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Have landlords Every Right Here? Prying? Harrassing?


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I have been living in this house for a year and my landlord has been strange: He has been trying every tricks in the book to come and inspect the house every time he could.

- First he said he had to pick up something, when I offered him to tell me what it was so I could give it to him, he dropped the case

- Secondly he wanted to do electricity maintenance, my busy schedule his busy schedule and the imaginary electrician guy schedule had to agree, so to make things easier I asked him the number of his electrician, so I could deal with him directly, he never gave me anything and forgot the all thing

- Then he forgot something (again) I asked him what it was, he said a brown blender. There was no brown blender in the cupboard, he came to the house and made me take 5 different appliances and each time he would say no it's not the one, but kept it anyway. It got ridiculous so I offered him to come and check the cupboard himself and just take any of his junk (more room for me), and once in the house he looked around and turned the lights on in all the rooms and looked at the walls as if he was expecting me to have it painted them (while it's stipulated as forbidden in the contract). After looking around he seemed reassured and left without being bothered about his imaginary missing appliance.

- he also came to pick up post (twice) although I already had gather a first lot asking him to change his address, which he never did.

He came to the house but I came out and handed him his mail, so had a look around the garden and he seemed frustrated not to have access to the rest, but left anyway.

- Then came other BS excuses I can't remember all of them and in what order, among garden maintenance, termites check, and finally just making an uncalled house visit (he must had run out of excuses) fortunately I was out so, again he could not access the house.

He is now renewing the contract but wants AGAIN to come in the house, this time it's gardening maintenance and termites again.This is harassment.

I already paid my first month contract (including raise) but he's not sending me the contract.

1/ he's making this (garden/termite maintenance) as a condition of renewal, is he in his right ?

2/ Also he mentioned sending people to do the gardening, so this one might be real, but when I arrived the trees have just been massacred and the house looked like a bunker (their liking not mine), now the trees after my caring and watering for a year, are giving privacy, much needed sun protection, noise reduction, the mango tree is finally covered with flowers after one year of waiting, and the house looks much better.

I am the one living there and I cared for all these trees to grow, is that his right to come and cut it all off just because he likes it so ?

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Hard to tell exactly how pushy this guy is as there are always two sides to the story. Have you tried actually telling him that privacy is important to you and that you feel you don't get that with all the frequent visits?

I don't know about the law in this regard though. In many countries, the landlord needs to formally tell you to expect a visit days in advance.

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I remember the story of the guys falsely (I guess) accused of selling of some furniture belonging to the landlord. Last couple of years, featured here on TV., they were held in the country for a couple of years and not allowed to leave because of an a.hole landlord putting the squeeze on them, perhaps move and get a more benign landlord? May well be more comfortable.

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Just a quick thought.

Do you think the landlord has the right to inspect his property once in a while?

If yes, how often do you think?

If no, why would you think so?

Do you think in a normally landlords would need to have tricks to make an inspection time to time, or are entitled/obliged to do so, as you would expect them for some maintenance too.

Do you think renting a property would automatically justify the landlord to change his/her address?

Do you think landlords has to automatically go along with permanent modifications to the property, inside, or in the garden?

As some said, coins has 2 sides.

Of course if unhappy, or feel harassed, there is many property to rent, as well always the option to buy your own place, thus no one would be there to say what to do or dont do.

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landlords are within their rights to inspect the house evry 12 months and the garden as well. If they are not living there they should change their address as it is no longer where they live(it is law in some countries as it is a way to get around corruption etc) or you could just go to the post office and tell them that tis person no longer lives there so you want his mail stopped, I would be disposing of his mail rather than collecting it and telling him nothing is arriving and to change it to his address so that you are not responsible for it. You are within your rights to have privacy and hang pictures etc on the walls as long as you do not change or make modifications with written approval.

If they want to rent then they have rules to obey as well and cant just walk over you, I would move out after telling him where to stick his house.

