I am trying to rent a shophouse in Pattaya to open a business and the Thai owner have sent to me the Thai copy of the contract, saying that I have to translate the copy myself in english or he can do it for me for a fee.

Is it correct, or should I be provided with an english copy?

I qould love to have your opinion.

Thanks

Enrico

Sounds a bit fishy?

He does not have to give you a copy in English. Thai is the legal language, however, if you want a translation into English I would not rely on a translation provided by the owner of the shophouse . He may provide an accurate translation or he may not.

Either get it translated yourself and pay for it or if you know a Thai with good English ability ask them to look it over.

Sounds a bit fishy?

sounds the same to me too

He does not have to give you a copy in English. Thai is the legal language, however, if you want a translation into English I would not rely on a translation provided by the owner of the shophouse . He may provide an accurate translation or he may not.

Either get it translated yourself and pay for it or if you know a Thai with good English ability ask them to look it over.

I will get the company supporting mewith company formation look into it, as I wont trust them to translate for me, as you suggested.

Today I meet them, let's see.

Thanks for the comments

Why is it fishy?

Why should he provide you with the contract in a foreign language at his cost?

Why is it fishy?

Why should he provide you with the contract in a foreign language at his cost?

I think if you want to sell a product to somebody, either you care to make sure he understand wht you are offering and you provide the information in English, if you dont, either you dont care or you have something fishy going on?

Just my opinion

For him the world is Thailand.

Why is it fishy?

Why should he provide you with the contract in a foreign language at his cost?

I think if you want to sell a product to somebody, either you care to make sure he understand wht you are offering and you provide the information in English, if you dont, either you dont care or you have something fishy going on?

Just my opinion

The onus really is on you to learn the langusge. If your from the US and were letting a property and a customer from China wanted to rent, would you provide them with contract in English or Chineese?

Why is it fishy?

Why should he provide you with the contract in a foreign language at his cost?

I think if you want to sell a product to somebody, either you care to make sure he understand wht you are offering and you provide the information in English, if you dont, either you dont care or you have something fishy going on?

Just my opinion

The onus really is on you to learn the langusge. If your from the US and were letting a property and a customer from China wanted to rent, would you provide them with contract in English or Chineese?

Depends on how much they were prepared to pay, and how desperate I was for a tenant.

Why is it fishy?

Why should he provide you with the contract in a foreign language at his cost?

I think if you want to sell a product to somebody, either you care to make sure he understand wht you are offering and you provide the information in English, if you dont, either you dont care or you have something fishy going on?

Just my opinion

IMO, he did you a favor. The Thai version is what hold up in court and you need to have someone on your side looking after your interest. If he did provide you a translation and there were any issues going forward, there could be bad blood if the translation were not perfect.

You should also seek advice on what's not written into the contract, but is in the laws that govern such matters. It could save you a lot of heartache in the future.

just take the document to a certfied translation office get it translated..

cheap as chips

Why is it fishy?

Why should he provide you with the contract in a foreign language at his cost?

I think if you want to sell a product to somebody, either you care to make sure he understand wht you are offering and you provide the information in English, if you dont, either you dont care or you have something fishy going on?

Just my opinion

perhaps he could not care less if you rent or not?

just take the document to a certfied translation office get it translated..

cheap as chips

He can do that, but the majority of what governs his use of the property won't be in the contract. It's covered under various real estate and company laws, and consequently, doesn't need to be written one more time in the contract.

Extreme example, but if he's planning to open a business that foreigners aren't allowed to open, he's going to feel silly paying rent on a shop he can't use. And the landlord will be perfectly justified in demanding he fulfill the entire contract period.

A comprehensive review of his plans can save him from coming back and posting in 6 months on how he was screwed in Thailand.

Why is it fishy?

Why should he provide you with the contract in a foreign language at his cost?

I think if you want to sell a product to somebody, either you care to make sure he understand wht you are offering and you provide the information in English, if you dont, either you dont care or you have something fishy going on?

