This is a poll to gather experiences on returning of security deposts by TV members who have rented accommodation in Thailand.

Your feedback may help those looking to rent to also consider the profile of the landlord in their decision making.

This may not be a popular reply but if you rent through an agent or letting company, you will receive your deposit back in full...of course any outstanding utilities will be deducted as will damage to property....its all well and good thinking you are getting a bargain going direct but that can be asking for problems. It costs the tenant no more to have an agent acting for them as commission is paid by the vendor....Luckily in my renting days in Thailand I didnt have any problems, yes a small amount was deducted once but for damage that I had done to a flyscreen...i will add that my freinds in the UK that rent vary rarely receive their depost in full....landlords there seem to think it is part of the deal to keep it....I think its almost 70% of tenants that have problems getting deposits back.

Don't all rush at once to vote.

If ever I leave my rented place I will come back here and indicate to what extent the deposit was returned.

This may not be a popular reply but if you rent through an agent or letting company, you will receive your deposit back in full...

And maybe you will have paid significantly more for the monthly rental.

This topic comes up once a month with the same answers: 1) get on with your life 2)don't pay the last rent(s) 3) trash the place 4) use your wife policegeneral-uncle.

Has anyone ever considered NOT paying the deposit in the first place. Have a friend, used to rent from me 3 months a year, but that house is rented out long time now, so whenever he comes to Thailand, I help him find accomedation. 3 years in a row I have managed to book his 3 months with different all Thai landlords without paying deposit. Ofcourse they all asked for it, but knowing how difficult it is to get back, I refused. Showed them 3 months rent cash on the table, and they all accepted (2 of them after calling their spouse first !). As for utility-bills, save your old bills and pay the most expensive+500 baht. No problem

As a renter picking the right landlord is just as important as for a landlord to pick the right tenant.

For long term i never rent anywhere without first having a talk about conditions and ask for answers what would happen under certain circumstances with the landlord, and if possible with neighbors.

I never rent from agents in Thailand because the only thing they are good at is raising the price and they keep me from the one who can make decision, namely the owner.

One of the conditions is that i put in the new locks, that seems to separate the right from the wrong efficiently.

Another condition is if something is broken i give the landlord a week to fix it, otherwise i do it and deduct it from the rent, if the cost is higher than a months rent it will be deducted spread out evenly over every month until the end of the contract (Yes that is in the contract!).

If those are not met, i just look for another, there are plenty in my price range and area.

In Thailand the only one who will take care of you is you. Forget the nanny states, this is capitalism, something most westerners have no idea what it is, and boy do Thais know that.

and:

Over the time i will be able to tell what the owner will do with the deposit and if i not feel comfortable about it i talk about it a few months before the end of the contract. You still have some bargaining power at that moment, use it, don't wait until the last day, and especially not tell that you have to catch a plane within a few days!

One of the conditions is that i put in the new locks....

I didn't ask anyone about that; I just did it. Before I even moved any of my belongings in, in fact.

I would say new locks fitted by me are a foregone conclusion.

I have had good luck here renting. The place that I have gotten more mad than anywhere in my life about this, college vicinity housing, those annoying wannabe "real estate tycoons" would deduct for nothing, like just out of habit it would seem because others had trashed adjacent apartments. I have never seen so much bs in my life on such a consistent basis.

On my third rented place. First two I got deposit back in full. I have no reason to think this time will be any difference. You can tell he's a good guy.