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landlords are within their rights to inspect the house evry 12 months and the garden as well. If they are not living there they should change their address as it is no longer where they live(it is law in some countries as it is a way to get around corruption etc) or you could just go to the post office and tell them that tis person no longer lives there so you want his mail stopped, I would be disposing of his mail rather than collecting it and telling him nothing is arriving and to change it to his address so that you are not responsible for it. You are within your rights to have privacy and hang pictures etc on the walls as long as you do not change or make modifications with written approval.

If they want to rent then they have rules to obey as well and cant just walk over you, I would move out after telling him where to stick his house.

Every 12 months right, but he came on BS excuses many times.

But can they cut trees against my will ?

I paid for the coming month (have proof), does not he have to provide a contract ?

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Just a quick thought.

Do you think the landlord has the right to inspect his property once in a while?

If yes, how often do you think?

If no, why would you think so?

Do you think in a normally landlords would need to have tricks to make an inspection time to time, or are entitled/obliged to do so, as you would expect them for some maintenance too.

Do you think renting a property would automatically justify the landlord to change his/her address?

Do you think landlords has to automatically go along with permanent modifications to the property, inside, or in the garden?

As some said, coins has 2 sides.

Of course if unhappy, or feel harassed, there is many property to rent, as well always the option to buy your own place, thus no one would be there to say what to do or dont do.

Privacy
As a tenant, you are entitled to live in privacy. This means that during your stay at the rental premises you should not experience interruption or interference by the landlord/agent or anyone acting on the landlord's behalf.
To ensure this occurs, the landlord/agent is required to obtain agreement from the tenants prior to visiting the property.
Legitimate reasons for the landlord/agent to enter the premises include:
  • General inspections. There is a limit to how frequently property inspections can be performed.
  • Performance of duties defined in the lease, e.g. maintenance.
  • Valuation of the property.
  • To show prospective buyers through the property.
  • To show prospective tenants through the property if the current tenant has been given written notice to move out.
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yes he can cut trees

they are his trees, and unless specifically mentioned in the rental contract, they are not a substantial part of the agreement.

then about the visits, I wonder why you insist on not letting the owner in?

if my landlord came to my rental, I would invite him in for a drink.

I think what you have been dong is quite impolite - no wonder he thinks you might be up for no good.

I rented out a house to a tenant before, and my contract clearly stated I can inspect the house anytime after agreeing on a time with the tenant, and if no reasonable time can be found, I could go in when the tenant is absent.

He is the one lying and making excuses to inspect the house, and he came uncalled which is illegal here

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yes he can cut trees

they are his trees, and unless specifically mentioned in the rental contract, they are not a substantial part of the agreement.

then about the visits, I wonder why you insist on not letting the owner in?

if my landlord came to my rental, I would invite him in for a drink.

I think what you have been dong is quite impolite - no wonder he thinks you might be up for no good.

I rented out a house to a tenant before, and my contract clearly stated I can inspect the house anytime after agreeing on a time with the tenant, and if no reasonable time can be found, I could go in when the tenant is absent.

He is the one lying and making excuses to inspect the house, and he came uncalled which is illegal here

And you are the one making excuses and every possible contorsion to avoid that he enters the house.

Why talk about lying and illegality ? as I see it there hasn't been any problem, so just invite the owner for a drink, give him 3 normal time and dates, such as sunday afternoon or saturday at lunch, monday after work, whatever.

Comes, drinks, looks at his termites or whatever, you talk a bit, done.

Honestly, in my case, I too could just happen to be in the neighborhood and think about checking my property. Ok, I would call first, and if the tenant tells me it's not convenient now, I'd understand, but a tenant telling me my visit is illegal rings some alarm bells.

You wrote earlier that he tried to make appointments before - it certainly seems as if he would like to have a look at his property, but on the other hand it certainly also looks as if you try everything to avoid him entering the house.

As the owner, I would be a bit worried about what you could possibly want to hide from me.

Regarding maintenance and termites, yes, he can put this in the contract.

My tenants never had a problem with me coming to fix stuff.