Just my opinion

as other posters have said Thai is the official language. The English language contract is only for your convenience so it would actually be better for your lawyer to check the contract over.

Have fun. It sounds like you may need it, in that even before your business is up and running your expecting every thing to be in English. I hope you have a reliable Thai / English speaker in your business plan.

Why is it fishy?

Why should he provide you with the contract in a foreign language at his cost?

I think if you want to sell a product to somebody, either you care to make sure he understand wht you are offering and you provide the information in English, if you dont, either you dont care or you have something fishy going on?

Just my opinion

as other posters have said Thai is the official language. The English language contract is only for your convenience so it would actually be better for your lawyer to check the contract over.

Have fun. It sounds like you may need it, in that even before your business is up and running your expecting every thing to be in English. I hope you have a reliable Thai / English speaker in your business plan.

If you're starting up a business in Thailand, hopefully you have access to Thai legal advice. Why not have your Thai lawyer look over the contract and, if it matters to you, provide you with an English translation? Anything written in English will not be enforceable in a Thai court anyway, so even if the owner gave you a translation you couldn't use it in any legal dispute.

As the previous poster said, if you intend to do business in Thailand and expect all business matters to be conducted in English you're setting yourself up for even more difficulties & frustrations than the average chip-on-your-shoulder farang who thinks people are desperate to do business with them.

He does not have to give you a copy in English. Thai is the legal language, however, if you want a translation into English I would not rely on a translation provided by the owner of the shophouse . He may provide an accurate translation or he may not.

Either get it translated yourself and pay for it or if you know a Thai with good English ability ask them to look it over.

I will get the company supporting mewith company formation look into it, as I wont trust them to translate for me, as you suggested.

Today I meet them, let's see.

Thanks for the comments

I have been working abroad from 16 years and been living in more than 10 Countries, I am not expecting the world to talk my language to do business with me, and of course, I am working with a lawyer that follow me in all the steps.

My point to get the owner of the shophouses (they are 2) to provide me a contract that I can read is about understanding with who I am dealing with, to see if he cares about me renting his place especially because I need to stay there for a long time to return my investment on the renovation I will have to carry. We started a negotiation that involved 2 shops and there were many issues to discuss, but slowly slowly we got to a point were we both are happy, so, as I said, with a couple of thousands bath they can send me the english copy and I can have an additional confirmation about his good intentions.

I am not going to do business with a person that want to save a couple of baths on a contract, as there will be many situations where he may have to pay for works in the buildings and this is one of the few ways I can test hem out before sign an agreement.

By the way, for your information, today we had a meeting and I am happy with the deal we agreed on, and they will of course send me the contract in both English and Thai for me and my lawyer to vision.

Might be better to ask for a copy of the contract in your own native language, rather than English.

He is under no obligation to provide a contract in any language but the language required by law and the courts, which is Thai.

Many Thai landlords really don't care if the falang likes it or not, there are many Thais he can rent to.

It may be fishy but not necessarily so just because he used his language in his country under his country's laws.

It's the way things work in his country and he's acting within his norms.

Two choices IMO: walk away or pay a couple thousand baht to have it translated by a certified translator which seems to me the prudent option.

As a matter of fact i was told by a well known CM lawyer about five years ago to just write a contract in English (not rental but hey what's the diff?), that it was the international legal language.

As a matter of fact i was told by a well known CM lawyer about five years ago to just write a contract in English (not rental but hey what's the diff?), that it was the international legal language.

All good until they translate it into Thai as they will do if you have a court case about said contract. Then you just have to hope they do it right.

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

He does not have to give you a copy in English. Thai is the legal language, however, if you want a translation into English I would not rely on a translation provided by the owner of the shophouse . He may provide an accurate translation or he may not.

Either get it translated yourself and pay for it or if you know a Thai with good English ability ask them to look it over.

I will get the company supporting mewith company formation look into it, as I wont trust them to translate for me, as you suggested.

Today I meet them, let's see.

