How Can I Get The Deposit Back?

[sisteregg]

Can anybody tell me what I can do to get my deposit which is about 40 k from my landlord? She is charging me for the painting and maintaining the house. I think I deserve to get at least 15 k back from her. But she said she won't give it back and that she decides to keep it. She also said I could sue her for that. It's not fair as she decides to cheat me at the last minute.

It would be great if someone can advise me on this.

[wordchild]

Can anybody tell me what I can do to get my deposit which is about 40 k from my landlord? She is charging me for the painting and maintaining the house. I think I deserve to get at least 15 k back from her. But she said she won't give it back and that she decides to keep it. She also said I could sue her for that. It's not fair as she decides to cheat me at the last minute.

It would be great if someone can advise me on this.

what was the state of the property when you left compared to when you took it on?

[MJo]

She's right, take her to court. Most likely just taking the matter up with police and courts will see her to change her mind. Claim all 40k back as normal wear and tear should not be taken from the money.

Or make sure the 40K will be well spend on restoring the house...

[toptuan]

YOU: " I just thoroughly cleaned and painted my own apartment, leaving it in better condition than when I came. All defective fixtures have been replaced and I even left a few exotic potted plants for the new renter on the balcony. May I now have my deposit back?"

THAI LANDLORD:

Welcome to the "Hub of No Refunds."

Edited October 31, 2009 by toptuan

[hhgz]

"It's not fair as she decides to cheat me at the last minute."

"Fair", who told you life was fair? Too, if you think that she decided to cheat you "at the last minute", you are wrong.

Raise a stink, call the cops, hire an attorney, threaten, yell, and be obnoxious. Hold your breath until you turn blue.

You aren't going to get your money back, and you should move on with what is left of your life.

[gotlost]

Fair,there is nothing fair TIT.

[chiang mai]

Refusal to refund farang rental deposits is a feature of living here, it's not a case of right or wrong it's just a common feature of the landscape, sorry.

[stingray]

She's right, take her to court. Most likely just taking the matter up with police and courts will see her to change her mind. Claim all 40k back as normal wear and tear should not be taken from the money.

Or make sure the 40K will be well spend on restoring the house...

Good luck to get a court date, maybe in 2 years. How much you'll spend for the lawyer? 40'k, It isn't worth. Forget it.

[toptuan]

Refusal to refund farang rental deposits is a feature of living here, it's not a case of right or wrong it's just a common feature of the landscape, sorry.

When a Thai landlord asks for a deposit, you need to think: "One-time supplementary non-refundable fee for the privilege of renting his property." It'll help take the surprise and pain out of moving on later.

The advice I hear from seasoned expats is that when they plan to move on, they start deducting the deposit from their monthly rental payments--as many as it takes to get the deposit back.

Edited October 31, 2009 by toptuan

[chiang mai]

Refusal to refund farang rental deposits is a feature of living here, it's not a case of right or wrong it's just a common feature of the landscape, sorry.

When a Thai landlord asks for a deposit, you need to think: "One-time supplementary non-refundable fee for the privilege of renting his property." It'll help take the surprise and pain out of moving on later.

The advice I hear from seasoned expats is that when they plan to move on, they start deducting the deposit from their monthly rental payments--as many as it takes to get the deposit back.

I doubt that really works to be honest, most landlords, Thai or not, tend to be on top of matters - I rented a condo in CM for a year that cost 30k baht a month and arranged to pay my rent by direct debit each month because that seemed like the easiest method for both landlord and tenant - after two months I got a call telling me that I owed an additional 40 Bht per month because that was what the landlord was being charged by his bank for receiving the interbank (provincial) payment, you simply can't figure the mentality sometimes.

[stolidfeline]

I never managed to get a deposit back from renting a property in Bangkok, except for one time in a large apartment block. The owners always steal the deposit. Very few people ever win a court case. Few even try, it is just accepted here that this deposit is going to be stolen. This is not just a "farang" thing, most Thais also get screwed.