You have also to see it from the owner's perspective.

P.S. why not just buy a house?

Edited by manarak
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yes he can cut trees

they are his trees, and unless specifically mentioned in the rental contract, they are not a substantial part of the agreement.

then about the visits, I wonder why you insist on not letting the owner in?

if my landlord came to my rental, I would invite him in for a drink.

I think what you have been dong is quite impolite - no wonder he thinks you might be up for no good.

I rented out a house to a tenant before, and my contract clearly stated I can inspect the house anytime after agreeing on a time with the tenant, and if no reasonable time can be found, I could go in when the tenant is absent.

He is the one lying and making excuses to inspect the house, and he came uncalled which is illegal here

And you are the one making excuses and every possible contorsion to avoid that he enters the house.

Why talk about lying and illegality ? as I see it there hasn't been any problem, so just invite the owner for a drink, give him 3 normal time and dates, such as sunday afternoon or saturday at lunch, monday after work, whatever.

Comes, drinks, looks at his termites or whatever, you talk a bit, done.

Honestly, in my case, I too could just happen to be in the neighborhood and think about checking my property. Ok, I would call first, and if the tenant tells me it's not convenient now, I'd understand, but a tenant telling me my visit is illegal rings some alarm bells.

You wrote earlier that he tried to make appointments before - it certainly seems as if he would like to have a look at his property, but on the other hand it certainly also looks as if you try everything to avoid him entering the house.

As the owner, I would be a bit worried about what you could possibly want to hide from me.

Regarding maintenance and termites, yes, he can put this in the contract.

My tenants never had a problem with me coming to fix stuff.

You have also to see it from the owner's perspective.

P.S. why not just buy a house?

Have you read my post ?

He came to the house FOUR TIMES on different excuses just to look at the house

He has the neighbor to pry on me and watch the house and make regular reports.

He tried about TEN other times

His mum comes and check on the house every now and then

I am not Thai I cannot own land here

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yes he can cut trees

they are his trees, and unless specifically mentioned in the rental contract, they are not a substantial part of the agreement.

then about the visits, I wonder why you insist on not letting the owner in?

if my landlord came to my rental, I would invite him in for a drink.

I think what you have been dong is quite impolite - no wonder he thinks you might be up for no good.

I rented out a house to a tenant before, and my contract clearly stated I can inspect the house anytime after agreeing on a time with the tenant, and if no reasonable time can be found, I could go in when the tenant is absent.

He is the one lying and making excuses to inspect the house, and he came uncalled which is illegal here

And you are the one making excuses and every possible contorsion to avoid that he enters the house.

Why talk about lying and illegality ? as I see it there hasn't been any problem, so just invite the owner for a drink, give him 3 normal time and dates, such as sunday afternoon or saturday at lunch, monday after work, whatever.

Comes, drinks, looks at his termites or whatever, you talk a bit, done.

Honestly, in my case, I too could just happen to be in the neighborhood and think about checking my property. Ok, I would call first, and if the tenant tells me it's not convenient now, I'd understand, but a tenant telling me my visit is illegal rings some alarm bells.

You wrote earlier that he tried to make appointments before - it certainly seems as if he would like to have a look at his property, but on the other hand it certainly also looks as if you try everything to avoid him entering the house.

As the owner, I would be a bit worried about what you could possibly want to hide from me.

Regarding maintenance and termites, yes, he can put this in the contract.

My tenants never had a problem with me coming to fix stuff.

You have also to see it from the owner's perspective.

P.S. why not just buy a house?

Plenty of landlords (me included) have had bad experiences / seriously bad experiences with tenants. I've posted several nightmare examples here before.

Given my bad experiences I started including 60 day inspections / inspections whenever I deemed it advisable but with at least 48 hours notice to the tenant (not once a year inspections) and made sure it was noted by new tenants and I'm glad I did.

I'm not an ogre, I just want to protect my investment.

I'll put it another way - It's true some landlords are a'holes, and it's equally true some tenants are a'holes.

