All you're doing is <deleted>.cking it up for the next farang who wants to rent and giving these people more stories about "bad farangs" to tell all their friends.

...Just write it off to experience...

Good advice.

.As for the revenge, interesting thought......................

No it isn't. It's childish, immature, pathetic.

[Ajarn]

I have never  had a problem with getting my deposit back. I can remember at least 7 apartments I lived in Bangkok. The only annoying thing was them charging 1000 baht to clean a perfectly clean apt. I used to always worry about not getting it back in my first couple of years here.

Got thrown out a townhouse in a posh area once for having drunken parties. She didn't give us any notice(well 3 days) - we used the phone to call around the world around the clock. God, that must have been an ernomous bill!!!

The phone bill is usually the main bill that any landlord is worried about with any farang, and here you've confirmed good reason for that fear. It can take 2 months before you see the most recent CAT phone bill (overseas calls).

But, for those of you not considering ###### with your landlord, you can go to your local CAT office and ask for a 'estimate' of your current bill, which is basically just a printout of your calls and charges overseas. You can request the bill up to the date you walk in.... 200 baht the last time I did it a few years ago. Saved me and the landlord from any potential bad feelings. Oh, and they still send the bill out later. They do not want you to pay then. It's only to provide concrete evidence to accurately predict your bill for that period....It also saves from the landlord running up your bill after you've left and charging you...Which I've heard of happening, too.

Edited October 22, 2004 by Ajarn

[medicinebox]

...I got my satisfaction when I left 8 or 9 fish in the wall cavities and in the roof. The place was empty for months.

It all boils down to how black their hearts are...

Whose black heart are you talking about here? All you're doing is <deleted>.cking it up for the next farang who wants to rent and giving these people more stories about "bad farangs" to tell all their friends.

.As for the revenge, interesting thought......................

No it isn't. It's childish, immature, pathetic.

If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?

Or should we just bend over and take one in the ass???

[Ajarn]

You know what? In real life, you do get ###### sometimes, but you always have a choice as to whether you ###### someone else, or not. Of course it feels terrible and you feel angry or whatever, but trashing someones property won't change the facts and won't get your money back in any form. If your landlord has broken a law, then file a crimminal report with the police- their policy is arrest first and ask questions later- after substantial bail is posted...But, by the same token, if your landlord is following your written agreement and you trash his place because you don't want to wait for the bills to come in, it'll be your ass in jail if you're still around, to be sure.

Not to mention (again and again) that such stupid actions purely to satisy your own ego could have far-reaching effects on every farang after you....And, for some, it's confirmation that farangs cetainly deserve to be called 'kii nok'.

If you get ######, but don't want to follow through with some kind of civilized action to get your money, or get whatever your problem is fixed, then ###### deal with like a ###### man and move on, or come and whinge here.

Like the signature at the bottom says....

[medicinebox]

Tham Dee, Dai Dee....

Tham Chua, Dai Chua

Do good, get good

Do bad, get bad...

My point exactly....

[Ajarn]

Tham Dee, Dai Dee....

Tham Chua, Dai Chua

Do good, get good

Do bad, get bad...

My point exactly....

Unfortunately, you are not the arbitrator of someone else's Karma ... Your own bad Karma from your bad actions are on your head, too.

Of course, you're a smart guy, so I'm sure you already know that.

[meadish_sweetball]

I have never had any problems with getting my deposits back (4 times), but I know friends who have, without hurting a fly or behaving badly in any way. I agree that some people are simply evil - a particular old vicious hag who could have starred in the Blair Witch Project, located in the Sririraj Hospital Area of Bangkok comes to mind, she's right behind Supatra River House and Wat Rakhang almost opposite Thammasat University across the river...

She made life ###### for my friend, and for many other tenants as well, including a really sweet and tidy Indian medical scientist who was in Bangkok on a scholarship. She was forced to fork out money for damage to her apartment that had been there since she moved in. The old bag made a real point of going through every little square inch of the room and demanding money for anything that was not scrupulously perfect. Happened to have very good connections with the local police force too, so she could not be touched.

This is the reason why I now always demand a copy of the contract I sign made at the time of signing, whenever I move into a new place, and also the reason why I read it through painstakingly, asking about all the details to make sure I understand what it actually says. Once you have gone through that whole deal with someone to show you are not one to be flowered with, they *usually* do not try.

