What is the legal way to evict a tenant who is in breach of his lease agreement?

[Mobi]

I have asked around and nobody seems to know the precise, LEGAL way to evict a tenant who has defaulted on rent payment or in some other way in in breach of his lease agreement.

Yes, of course there are always "Strong Arm Tactics", but assuming the landlord is following the law, what are the legal steps he needs to take to remove a tenant who is in breach of his lease?

Does the landlord file a police report and have the police evict him? (after satisfying the police that the breach has occurred), and if so, what exactly do the police do?

Do they go to the property and order the immediate eviction of the tenant onto the street or do they give him time to pack his things and move maybe in a week or so, depending on the circumstances. Is this a point of negotiation?

Presumably the cops would need to hear the tenants version of events, before agreeing to evict?

Or must the landlord go to court and obtain an eviction order as they would have to do in most western countries?

Typically what happens here after non-payment of rent? Does it get resolved by the cops, or does the court become involved?

Does anyone have any knowledge or experience of this?

Thanks

Mobi

[beachproperty]

First question is .....are you the tenant or landlord? Just curious...

Have no experience myself .....but neighbor did take me to one of his units wherein he just took all the tenants stuff (which only amount to two bags full of clothes) and put them outside the door. Then he changed the locks. (Tenant failed to pay rent)

I asked him "is this how it done in Thailand to evict" ...He said "That's how I do it and never had a problem"

[johnnyk]

Putting their stuff outsideand changing the lock sends a message.

If the deadbeat and landlord are both falang I wouldn't worry. The cops will laugh if he goes to them, falang vs. falang is of no interest.

Falang vs. Thai represents a potential payday for the BiB and if the deadbeat is Thai there could be other consequences so exercise caution there and maybe best to go about it the legal way, maybe a simple lawyer's letter that at least suggests legal action which is often sufficient.

Edited October 25, 2013 by johnnyk

[ezzra]

I assume you're holding on to his 2 months deposit yes? well, you can use that money

as part of the missing rent payment,

The only legal way available to you is to change the locks, but only after you have notified

him via a registered letter and pasting a copy of it on the entry door, (take a pic of the letter on the door)

informing him on the pending evection, and giving him 7/14 days to comply....

and if you have entered the apartment in his absence, make sure you have a witness with you

and take pictures on all of his belonging and of every room for evidence later on should he claim

you have misappropriated his stuff...

[Andre0720]

Advice I got from police in a situation involving a thai individual I no longer wanted in my apartment:

Put the stuff outside.

Change the locks.

Worked very well.

Thai person called police.

Police came.

Police said I was right and helped me, to the surprise of the thai individual.

No form of payment involved.

[kiwiinasia]

So the baseball bat solution is not on the table?

[klauskunkel]

I contact my tenants first: "you are late with your rent payment, is there a Problem?"

now everyone pays on time.

[happynthailand]

turn off lights and water,they don't stay long after no electic and no water

[bangkokstick]

First question is .....are you the tenant or landlord? Just curious...

Have no experience myself .....but neighbor did take me to one of his units wherein he just took all the tenants stuff (which only amount to two bags full of clothes) and put them outside the door. Then he changed the locks. (Tenant failed to pay rent)

I asked him "is this how it done in Thailand to evict" ...He said "That's how I do it and never had a problem"

This is also how I do it but tenants are warned from the first day that if they fail to their obligations for any reasons it will happen.

[moe666]

heheheheh and how many of you landlords have a work permit to collect rent and to work on your apartments I would bet none. Maybe that issue will not come up but know someone here in Chiang Mai who had it ran down there throat.

[shaurene]

Head first or feet first. Go and ask a lawyer and pay a little fee

[dao16]

I know at a few of the places I have stayed they would put a lock over the door knob, blocking it completely. They would leave people's stuff inside, so they couldn't do a runner! If they wanted to get their stuff out, they had to pay the rent! Not kidding....everybody seemed to act like it was normal.

[robertson468]

I have a very large 62 kilo Great Dane (see Avatar) who loves to come visiting errant residents with me. He is quite a coward, but they don't know that and it's amazing the effect his presence has when I politely ask people to leave within 24 hours. Not had any problems so far!

[Arkady]

Legally I think you would need a court order to have tenants evicted forcibly.

[NanLaew]

One week late: First warning, via registered post and stuck on the door.

Two weeks late: Second warning as above. Warning includes notice of termination of the contract. Renter accepts termination, the deposit will be returned minus the rent, damage assessments and outstanding utilities AFTER renter clears out and returns keys. Good to have this in the original rental contract too.

One month late: 24-Hour Notice of Intent to Evict (see below). Permits one-day access to remove personal belongings under supervision, no return of deposit. Beyond 24-hours tenant will be locked out.

Notification of intent to evict: Registered post AND pasted on the door. Use fluorescent orange A4 sized sticky label (it's a face thing). Don't just sticky tape it on, use something that makes it hard to peel off, like embarrassing, US-style apartment eviction notices!

Securing the premises: Most of them have a conventional door knob and you can buy the cup-style locking covers that completely block key access (has a large padlock that slips around the shaft and through the cover). Seen them at HomePro, etc.. Otherwise lock change and disconnect utilities. Padlocks on cover to breaker box and water stop valves is easier cheaper than doing it through the utility companies who will charge for disconnect/reconnect anyway. You could also get an electrician to remove the main breaker.

As soon as a warning is served and definitely in the period between 2nd warning and eviction, watch the place like a hawk. They may try a moonlight flit which mostly means loss of revenue but they may also trash the place which is bloody expensive and could become a criminal matter if you are up for it.

[Card]

as far as I know if the contract is not written in Thai then it's not worth the paper it's written on. If no contract then the courts may not get involved.

[SDM0712]

as far as I know if the contract is not written in Thai then it's not worth the paper it's written on. If no contract then the courts may not get involved.

It's an interesting point actually and one I have never had a satisfactory answer to. Some of my Landlords are Thai Lawyers and a couple of Judges and it would appear that even if the contract is in English that a certified translation would be admissible in Court. If all parties are English speaking I usually do an all English tenancy agreement ( which is based on a UK AST, with a few tweaks) otherwise I do a Thai contract with an English back to back transition. These hybrid contracts also carry a clause that says if there is a conflict that the Thai language version has precedence. Fortunately because I am very careful with my tenants I have never had a problem.

In reality no one takes anyone to Court, after (or not in some cases) if a tenant is in arrears a note is sent to to them telling them to pay up or get out, the locks are changed and possessions left in a bag outside, exactly has been mentioned here. In fact my contracts make it very clear that if the rent is more than seven days late the contract is considered terminated and they will be immediately evicted.

Regards

Stephen

Edited October 26, 2013 by SDM0712