To get an idea of the incredible amounts of money being stolen in Thailand, try this:

There are at least 8 million Thais in rented properties in Bangkok. Assume that Thai workers move apartment every 4 months (from speaking to my Thai friends). Each time they lose deposit 2 months, say 2000 baht per month. In a year, loss = 3 x 4,000 x 8,000,000 = 96,000,000,000 baht. You can adjust the figures yourself if you feel they are incorrect.

So don't feel too badly. Thais never win either. And yes - they are very angry. But what can they do?

Edited October 31, 2009 by stolidfeline

[trogers]

I just refunded my tenant his 2 months security deposit less Bt1,100 for electricity, Bt100 for water, both pro-rata from his last bills of 10th Oct, and Bt300 for cleaning the condo.

He has been a good tenant and engaged my cleaning lady to clean the condo twice a week for the past one year. There are some wear and tear on the paint work but this is normal for renting out properties. The advantage of employing my cleaning lady includes a fast feedback from her should some problems developed. I replaced broken shower hose twice, and attended to leaks under the kitchen sink during the lease.

So much will depend on choosing the landlord/or lady as well as the premises and rental price.

I believe a condo owner who shows pride in his unit and is selective on a tenant who will care for the property will not cheat a tenant's security deposit. Landlords who do this usually provides you a very basic furnished unit at an attractive rental rate, and you can sense he is counting the cents. So choose your landlord, and not just the condo unit at a cheap price.

[ericthai]

I just refunded my tenant his 2 months security deposit less Bt1,100 for electricity, Bt100 for water, both pro-rata from his last bills of 10th Oct, and Bt300 for cleaning the condo.

He has been a good tenant and engaged my cleaning lady to clean the condo twice a week for the past one year. There are some wear and tear on the paint work but this is normal for renting out properties. The advantage of employing my cleaning lady includes a fast feedback from her should some problems developed. I replaced broken shower hose twice, and attended to leaks under the kitchen sink during the lease.

So much will depend on choosing the landlord/or lady as well as the premises and rental price.

I believe a condo owner who shows pride in his unit and is selective on a tenant who will care for the property will not cheat a tenant's security deposit. Landlords who do this usually provides you a very basic furnished unit at an attractive rental rate, and you can sense he is counting the cents. So choose your landlord, and not just the condo unit at a cheap price.

You are correct it depends on the land lord, but majority rules is you don't get it back. I have had only one deposit returned and that took 3 months after I moved out to make sure elec and everything was taken care of. All other times lost my deposit, been in Thailand 10 yrs I usually stay in a place for 2-3 years, but you can pretty much write off the deposit, I finally bought a place.

Sorry guy you are going to lose your deposit, if you hire a lawyer it's going to cost you this if not more and it will be a long wait for a court date if you get one. Welcome to Thailand (PS this happens in the USA too, not always but sometimes, owners make claims hard to fight them)

[PattayaParent]

Can anybody tell me what I can do to get my deposit which is about 40 k from my landlord? She is charging me for the painting and maintaining the house. I think I deserve to get at least 15 k back from her. But she said she won't give it back and that she decides to keep it. She also said I could sue her for that. It's not fair as she decides to cheat me at the last minute.

It would be great if someone can advise me on this.

To get someone in to paint thje house will cots about 10k. do it yoursrlf and it's only the cost of the paint.

[thaimite]

Refusal to refund farang rental deposits is a feature of living here, it's not a case of right or wrong it's just a common feature of the landscape, sorry.

When a Thai landlord asks for a deposit, you need to think: "One-time supplementary non-refundable fee for the privilege of renting his property." It'll help take the surprise and pain out of moving on later.

The advice I hear from seasoned expats is that when they plan to move on, they start deducting the deposit from their monthly rental payments--as many as it takes to get the deposit back.