At the moment though, I am very lucky to have the sweetest landlord imaginable here in CM, a right cutie she is.

[griffer]

I couldn't get my rent back from first landlady..this time by slightly delaying payment of rent, then getting front desk to put next months date on the bill, further confusing them by offering to pay 2 months to clear up a 3 month period while i would be away,etc etc......upshot is that the landlord holds no deposit....don't think he knows this and the front desk certainly doesn't.....works for me

[medicinebox]

Confused me too. Gotta work....

[Darth Bangkok]

If your landlord has broken a law, then file a crimminal report with the police- their policy is arrest first and ask questions later- after substantial bail is posted...

That is the biggest joke I have ever heard. If it were only true....

One day I'll tell you the 11 month saga about the hit and run driver who knocked me over on my bike. Clearly an, at least suspectful, act that would require police attention? no?? The police did jackshit for months even after I found the guy for them. Oh wait, they did do something.... lie to me for four months about trying to get him to come to the police station so we could 'discuss it'. anyone who thinks there are legal remedies is dillusional. how much would you have to spend to get back 10,000 baht??

[Darth Bangkok]

I couldn't get my rent back from first landlady..this time by slightly delaying payment of rent, then getting front desk to put next months date on the bill, further confusing them by offering to pay 2 months to clear up a 3 month period while i would be away,etc etc......upshot is that the landlord holds no deposit....don't think he knows this and the front desk certainly doesn't.....works for me

that's usually the way to go. confuse them. offer them no details, that's the way to do it here. that's how thai's do it. they take advantage of other people's ignorance or stupidity.

[Ajarn]

I couldn't get my rent back from first landlady..this time by slightly delaying payment of rent, then getting front desk to put next months date on the bill, further confusing them by offering to pay 2 months to clear up a 3 month period while i would be away,etc etc......upshot is that the landlord holds no deposit....don't think he knows this and the front desk certainly doesn't.....works for me

that's usually the way to go. confuse them. offer them no details, that's the way to do it here. that's how thai's do it. they take advantage of other people's ignorance or stupidity.

right, ###### them in any deceitful and devious means you can before they have a chance to get you...

No wonder you have problems here.

[haha]

in san francisco, I had this one landlord who refused to give me back my $500 us dollar deposit for no reason at all. and I couldn't get it back.

here in bangkok, out of 5+ places that I lived at, I only had one landlord who gave me problems.

it happens everywhere in the world.

in the one place where I had problems, I remember what happened...

I lived there for about 2 years. in the beginning, everything was cool. I made friends with everybody from the manager, the guards, to the street vendors. everyday, we greeted each other. ...then, one day it started, everybody would ask me where I was going. and everyday, I would reply in thai, either the gym to workout, or visit friends. suddenly one day after about a year of doing this, everybody, and I mean everybody started looking at me differently. they weren't friendly anymore.

to this day, I'm still not sure what happened to cause the change in their attitudes. sometimes I think people just got jealous of me because I didn't work. other times, I think it may have been some cultural differences in opinions that I'm not aware of. who knows....

I spoke to another foreigner who lived there. he told me that the mistake that I made was to get friendly with everyone. he had lived there for much longer than I had, and he had no problems. stay low key, and you'll be ok was his advice.

I told him that I prefer to take my chances to try to make friends, and if it didn't work out, I would leave. ...my choice whereever I go.

shortly after my neighbors started treating me differently, my apartment was broken into. ..but nothing was stolen. (????) and I left after that.

...it was a small place which cost me 3000 baht a month to rent. this place had cable tv included, and allowed you to install a dedicated phone line. it was a good deal.

anyway, moving on..... my current landlord is great. this is the second time I stayed here. after my first tenure here, they gave me back my whole deposit minus utilities with no questions asked. this time around, he even allowed me to install a dedicated phone line.

I still greet everybody. and so far, everybody respects my privacy.

[drummer]

I got my deposit back from the Sathorn St. View Apartments (http://www.sathornsaintview.com , i think) with no hassle and a smile. I'd recommend them highly. A very friendly staff - only a 1 month deposit required, and no lease terms. you don't have to stay there for a year like my current place

(my current place - 3 month deposit! and a year lease only... standard in the Ramkhamheang area, though I hear)