New laws provide greater protection for people who rent property in Thailand

[SunsetT]

On 01/03/2018 at 4:36 AM, YoungBrit said:

Never had any money taken from deposits unless it was a cost stated in the contract ie the cleaning and air con which I knew upfront or when I accidentally broke a chair and they charged the price for a new one. Always Thai owners (4 of them) through a rental agent.

 

 

I rent every winter, mostly somewhere different and I have never had a deposit or part withheld.

[CLW]

Depends.  If your landlord rents less than 5 properties, the new law doesn't apply to him.  If he does fall under the new law, I believe he is allowed to ask for 1 months rent and 1 months security deposit.

I thought it was units (rooms or houses) not whole properties?

[newnative]

5 minutes ago, CLW said:

4 hours ago, newnative said:

Depends.  If your landlord rents less than 5 properties, the new law doesn't apply to him.  If he does fall under the new law, I believe he is allowed to ask for 1 months rent and 1 months security deposit.

I thought it was units (rooms or houses) not whole properties?

Unit, house, condo--they are all considered properties.  I have a property for rent.  It is a 1 bedroom condo.  I have a property for rent. It is a 3 bedroom house. 

[mike324]

On 4/23/2018 at 9:00 PM, CLW said:

On 4/23/2018 at 4:37 PM, newnative said:

Depends.  If your landlord rents less than 5 properties, the new law doesn't apply to him.  If he does fall under the new law, I believe he is allowed to ask for 1 months rent and 1 months security deposit.

I thought it was units (rooms or houses) not whole properties?

I believe it is 5 units in the same property/compound (so 5 rooms in one condo, or 5 houses in a mooban, etc).

[newnative]

42 minutes ago, mike324 said:

I believe it is 5 units in the same property/compound (so 5 rooms in one condo, or 5 houses in a mooban, etc).

I don't think it makes any difference where the units (properties) are--just the number of units being managed.

[mogandave]

I don't think it makes any difference where the units (properties) are--just the number of units being managed.

No, they have to be in Thailand

[CLW]

My April bill / invoice was as usual.
But as the law comes into action from May I guess I'll have to wait for next month.

How about others?

[Librian]

Hello all, 

I'm currently paying 8b per unit (electricity).

Come May,  I shouldn't be paying that. What do I do if my landlord doesn't pass on the new law?

 

Cheers

[jackdd]

3 minutes ago, Librian said:

Hello all, 

I'm currently paying 8b per unit (electricity).

Come May,  I shouldn't be paying that. What do I do if my landlord doesn't pass on the new law?

 

Cheers

As i explained in an earlier post this law has loopholes, he can still legally change you 8 THB with the right setup.

He can of course also just do it illegally, because what are you going to do? Take him to court?

Ask your landlord how he handles it, maybe he lowers the rate to 4THB, but maybe he will also increase your rent by 1000THB

If you are not ok with what your landlord is doing imho the only choice is to terminate the contract, it doesn't make sense to take it to court.

[CLW]

Hello all, 
I'm currently paying 8b per unit (electricity).
Come May,  I shouldn't be paying that. What do I do if my landlord doesn't pass on the new law?
 
Cheers

For me, I will wait until end of May and the bill. See what happens.
Then I would talk with some tenants (Thai and foreigners) what they think about it.

[CLW]

As i explained in an earlier post this law has loopholes, he can still legally change you 8 THB with the right setup.
He can of course also just do it illegally, because what are you going to do? Take him to court?
Ask your landlord how he handles it, maybe he lowers the rate to 4THB, but maybe he will also increase your rent by 1000THB [emoji6]
If you are not ok with what your landlord is doing imho the only choice is to terminate the contract, it doesn't make sense to take it to court.

As an increase of 1000 THB is not peanuts and most tenants already have a tight budget I don't think this is a wise choice and going to happen.
Also, the cost of electricity depends very much of each individual use (mostly the air conditioning) so it would be unfair to those using less electricity for several reasons

[InMyShadow]

This law will come into effect on the same day that pattaya taxi drivers agree to use the meter.

[mogandave]

For me, I will wait until end of May and the bill. See what happens.
Then I would talk with some tenants (Thai and foreigners) what they think about it.