I doubt that really works to be honest, most landlords, Thai or not, tend to be on top of matters - I rented a condo in CM for a year that cost 30k baht a month and arranged to pay my rent by direct debit each month because that seemed like the easiest method for both landlord and tenant - after two months I got a call telling me that I owed an additional 40 Bht per month because that was what the landlord was being charged by his bank for receiving the interbank (provincial) payment, you simply can't figure the mentality sometimes.

I have lived in and around Asia for 15 years and after my first experience of not getting the deposit back, I have always withheld the last month or two rent to cover the deposit.

Only on one occasion (HK) when I had to move on at short notice did I get the deposit back. The landlord after inspecting the flat went to the ATM to get me cash as she knew I had to fly out that day. On returning to HK a year later I tried very hard to rent another flat from the same landlord but none were available.

[backsoon]

Can anybody tell me what I can do to get my deposit which is about 40 k from my landlord? She is charging me for the painting and maintaining the house. I think I deserve to get at least 15 k back from her. But she said she won't give it back and that she decides to keep it. She also said I could sue her for that. It's not fair as she decides to cheat me at the last minute.

It would be great if someone can advise me on this.

15,000 Bt isn't much to worry about. Just walk away and consider it as a good lesson.

You got it very cheaply. Next time find a lady that does not ask for money.

[MJo]

She's right, take her to court. Most likely just taking the matter up with police and courts will see her to change her mind. Claim all 40k back as normal wear and tear should not be taken from the money.

Or make sure the 40K will be well spend on restoring the house...

Good luck to get a court date, maybe in 2 years. How much you'll spend for the lawyer? 40'k, It isn't worth. Forget it.

Depends if you have the time. I would still get one to sue her and say the 40k is theirs if they manage to get it back. Don't care if i would get anything back but just to make my point. Naturally i would claim 40k + expenses, say 120k total.

There is a simple reason behind this. As majority of foreigners will "forgettaboutit, move on, take it as a lesson, it's part of the deal" and leave it they will naturally keep doing it as there is minimal risk of getting caught.

You know why this don't happen to Thais so much ? Yes, correct. As the landlord knows they are in trouble with the police and courts if they don't honor their contracts. Or most likely in this case it is "private" collection service that will beat the money out of you. Will cost less than 10k.

[kevkev1888]

Why do feel you should get back only 15k?

So you yourself belive you have caused 25k of damage?

Is this not then just a disagrement of 15k over repair costs?

Rather than a case of the landlord just blatently refusing to return deposit with no good reason?

I'm confused.

General wear and tear, repainting ect is not your responcibility, have you caused damage or not?

[yabaaaa]

I never managed to get a deposit back from renting a property in Bangkok, except for one time in a large apartment block. The owners always steal the deposit. Very few people ever win a court case. Few even try, it is just accepted here that this deposit is going to be stolen. This is not just a "farang" thing, most Thais also get screwed.

To get an idea of the incredible amounts of money being stolen in Thailand, try this:

There are at least 8 million Thais in rented properties in Bangkok. Assume that Thai workers move apartment every 4 months (from speaking to my Thai friends). Each time they lose deposit 2 months, say 2000 baht per month. In a year, loss = 3 x 4,000 x 8,000,000 = 96,000,000,000 baht. You can adjust the figures yourself if you feel they are incorrect.

So don't feel too badly. Thais never win either. And yes - they are very angry. But what can they do?

Rubbish I have gotten 3 deposits back in 3 years no problems. Slight deduction 400 baht for a broken dimmer switch.

[yabaaaa]

I just refunded my tenant his 2 months security deposit less Bt1,100 for electricity, Bt100 for water, both pro-rata from his last bills of 10th Oct, and Bt300 for cleaning the condo.

He has been a good tenant and engaged my cleaning lady to clean the condo twice a week for the past one year. There are some wear and tear on the paint work but this is normal for renting out properties. The advantage of employing my cleaning lady includes a fast feedback from her should some problems developed. I replaced broken shower hose twice, and attended to leaks under the kitchen sink during the lease.