If you were the owner of the property would you be serious about protecting your investment?

There are laws even in THL to protect tenant peace : As a tenant, you are entitled to live in privacy. This means that during your stay at the rental premises you should not experience interruption or interference by the landlord/agent or anyone acting on the landlord's behalf.

Anyway he came after 2 weeks, then after 1 months then 3 months under many lies.

His mother comes and check

The neighbors come and check and report

I have never been so watch over in my life

I can't scratch my bum without the all mooban knowing

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I have been told that the lease you have as a tenant with many landlords in Thailand isn't worth the paper it's written on.And thats the same for Thais and farang.Many Thais get screwed over,particularly the ones who are not from Bangkok and go there to work.It goes back to consumer rights and no recourse for folk who cant afford a lawyer,and with regard to non thai,"well you aint got any rights"

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

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yes he can cut trees

they are his trees, and unless specifically mentioned in the rental contract, they are not a substantial part of the agreement.

then about the visits, I wonder why you insist on not letting the owner in?

if my landlord came to my rental, I would invite him in for a drink.

I think what you have been dong is quite impolite - no wonder he thinks you might be up for no good.

I rented out a house to a tenant before, and my contract clearly stated I can inspect the house anytime after agreeing on a time with the tenant, and if no reasonable time can be found, I could go in when the tenant is absent.

you might want to check that, if you go in while the tenant is absent and without their permission it is trespass, the tenant can have you charged especially if they say that there are objects that have been stolen. The landlord is not allowed to go into the house without the tenant(or his agent) being there and they are not supposed to have a set of keys to access it anyway, once a contract is signed the tenant is the rightful occupant and the landlord has no rights without the tenants agreement.

Sounds like you have no idea what so ever about the rights of a tenant or a landlord, a court would sort you out very quickly, owning the house does not mean you can do as you please, a contract negates all that and so does the law.

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I can only say that having stayed in 3 different apartments/condos in Bangkok over a period of 3-4 years, not once have I actually had a landlord drop in unexpected, in fact the only time I see the landlord has been while signing contract and when I move out and then a few phone calls if something is broken and needs fixing or if there is some rare issue with payment or the like.

I'd agree that it seems a bit too much and I wouldn't like it either. When I've been renting in Thailand or elsewhere I try to ask enough questions beforehand to get a feeling of what kind of person the landlord is. For example, one landlord I considered renting from used the word 'farang' speaking to me in the form 'farang like to have free wifi'. Some people might not have seen anything wrong with that, but to me, something like that is a red flag which tells me this guy and I won't get along, so I didn't rent. My other landlords have been nothing but respectful and helpful.

Therefore, if I were in your position, I think I'd just move out. I don't like living somewhere where I don't trust the landlord.

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I can only say that having stayed in 3 different apartments/condos in Bangkok over a period of 3-4 years, not once have I actually had a landlord drop in unexpected, in fact the only time I see the landlord has been while signing contract and when I move out and then a few phone calls if something is broken and needs fixing or if there is some rare issue with payment or the like.

I'd agree that it seems a bit too much and I wouldn't like it either. When I've been renting in Thailand or elsewhere I try to ask enough questions beforehand to get a feeling of what kind of person the landlord is. For example, one landlord I considered renting from used the word 'farang' speaking to me in the form 'farang like to have free wifi'. Some people might not have seen anything wrong with that, but to me, something like that is a red flag which tells me this guy and I won't get along, so I didn't rent. My other landlords have been nothing but respectful and helpful.

Therefore, if I were in your position, I think I'd just move out. I don't like living somewhere where I don't trust the landlord.

ive been in condos it's a totally different ball game

1/ you have a huge choice if the landlord is not nice enough you take a right turn and rent the room next door. My landlords were really nice !

2/ I am in a cheapish house with garden (necessary for my dogs, see avatar) in Bangkok which means a rarity these days, so tables are turned around. I have been seeking to move for a year but prices keep rising (50% in some areas) I'm stuck !

