Do Thai landlords pay for Air Conditioner repairs?

[thhMan]

Its all black and white in the Thai written contract you signed.

[robertson468]

It's generally a policy that renters pay for AC upkeep and repair. If your landlord is the exception, then good for you. In my experience they have no interest in spending anything to keep their rooms in good condition.

They'll even try and keep your deposit sometimes

What utter codswallop! There are good and bad in every business, as you have already seen by previous postings. If you have had a bad experiences, it is down to the fact that you have not asked/insisted on having a contract. From our prospective, we produce contracts for all our customers, which state clearly that we are responsible for the repair/maintenance of the building and all fixtures and fittings, unless it is culpable damage attributed to the person leasing the house. They are responsible for replacing light bulbs (although we do use long life ones) and batteries for remote controls. Maintenance by us is calculated in to the rental fee. Sadly, more often than not you hear about the bad luck stories and not the happily lived ever after ones.

[BradinAsia]

While I have never had any problems with my A/C units that needed repair, I assume my landlord would take care of any repair cost if needed. She does have them cleaned and serviced twice a year......

Then you´re lucky. I think in reality it is like more like the traffic in Thailand, there are almost the same regulations as back home, but nobody gives a f*c*.

When we asked for any favours they never seemed to care a lot. Until this year when we were very lucky and now recieve the same care as back home. But this time the landlord lived abroad a long time in the UK and has a different view of the world anyway

But the problem is that you will be broke if you fix everything for renters. We also rent out some cheaper 4-7K B apartments and i have nothing bad bad experience with Thai renters. Some just disappaer and even steal the fuse box, plugs and leave everything behind broken. Mostly the security deposit is hardly enough to restore the room to a decent condition. I can understand that many landlords might just be tired of cleaning up other peoples mess.

It would appear that a gloomy outlook = a gloomy life.

[BradinAsia]

Im renting 5000p/m and get my air cleaned twice a year for free, I even offered to pay and they said "no problem".

They fix anything immediately, or same day.

Reading all the comments above I realize how lucky I must be.

+1

I have rented five different apartments/condos since coming to Thailand. For some very

odd (???) reason, I've never had a problem with a landlord. Have always gotten prompt

and courteous service, no one has ever tried to cheap me out of my deposit.

Based on the gloom and doom stories here, I've had an amazing string of good fortune.

[gtm2k]

I have paid for AC servicing and repairs - both at home and office.

But my landlords have "fotunately" paid for all major repairs - at home+work

Just as courtesy, i call them / let me know about minor repair work and pay it for myself.

So i guess, it goes down to a bit of negotiation (at our end) and a bit of service attitude (at the landlords end) !

[Sydebolle]

Wear and tear excluded I have contracted that all minor repairs below THB 5'000 per incident are paid by the tenants. The cleaning/maintenance of a/c is done by my contractor at the tenants cost. But having said that, I have a very cheap base rent and the rest depends on how/if the tenant is using it, similar to electricity and water

[GirlDrinkDrunk]

When mine packed up I didn't even bother to find out. I rented a typical 2xBR, 2 x Bathroom townhouse for about 7.5 years. I installed one air con unit of my own, which I took with me when I moved, and the one in the main bedroom belonged to the owner. When the indoor unit went U/S in the main bedroom I didn't stuff about, I got my local Air Con Man in. He is a terrific, honest bloke and he replaced the unit with a 2nd hand one he had for around 3000 Baht! Plus fitting, cleaning, gas etc.

I was only paying 5 grand per month rent, and it did not go up in the 7 1/2 years I was there! I never saw the owners for the entire time either. I paid the 5000 PM through my mother in law who stiched up the deal in the first place.

I reckon it was worth the small amount I paid. Jesus, I spend more than that on a night out downtown. No hassles. No grief.

BTW I never had a lease, no paperwork, no contract.

But I understand this is not the case for everyone.

similar to me, i see the landlord once a month when i hand him money, but he has certainly never set foot in my house in 12 years. Given that my rent is about 1/5 of what he could get for the house i do not trouble him for anything that needs be done. my discounted rent most certainly covers it.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

When mine packed up I didn't even bother to find out. I rented a typical 2xBR, 2 x Bathroom townhouse for about 7.5 years. I installed one air con unit of my own, which I took with me when I moved, and the one in the main bedroom belonged to the owner. When the indoor unit went U/S in the main bedroom I didn't stuff about, I got my local Air Con Man in. He is a terrific, honest bloke and he replaced the unit with a 2nd hand one he had for around 3000 Baht! Plus fitting, cleaning, gas etc.

I was only paying 5 grand per month rent, and it did not go up in the 7 1/2 years I was there! I never saw the owners for the entire time either. I paid the 5000 PM through my mother in law who stiched up the deal in the first place.