So much will depend on choosing the landlord/or lady as well as the premises and rental price.

I believe a condo owner who shows pride in his unit and is selective on a tenant who will care for the property will not cheat a tenant's security deposit. Landlords who do this usually provides you a very basic furnished unit at an attractive rental rate, and you can sense he is counting the cents. So choose your landlord, and not just the condo unit at a cheap price.

Well said that man, wife rents out 5 units we are certainly not the cheapest, but we service the air con every 6 months and a 6 month free bath and kitchen clean and fix anything broken for free as long as the damage wasnt caused by their negligent actions. So far we have only kept 1 persons deposit for the sheer filthy state the room was left in ie sink full of washing up with mould on it rubbish all round room, sheets with blood on, his last meal still in the pan on the cooker, his breakfast still on the table half eaten, nub end in the bathroom (no smoking room)

Edited November 1, 2009 by yabaaaa

[siddv]

If you have a TGF put her and her family on the job. Offer them 50% of whatever they can get back. They will drive the shit out of your LL on a daily basis for the possibility of recouping anything). I did this on a 27K Bt deposit and the satisfaction of of hearing the stories of harassment they inflicted on the LL were so entertaining I only took 10K and let them keep the remainder. Otherwise you can forget about your deposit. Ur in Thailand. You have no rights.

[nam-thip]

Go and see a lawyer taking your rental agreement and bills with you as proof of how long you've been at the address which in turn will tell them how long the landlord/landlady might not have been paying tax on rental income.

Instruct the lawyer to write to your landlord/landlady asking them to kindly return your deposit or he/she will report them to the tax office for none payment of tax on rental income which stands at 15%.

In the letter you can request the deposit is paid to your lawyer.

In my opinion there's no point in arguing with people who won't listen, it’s better to show the rental agreement to the tax office.

This is the link to the office of the consumer protection board.

http://www.ocpb.go.th/

Unfortunately it’s all in Thai, so you need your lady to guide you through.

Deposits paid to Thai's are spent within days and the chance of having one returned is zero to slim.

Edited November 3, 2009 by nam-thip

[klikster]

Rubbish I have gotten 3 deposits back in 3 years no problems. Slight deduction 400 baht for a broken dimmer switch.

Pretty much the same experience. One house I rented, I got myself moved by a 3rd party as my car was in the shop being repaired. Landlady drove to my house the following day, cash in hand, all final bills in order .. 100% legit.

[SGDude]

I am now in a lousy situation. The only consolation is my landlord owes me about 9500 THB. He is making a mountain out of a mole hill with 2 normal wear and tear damages in his room. He is also trying to charge me 1000 - 3500 THB for a damaged chair that was damaged when I moved in. I cannot argue about the chair because I should have returned it to him from day 1. I have to wait 4 more days before I can file a police report against him.

Question: Will the police listen to complaints like that from a non-Thai and take it seriously?

Question: If the police trick didn't work, what else can I do?

[SGDude]

She's right, take her to court. Most likely just taking the matter up with police and courts will see her to change her mind. Claim all 40k back as normal wear and tear should not be taken from the money.

Or make sure the 40K will be well spend on restoring the house...

Reporting to the police should be easy. How about taking the landlord to court? How do you do that?

[ericthai]

She's right, take her to court. Most likely just taking the matter up with police and courts will see her to change her mind. Claim all 40k back as normal wear and tear should not be taken from the money.

Or make sure the 40K will be well spend on restoring the house...

Reporting to the police should be easy. How about taking the landlord to court? How do you do that?

Guess you have not been in Thailand that long. Police are going to work with whoever offers them the best deal.

going to court will take a long time and lawyer costs are most likely going to be more than what you have coming to you.

also you have to prove your case, im sure the landlord will come up with all types of receipts for work done, weather it was done ot not. Very hard to win...