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yes he can cut trees

they are his trees, and unless specifically mentioned in the rental contract, they are not a substantial part of the agreement.

then about the visits, I wonder why you insist on not letting the owner in?

if my landlord came to my rental, I would invite him in for a drink.

I think what you have been dong is quite impolite - no wonder he thinks you might be up for no good.

I rented out a house to a tenant before, and my contract clearly stated I can inspect the house anytime after agreeing on a time with the tenant, and if no reasonable time can be found, I could go in when the tenant is absent.

you might want to check that, if you go in while the tenant is absent and without their permission it is trespass, the tenant can have you charged especially if they say that there are objects that have been stolen. The landlord is not allowed to go into the house without the tenant(or his agent) being there and they are not supposed to have a set of keys to access it anyway, once a contract is signed the tenant is the rightful occupant and the landlord has no rights without the tenants agreement.

Sounds like you have no idea what so ever about the rights of a tenant or a landlord, a court would sort you out very quickly, owning the house does not mean you can do as you please, a contract negates all that and so does the law.

it's contract law - anything can be agreed upon.

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In my condo contract it stipulates that the landlord has to give 48hours notice to inspect the apartment. I've had them request to show people the place while I am renting so they can rent it after my contract ends and it has always been fine.

Check your contract or read up on your rental rights. He can't just pop over whenever he likes.

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I agree that while we've rented condos, the owners have never bothered us, aside from having the termite service come for monthly spraying if the contract specified it was his responsibility to keep the termites controlled. Houses are a different story. Somehow owners take more interest in houses. Maybe because they lived close-by and just want to see what new major appliance was just delivered. Maybe because they saw the grocery delivery, with the case of beer and figured a couple had their name on 'em. Yes, they do seem to take more interest in their property than someone who owns so many condos they can't be bothered as long as the rent is deposited into their bank account monthly.

Edited by NancyL
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Sounds like you've got a responsible landlord who wants to maintain his property and to ensure that he doesn't have a bad tenant. In my home country rental inspections are carried out every 3 months with 24 to 48 hours notice. Take up some of the suggestions of discussing your desires for the property and the garden and you may be able to reach a compromise, if not move on. My landlady inspected the property I rent quite often in the early stages but once she saw that I was maintaining it and improving it she hasn't bothered with more than 1 or 2 visits a year if I happen to be at home.

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Sounds like your Landlord doesn't trust you for some reason. Maybe it is time to move. As you point out you aren't Thai, maybe he is trying to tell you he doesn't want non-Thai renters. Maybe you need to ask for someone to find out what his act is about. Remember Thais don't do direct confrontation, so perhaps you need to engage a proxy of some sort to get to what is up for him.

Does he have dogs? maybe there is something going on there.

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Sounds like your Landlord doesn't trust you for some reason. Maybe it is time to move. As you point out you aren't Thai, maybe he is trying to tell you he doesn't want non-Thai renters. Maybe you need to ask for someone to find out what his act is about. Remember Thais don't do direct confrontation, so perhaps you need to engage a proxy of some sort to get to what is up for him.

Does he have dogs? maybe there is something going on there.

Oh yeah there is definitely something going on, and I know what it is : The neighbors are pissed to have a farang living near by, old ladies who have nothing else to do than spreading hatred gossip all day, they were friends with my landlord's mum, before his family moved the house. They keep spreading horror gossip about me in the mooban. That happened in the previous house as well, only the landlord did not listen to these crap. It's everywhere in Thai neighborhood and I cannot afford farang moobans

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Now I accepted to have the house checked for termites by professionals but he refuses to give me the phone number.

I don't think there is any termites worry, nor does he care about his old blender, nor does he actually cares about the garden (he has dropped the garden issue), nor does he care about his post.

he's like my previous landlord and the one from my friend; he cannot bear the idea of having a farang living in his house and believe we are savages without taste and need doing inspection every 5 minutes especially with the witches feeding gossips about me.