I reckon it was worth the small amount I paid. Jesus, I spend more than that on a night out downtown. No hassles. No grief.

BTW I never had a lease, no paperwork, no contract.

But I understand this is not the case for everyone.

Similar for me, I've lived in the same rental unit in BKK for the past 7 years, and never had a dime of rent increase during that time, from what was a very reasonable amount to begin with 7 years ago, even moreso now... It's a family's building, and we are the only non-family members in the building.

When their original and older AC unit in our master bedroom went out (dead), I talked with the family. If they wanted to replace it, they could. Or, if I was going to pay for a new one, which I ended up doing, then they agreed that it belonged to me and I could take it with whenever we moved out in the future. Also, the new unit is more energy efficient than the old one, and thus saves us on electricity every month.

I also pay 500 baht or so every couple months for having our main air con unit cleaned.... The way I figure it, what we save in electric costs by having a clean unit almost offsets the operating cost if it wasn't cleaned.

For what we've saved over the years through our base rent and not having any rent increases in a very pleasant and central place to live, I figure I'm not going to hassle our Thai family landlords about it. And I must say, in all respects, they've treated us very well in the entire time we've lived here.

If it was a regular commercial buidling/professional landlord situation, I'd probably be taking a different position.

[NoshowJones]

This may/should be covered in the terms of your lease. If it is not then you may be required to pay. You could negotiate this, and/or get it added to a new lease going forward. I imagine each situation will be different, with some owner/landlords wanting to service and maintain the infrastructure which is part and parcel of their property, while others may not give a hoot.

I was living in a cheap rental apartment when I was at college in Bangkok 2.800 Baht per month, one month in advance, The AC started spitting out water, and was not working properly, I reported it in the office where you pay your rent, and it was fixed that same day.

[crazydrummerpauly]

In general - but therefore not universally - Thai landlords do NOT pay for anything that goes wrong in the property. The assumption seems to be - whatever happens during a tenancy is the tenant's fault and/or responsibility. I've found my Thai landlord to be so unreasonable i avoid all contact about practical matters...here's a good example of how bad he is : An American neighbour of mine with the same landlord installed an air-con unit in a house at his own expense which had none previously, and the landlord came along and announced a rent-increase; reasoning : All the houses with air-con have a higher rent !!! Needless to say, my neighbour told him where to stick his rent-increase and that's where it remains to this day.

[Metapod]

It's generally a policy that renters pay for AC upkeep and repair. If your landlord is the exception, then good for you. In my experience they have no interest in spending anything to keep their rooms in good condition.

They'll even try and keep your deposit sometimes.

Nonsense.

Have you ever even read a rental agreement in your life?

Maintenance and upkeep is always the responsibility of the landlord, not the renter. The renter is only responsible if they break or damage something, or use something in a way that it is not intended to be used.

---

I've had my A/C repaired twice and both times my landlord paid for it without any issues.

[Metapod]

In general - but therefore not universally - Thai landlords do NOT pay for anything that goes wrong in the property.

You are talking out your ass.

Have you even read a rental agreement in your life?

Maybe they take you for a ride every time because they know you are this naive and gullible. lol.

[davejones]

I've lived in 3 condos in Bangkok, and the landlord paid for all servicing and repair of aircon. Usually I paid and gave them the receipt, then they refunded the money. It depends what your rental contracts says. I usually ask before I rent.

[ableguy]

It should clearly be stated in your contract, I have had past contracts where I was resposable for everything but not anymore, I will only sign a contract written in English where landlord maintains items in inventory unless I obviously broke them, Also A/C units should be leanedevery six momths at his expense.

[Hugh Jarse]

While I have never had any problems with my A/C units that needed repair, I assume my landlord would take care of any repair cost if needed. She does have them cleaned and serviced twice a year......

Fairly normal for landlords to pay for these, in my experience. It should be stated in the tenancy agreement which party is responsible for this and other equipment .

[MyFriend You]

When mine packed up I didn't even bother to find out. I rented a typical 2xBR, 2 x Bathroom townhouse for about 7.5 years. I installed one air con unit of my own, which I took with me when I moved, and the one in the main bedroom belonged to the owner. When the indoor unit went U/S in the main bedroom I didn't stuff about, I got my local Air Con Man in. He is a terrific, honest bloke and he replaced the unit with a 2nd hand one he had for around 3000 Baht! Plus fitting, cleaning, gas etc.

I was only paying 5 grand per month rent, and it did not go up in the 7 1/2 years I was there! I never saw the owners for the entire time either. I paid the 5000 PM through my mother in law who stiched up the deal in the first place.

I reckon it was worth the small amount I paid. Jesus, I spend more than that on a night out downtown. No hassles. No grief.

BTW I never had a lease, no paperwork, no contract.

But I understand this is not the case for everyone.

