Almost all landlords without fail want tenants to pay land tax.

Why? so they do not have too.

Some will not sign a contract unless you agree to pay.

In my case, it was the same, but i made clear i will not be signing then as i will not pay land tax.

My landlord caved in, HOWEVER i also had to compromise and agree to make "second" contract which we lodged with land office showing rent being 1/3 of the actual rent.

To cover my backside, i added a clause, if landlord was to sell, he would have to pay me out a xxx amount of money.

Bottom line is, if you signed the contract and it is in there, you have to pay. HOWEVER if you also put a clause to be able to terminate early without penalty, you can do just that, but do not expect to get any deposit back.

Almost all landlords without fail want tenants to pay land tax.

Why? so they do not have too.

Some will not sign a contract unless you agree to pay.

In my case, it was the same, but i made clear i will not be signing then as i will not pay land tax.

My landlord caved in, HOWEVER i also had to compromise and agree to make "second" contract which we lodged with land office showing rent being 1/3 of the actual rent.

To cover my backside, i added a clause, if landlord was to sell, he would have to pay me out a xxx amount of money.

Bottom line is, if you signed the contract and it is in there, you have to pay. HOWEVER if you also put a clause to be able to terminate early without penalty, you can do just that, but do not expect to get any deposit back.

In the latest contract, we have drafted and inserted a clause as follows (it appears in the contract in both english and thai):

Early termination of this lease by the Tenant.

The Tenant may terminate this lease agreement at anytime during the six month period.

To terminate this lease the Tenant must give at least 30 days written notice to the Lessor.

If the Tenant does give at least 30 days written notice, the Lessor cannot use the early termination as a reason to keep the Tenant’s security deposit.

Despite the inclusion of this clause, I hold no illusions whatsoever about getting my deposit back.

Sirineo is right - weigh up the cost versus benefits in keeping the peace, even though you shouldn't be paying anything. I'd go with it - if you really want to live there, or have no other choice.

Getting back to the original question, yes your landlady screwed you.

There was no tax clause included in the first two short term contracts but once she had your trust she slipped it in the later longer contract.

It is up to you if you feel it's worth paying but I would certainly make a big deal about slipping in the tax clause just to let her know you are not that gullible.

And keep a better eye on any future dealings with her.

Getting back to the original question, yes your landlady screwed you.

There was no tax clause included in the first two short term contracts but once she had your trust she slipped it in the later longer contract.

It is up to you if you feel it's worth paying but I would certainly make a big deal about slipping in the tax clause just to let her know you are not that gullible.

And keep a better eye on any future dealings with her.

Daffy

My girl and I drafted all three contracts. But this tax was not mentioned by the landlady during the first two contracts. I was unaware of the inclusion of property tax in one of the clauses due to the poor translation made by my girl. She used the word local, instead of property in the translation.

Simple rule. Thai Chinese always rip you off at any given chance regardless of you rich they are.

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If the tax clause was in the first two contracts and you just did not notice then I would say the you, erm! screwed yourself

If the tax thing was added by your landlady in the later contract and she conveniently forgot to mention it then she would be screwing you - but that does not seem to be the case.

My girl and I drafted all three contracts -

What is the name of this tax in Thai? Not English.

Grabby chink tax ?