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i have the same probleme, i move, live him my deposite, and rented a nicer house for 3000 tb less, two street away, we are very happy now, we have a nice landlord,no need to worry about neighbor spying on us all the time ,i pass the house time to time and is still for rent two moth later... just move!!!

yes he can cut trees

they are his trees, and unless specifically mentioned in the rental contract, they are not a substantial part of the agreement.

then about the visits, I wonder why you insist on not letting the owner in?

if my landlord came to my rental, I would invite him in for a drink.

I think what you have been dong is quite impolite - no wonder he thinks you might be up for no good.

I rented out a house to a tenant before, and my contract clearly stated I can inspect the house anytime after agreeing on a time with the tenant, and if no reasonable time can be found, I could go in when the tenant is absent.

He is the one lying and making excuses to inspect the house, and he came uncalled which is illegal here

And you are the one making excuses and every possible contorsion to avoid that he enters the house.

Why talk about lying and illegality ? as I see it there hasn't been any problem, so just invite the owner for a drink, give him 3 normal time and dates, such as sunday afternoon or saturday at lunch, monday after work, whatever.

Comes, drinks, looks at his termites or whatever, you talk a bit, done.

Honestly, in my case, I too could just happen to be in the neighborhood and think about checking my property. Ok, I would call first, and if the tenant tells me it's not convenient now, I'd understand, but a tenant telling me my visit is illegal rings some alarm bells.

You wrote earlier that he tried to make appointments before - it certainly seems as if he would like to have a look at his property, but on the other hand it certainly also looks as if you try everything to avoid him entering the house.

As the owner, I would be a bit worried about what you could possibly want to hide from me.

Regarding maintenance and termites, yes, he can put this in the contract.

My tenants never had a problem with me coming to fix stuff.

You have also to see it from the owner's perspective.

P.S. why not just buy a house?

Have you read my post ?

He came to the house FOUR TIMES on different excuses just to look at the house

He has the neighbor to pry on me and watch the house and make regular reports.

He tried about TEN other times

His mum comes and check on the house every now and then

I am not Thai I cannot own land here

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Sounds like BS from the landlord.

Unless you have already agreed to clause(s) in the rental contract allowing him unrestricted access then you don't have to take this.

You don't have to consent to anything you don't agree with! There is no statutory law that allows him access. He has rented to you and presumably you have paid a deposit which should suffice. Unless he has reason to believe you are trashing his property then he has no right of access.

We took out a lease for 24 months from our landlord who then told us after 12 months that he had sold the property to someone else and that the new owner would be in touch about the lease. It was all a total BS story to try and squeeze more money out of us for the 2nd 12 months but anyway,.. the new "owner" rang my wife and said he wanted to come around to see us about the lease. She got this guy to forward the proposed new lease by email to her and what a complete joke it was. The lease was drawn up between the new "owner" and my wife, and apart from the extra 10,000bht per month they wanted,.. there were a bunch of other clauses that included paying all outgoings and the local moobahn fees (about 30,000 PA).... and another clause stating that the "landlord" had unrestricted access to the property for any purpose at any time.

We consulted a lawyer who told us that even if the original landlord had sold to the new guy (which he hadn't.. ALL total BS) that the new "landlord" would be bound under the terms and conditions of the existing contract for rental in force at the time that he made purchase of the house.

We in turn replied to the landlord and had a meeting with his lawyer (because the landlord went into hiding,... "face") and it was confirmed in a round about way that the whole thing was BS. We presented the landlord's lawyer with our existing contract and told him 1) we would be staying for the full term of next 12 months at the same rent as stipulated 2) We would not be paying any outgoings and fees we had not agreed to 3) We did not give unrestricted and unannounced access to our home to his client as he had no such rights. We pointed out that if he wanted to make inspections for maintenance then he could do so no more than every 3 months and must be given adequate notice in writing.

To all of this we received smiles and no objection from the landlord's lawyer,..just "kap kap kap" and a polite wai greeting. It appeared he'd been told a crock of $hite by the landlord and that this was the first time he'd ever seen the original contract!

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