Can I hire your Mother in law to get me a place like that?? I'd pay a year up front and commission to her.

[TheSwede99]

It was your mother in law who was the owner

When mine packed up I didn't even bother to find out. I rented a typical 2xBR, 2 x Bathroom townhouse for about 7.5 years. I installed one air con unit of my own, which I took with me when I moved, and the one in the main bedroom belonged to the owner. When the indoor unit went U/S in the main bedroom I didn't stuff about, I got my local Air Con Man in. He is a terrific, honest bloke and he replaced the unit with a 2nd hand one he had for around 3000 Baht! Plus fitting, cleaning, gas etc.

I was only paying 5 grand per month rent, and it did not go up in the 7 1/2 years I was there! I never saw the owners for the entire time either. I paid the 5000 PM through my mother in law who stiched up the deal in the first place.

I reckon it was worth the small amount I paid. Jesus, I spend more than that on a night out downtown. No hassles. No grief.

BTW I never had a lease, no paperwork, no contract.

But I understand this is not the case for everyone.

[Straight8]

The wife is landlord herself and I make the contracts with the tenants, the contract stipulate and can be negosiateable.

General:

Repairs on aircon's we pay but cleaning the filter tenants pays or dot it themself, its an easy Job like cleaning the dustbag from the hoover.

Regarding faulty saving bulbs they must replace them selfs, garden/swimming pool we take care but poolchemicals tenant pays......

You have no idea if you think it as simple as that to clean an Air con unit. I saw the guy clean mine not too long ago, and let me tell you it involves a lot more than just a 5min vac.

I would never rent from anyone not will to maintain their condo, as I know these type of Landlords will screw you over for something eventually.

[QualityTouristNumberOne]

Actually my Landlord(and Building Manager) did me proud when my A/C packed in in my Bangkok Apartment,

being from Ireland I don't have much experience with A/C but I know my way around as a sparks(electrician),

turned out the A/C just needed routine maintenance,but when the 4 man crew of Thai young lads saw a farang their beady little eyes lit up and I watch bemused and amused as one of them gave a signal from the junction box to the one holding a screwdriver over the main fuse to the A/C before he turned the power back on and the resultant bang and lovely smell of ozone!,

He then carefully took out the busted fuse,showed it to me said very bad broken,cost 2,800 baht(its a 50 baht fuse),

I then explained in not word perfect but understandable Thai(with my GF very occasionally speaking to help with translation,but leaving me to explain) that I was an Electrician and had just seen him sabotage the unit.

I said no problem with paying the money,but landlord needs to know,called the Building Manager and sat back watching the panic set in,

the building manager snapped when he figured out what had happened as they were a crew usually used by many tenants with no problems,

there was a hasty meeting outside the room,including a call to our Landlord during which much berating was heard,

building manager then said,"you no pay" and stood over the sheepish little chancers while they repaired the A/C.

Next day the building manager got a nice bottle of Johnny Walker Black(I bought loads duty free so was no real cost)

Of course this was in 2007 ish,nowadays four young Thai men desperate(or greedy)enough to pull that kind of scam directly in front of your eyes,

I would have paid the extortionate bill on the spot and sorted it out later to avoid a TV headline " Farang suicide by 24 gunshots to the back"

[elektrified]

I've never known a Thai landlord to ever pay for anything on rentals (except large repairs like a new roof).

I've never known a Thai landlord to NOT pay for repairs. Guess it depends on the price range you're in. 5k a month, could have a problem; 10k+, rarely an issue; 20k+ , complete non-issue

my view is that cleaning the airconditioner is the tenants responsibility as it is just as much part of regular maintainance as sweeping the room and keeping the drains clear or defrosting the fridge.. It probably should be the landlords responsibility if for example the compressor fails.

You can reasonably expect the average tenant to have the skills required to sweep a room, defrost a fridge or clear a drain.

You can't reasonably expect the average tenant to have the skills to mess around with filters or other parts of an air conditioning unit particularly when some of them are high up and difficult to reach.

The maintenance of the units is the landlord's responsibility.

Wouldn't even THINK of it being any other way and in 8 years of renting in various properties here, my expectations have never been deemed unrealistic.

Having the A/C units cleaned and topped up are the tenants responsibility. Get real.

[elektrified]

My lease says extraordinary repairs are down to landlord but regular things......light bulbs, tap washers, servicing air conditioners......is for the tenant.

Seems reasonable.

Our is the same.

[elektrified]

my landlord pays everything that gets broken, light bulbs, ac, tv, etc. we have never put anything on paper but both trust on our mutual common sense and honest spirit. when the tv broke down i didn't even ask for repair as i never watch it but she insisted (for potential visitors). i know this is not a standard situation but why bothering living in thailand looking for standard situations

You rent a TV? Most people buy a couple of TV's for their place.

