Notice On Rental Apartment?

[mamastar]

Unable to find information on rental laws here, and was wondering if anyone knew.

Is there a legal limit on the number of months' notice a landlord/landlady can ask of you when moving out?

Our contract (in Thai, which neither of us can read at all) requires us to give 3 months' notice. I realize that this is rather late, seeing as we want to move out, but was wondering if there was a legal cap on the number of months that might override the contract.

Ordinarily I abide by contracts and have never broken a contract before, but have a very unprofessional landlady, and have no qualms, but would prefer to abide by Thai law. (Landlady let herself in the house while we were on holiday - found out after we got back, hired gardeners without asking us, drops by with little or no notice (one time bringing along her fiance, sister, gardeners, maid and builder without telling me they others were coming), and has been very rude in person and over the phone.) Currently unhappy and seeking to move, but would prefer to move out in 2 months rather than 3.

I would appreciate any information regarding giving notice and any related laws. - Or any other advice as well!!

[backflip]

You refer to the landlord as "unprofessional", yet you're trying to break a valid contract with her. Hmmm....

[udon]

Change your locks IMMEDIATELY.

[Dragonman]

Unable to find information on rental laws here, and was wondering if anyone knew.

Is there a legal limit on the number of months' notice a landlord/landlady can ask of you when moving out?

Our contract (in Thai, which neither of us can read at all) requires us to give 3 months' notice. I realize that this is rather late, seeing as we want to move out, but was wondering if there was a legal cap on the number of months that might override the contract.

Ordinarily I abide by contracts and have never broken a contract before, but have a very unprofessional landlady, and have no qualms, but would prefer to abide by Thai law. (Landlady let herself in the house while we were on holiday - found out after we got back, hired gardeners without asking us, drops by with little or no notice (one time bringing along her fiance, sister, gardeners, maid and builder without telling me they others were coming), and has been very rude in person and over the phone.) Currently unhappy and seeking to move, but would prefer to move out in 2 months rather than 3.

I would appreciate any information regarding giving notice and any related laws. - Or any other advice as well!!

Tenancy Agreements, called leases in Thailand, but not to be confused with Leasehold Agreements, are purely covered by Contract Law. You get what you signed for! However, if the breaches to the Contract regarding privacy are recent, you can just up and leave through defect.

[mamastar]

Thanks for the feedback. Given what Dragonman has said, will stick with the contract given it sounds like it is binding.

backflip - I don't know where you're from, but where I'm from, for the landlady to enter the house is trespassing, and should be enough to make a contract void as she is breaking local law. I do prefer to abide by the law, but sometimes there are limits. BTW - should you see the bizarre sight of a female riding a motorcycle with a helmet on AND using indicators, that's probably me.

And have already changed the locks, just need to find a new place to live.

[backflip]

" but where I'm from, for the landlady to enter the house is trespassing"

But, you aren't where you're from, are you? Since you've admitted that you don't know what the tenancy agreement reads, perhaps you should have it translated. You might be surprised to find out that the landlord has the right to inspect the premises at any time, and that changing the locks is illegal. Her rudeness isn't illegal, but your belief that "two wrongs make it right" might get you into trouble.

[mamastar]

Fair enough - I should look at the contract. Seemingly (having a Thai look at it when we signed it) it is a standard contract. Since I've never had a contract that says the landlord may inspect at will, I guess I assumed that it wouldn't have that clause. (May be mistaken.) And have been told by others that ordinarily for the landlord (or landlady, in this case) it is illegal (in Thailand also) to enter premises without permission.

Changing the locks was merely changing the padlock so I personally have no qualms as no possibility of damaging the house.

Given my complaints about the unprofessional conduct of the landlady (which could fill a page easily), although you may say two wrongs don't make a right, I believe that there is (and I understand that this is Thailand, and laws may differ, but generally laws seem to be somewhat standard, though they may not be followed as in the west) certain conduct which would make a contract void. Though as you mentioned, it would have to be checked that it does go against the contract.

In either case, I have no issues with breaking the contract (by which I mean leaving the place in less than the year that the contract is for) given the landlady in question.

[billaaa777]

Mamastar,

Don’t worry about backflip, this site is full of rude, bitter individuals that bring nothing to the topic but attack, attack attack. He probably was once a landlord that thought he had the right to enter the property anytime day or night. And just can’t understand why everybody does not think that way. I go with changing the locks my self.

[Cyberstar]

Mamastar,

Don’t worry about backflip, this site is full of rude, bitter individuals that bring nothing to the topic but attack, attack attack. He probably was once a landlord that thought he had the right to enter the property anytime day or night. And just can’t understand why everybody does not think that way. I go with changing the locks my self.

Don't want to defend this (to me unknown) character "backflip" ... but I do think that putting questionmarks to other persons self-contained statements has its own rights ... actually, it does appear that mamastar, by now, has realized that things are not like "at home" everywhere in the world --- and that's a good thing, IMHO.

[backflip]

"He probably was once a landlord that thought he had the right to enter the property anytime day or night."

You'd lose that bet, fella. Just trying to help him out - changing the locks has nothing to do with damage to the property, but it does have to do with preventing a landord's legal access to the apartment. Frankly, I couldn't care less if he changes the lock but, if goes back to the apartment, and the locks have been changed again, I bet his stuff will have gone missing...along with his apartment deposit. However, since none of us, including the renter, has any idea what his rental agreement contains, we'll never know.