Thanks for the comments

I have been working abroad from 16 years and been living in more than 10 Countries, I am not expecting the world to talk my language to do business with me, and of course, I am working with a lawyer that follow me in all the steps.

My point to get the owner of the shophouses (they are 2) to provide me a contract that I can read is about understanding with who I am dealing with, to see if he cares about me renting his place especially because I need to stay there for a long time to return my investment on the renovation I will have to carry. We started a negotiation that involved 2 shops and there were many issues to discuss, but slowly slowly we got to a point were we both are happy, so, as I said, with a couple of thousands bath they can send me the english copy and I can have an additional confirmation about his good intentions.

I am not going to do business with a person that want to save a couple of baths on a contract, as there will be many situations where he may have to pay for works in the buildings and this is one of the few ways I can test hem out before sign an agreement.

By the way, for your information, today we had a meeting and I am happy with the deal we agreed on, and they will of course send me the contract in both English and Thai for me and my lawyer to vision.

If I were in your shoes, before signing, I'd contact my Embassy for a list of recommended commercial lawyers for a third party to cross check the Thai and the English translation of the final contract T&C's & compliance to relevant Thai law . If not already done so, ensure the lease will be registered with the provincial Land Office.

The OP"s Simple question about a rental contract translation ...

Has turned into a legal debate from a bunch of know it all's ...LOL

what a bunch of blowhards on here for sure...

LOL

The OP"s Simple question about a rental contract translation ...

Has turned into a legal debate from a bunch of know it all's ...LOL

what a bunch of blowhards on here for sure...

LOL

Nice to see your bringing some constructive comments to the thread...

As a matter of fact i was told by a well known CM lawyer about five years ago to just write a contract in English (not rental but hey what's the diff?), that it was the international legal language.

Er what languages are court cases conducted with in Thailand ?...its not a trick question..but as far as i am aware it aint English.

If the law is written in Thai, legal proceedings are conducted in Thai, therefore the legal/governing version of the OP's contract would need to be in Thai...by all means he can get a translation of the contract, but if it ever went to court it would be the Thai version that looked at, not the English version, unless he can read legal Thai, one suspects he needs his Thai lawyer to look at this

Your in Thailand mate, the language here is Thai, The legal language for documents is Thai not English.

CYA

As a matter of fact i was told by a well known CM lawyer about five years ago to just write a contract in English (not rental but hey what's the diff?), that it was the international legal language.

Er what languages are court cases conducted with in Thailand ?...its not a trick question..but as far as i am aware it aint English.

If the law is written in Thai, legal proceedings are conducted in Thai, therefore the legal/governing version of the OP's contract would need to be in Thai...by all means he can get a translation of the contract, but if it ever went to court it would be the Thai version that looked at, not the English version, unless he can read legal Thai, one suspects he needs his Thai lawyer to look at this

You'll have to take that up with Kh Sumalee.

Maybe her rationale is that if someone signs a contract, no matter what language it is in, they are binding themselves to whatever it says, and if they don't want that encumbrance don't sign it.

That's just a guess.....but i clearly remember her saying about English being fine many years ago.

 

As a matter of fact i was told by a well known CM lawyer about five years ago to just write a contract in English (not rental but hey what's the diff?), that it was the international legal language.

 

Er what languages are court cases conducted with in Thailand ?...its not a trick question..but as far as i am aware it aint English.

If the law is written in Thai, legal proceedings are conducted in Thai, therefore the legal/governing version of the OP's contract would need to be in Thai...by all means he can get a translation of the contract, but if it ever went to court it would be the Thai version that looked at, not the English version, unless he can read legal Thai, one suspects he needs his Thai lawyer to look at this  

 

You'll have to take that up with Kh Sumalee.

Maybe her rationale is that if someone signs a contract, no matter what language it is in, they are binding themselves to whatever it says, and if they don't want that encumbrance don't sign it. 

That's just a guess.....but i clearly remember her saying about English being fine many years ago.

It would be fine BUT for any court case it would be translated into Thai. That's all we are saying.

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6