[elektrified]

When mine packed up I didn't even bother to find out. I rented a typical 2xBR, 2 x Bathroom townhouse for about 7.5 years. I installed one air con unit of my own, which I took with me when I moved, and the one in the main bedroom belonged to the owner. When the indoor unit went U/S in the main bedroom I didn't stuff about, I got my local Air Con Man in. He is a terrific, honest bloke and he replaced the unit with a 2nd hand one he had for around 3000 Baht! Plus fitting, cleaning, gas etc.

I was only paying 5 grand per month rent, and it did not go up in the 7 1/2 years I was there! I never saw the owners for the entire time either. I paid the 5000 PM through my mother in law who stiched up the deal in the first place.

I reckon it was worth the small amount I paid. Jesus, I spend more than that on a night out downtown. No hassles. No grief.

BTW I never had a lease, no paperwork, no contract.

But I understand this is not the case for everyone.

similar to me, i see the landlord once a month when i hand him money, but he has certainly never set foot in my house in 12 years. Given that my rent is about 1/5 of what he could get for the house i do not trouble him for anything that needs be done. my discounted rent most certainly covers it.

That is our situation as well. We have been here more than 5 years, rent has never gone up, landlord has not come in for at least 4 years now. We pay about 1/2 or less than the house would normally rent for. We never hassle with trying to get the owner to pay for things to be fixed. We just take care of it. The money we have saved over the years on rent is far more than say the 5K THB we spent to build a new kitchen counter. The only times were when we needed a major roof repair and a new bay window. Took a bit of effort but he finally had them repaired. We own 2 of our own A/C units anyway. The 3rd is about 20 years old but still works perfectly. We always take care of the servicing of them 2 times per year.

Edited September 29, 2013 by elektrified

[Straight8]

I've never known a Thai landlord to ever pay for anything on rentals (except large repairs like a new roof).

I've never known a Thai landlord to NOT pay for repairs. Guess it depends on the price range you're in. 5k a month, could have a problem; 10k+, rarely an issue; 20k+ , complete non-issue

my view is that cleaning the airconditioner is the tenants responsibility as it is just as much part of regular maintainance as sweeping the room and keeping the drains clear or defrosting the fridge.. It probably should be the landlords responsibility if for example the compressor fails.

You can reasonably expect the average tenant to have the skills required to sweep a room, defrost a fridge or clear a drain.

You can't reasonably expect the average tenant to have the skills to mess around with filters or other parts of an air conditioning unit particularly when some of them are high up and difficult to reach.

The maintenance of the units is the landlord's responsibility.

Wouldn't even THINK of it being any other way and in 8 years of renting in various properties here, my expectations have never been deemed unrealistic.

Having the A/C units cleaned and topped up are the tenants responsibility. Get real.

Let me guess your a Landlord right??

[elektrified]

"Let me guess your a Landlord right??"

Here in Thailand I am a renter and don't have any problem getting my 3 units cleaned (2 of which I own) myself, twice a year. I would never bother the owner over something petty like that.

[stoli]

I've never known a Thai landlord to ever pay for anything on rentals (except large repairs like a new roof).

Who cares about cleaning the A/C. It's only about 500 Baht per unit + freon. We get all ours done twice a year. If they try and sell you gas every time, you are being scammed. We have not had to top up freon on 2 of our units for more than 2 years now.

I wish you were renting from me. I would love a tenant the thinks my costs are his costs.

[elektrified]

I've never known a Thai landlord to ever pay for anything on rentals (except large repairs like a new roof).

Who cares about cleaning the A/C. It's only about 500 Baht per unit + freon. We get all ours done twice a year. If they try and sell you gas every time, you are being scammed. We have not had to top up freon on 2 of our units for more than 2 years now.

I wish you were renting from me. I would love a tenant the thinks my costs are his costs.

Cleaning the A/C units and topping up freon are the renter's responsibility. Get real.

[Straight8]

I've never known a Thai landlord to ever pay for anything on rentals (except large repairs like a new roof).

Who cares about cleaning the A/C. It's only about 500 Baht per unit + freon. We get all ours done twice a year. If they try and sell you gas every time, you are being scammed. We have not had to top up freon on 2 of our units for more than 2 years now.

I wish you were renting from me. I would love a tenant the thinks my costs are his costs.

Cleaning the A/C units and topping up freon are the renter's responsibility. Get real.

Get real!!

We heard you the first.

[torycooper]

In many states of US, it is the responsiblity of landlord to pay for ac repairing. My landlord always hire a technician from US commercial link removed for ac servicing twice a year. So, I have never faced any problem like that.

[Jack Smith]

The landlord should pay for the Air Conditioner repair as you are paying the rent to landlord and the rent includes everything if this is your Landlord's Air Conditioning unit and if not then you have to pay for the Air Conditioning unit repair not the land lord.