Were it me, I would not involve other Tenants. I would wait and see if I got the discount, and if not, I would ask the landlord about it.

[Librian]

4 hours ago, jackdd said:

As i explained in an earlier post this law has loopholes, he can still legally change you 8 THB with the right setup.

He can of course also just do it illegally, because what are you going to do? Take him to court?

Ask your landlord how he handles it, maybe he lowers the rate to 4THB, but maybe he will also increase your rent by 1000THB

If you are not ok with what your landlord is doing imho the only choice is to terminate the contract, it doesn't make sense to take it to court.

Thanks for your response.. I thought their may have been a Govt Dept to call or something..

BTW, I'm living in a resort style  2 bed condo.. My power bill is almost 5K Bt

 

[CLW]

Thanks for your response.. I thought their may have been a Govt Dept to call or something..
BTW, I'm living in a resort style  2 bed condo.. My power bill is almost 5K Bt
 

I think you can contact some public authority.
If I'm not wrong it is called Consumer Protection Board.
There was quite recently an article here on TV where they mentioned it.

[JimmyJ]

On 4/7/2018 at 1:17 AM, utalkin2me said:

Once again I’ll compare a situation here with that in the USA. I see renting here as aces compared to renting in the USA, where you’re actually compelled to be a puppet of the banking system to even have the privelege of a place to live. Not to mention you have to pay for your own goddam credit checks when you apply... something that the landlord wants, but you have to pay for? Explain that one. System isn’t perfect here and never will be, but far better than the corporate America controlled system we’ve got. 

 " Not to mention you have to pay for your own goddam credit checks when you apply... something that the landlord wants, but you have to pay for? Explain that one."

 

Agree.  In the US the landlord wants to rent the property but makes the customer pay for the credit check which the landlord wants.

I've offered to go to one of the 3 major credit sites on my computer with the landlord/rental agent at my side and let them look at my credit record or download it with them present.

Not acceptable. Have to pay them $25 or more for them to get it themselves (which I've refused to do).

 

[JimmyJ]

Before renting, is there a way to find out if a landlord is renting 5 or more properties so that they come under the restrictions of this bill?

(Obviously, other than asking, which could lead to a false response and/or make the landlord want to reject the tenant feeling the tenant is one who cares about his rights).

 

 

[mike324]

5 hours ago, JimmyJ said:

Before renting, is there a way to find out if a landlord is renting 5 or more properties so that they come under the restrictions of this bill?

(Obviously, other than asking, which could lead to a false response and/or make the landlord want to reject the tenant feeling the tenant is one who cares about his rights).

 

 

You could ask the office, but they may not tell you as its also a private info. But I'm sure if you slide them 100 baht, they can look it up for you. If you rent through agents, they may be in a better position to look it up for you.

[jackdd]

6 hours ago, JimmyJ said:

Before renting, is there a way to find out if a landlord is renting 5 or more properties so that they come under the restrictions of this bill?

(Obviously, other than asking, which could lead to a false response and/or make the landlord want to reject the tenant feeling the tenant is one who cares about his rights).

 

 

Before renting you just make sure that these things are written in your contract, that's by far the easiest and safest way. Like this you can also be sure that the renter is aware of the laws and won't make problems later

[Thongkorn]

To littel to late most are enjoying the life in Neibouring Country’s who are happy to have them . That let them buy rent even work without visa hassle.

[Thongkorn]

23 minutes ago, mike324 said:

You could ask the office, but they may not tell you as its also a private info. But I'm sure if you slide them 100 baht, they can look it up for you. If you rent through agents, they may be in a better position to look it up for you.

Maybe the owner has slipped the same people200 baht not to tell you.

[CLW]

https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1035593-OCPB-vows-to-deal-with-unscrupulous-property-owners

[EnlightenedAtheist]

On 27/02/2018 at 1:06 PM, gunderhill said:

Not our room but I remember a  man who cut short his  stay by about 7  months out of a contract and then when told the security deposit  would be forfeited he proceed to  cut the air  con pipes, washing machine pipes  and damage as much as he could, scratching all kitchen cupboard  doors, furniture breaking the bed etc etc

These  new rules are OBSCENE.

Many tenants are quite dirty/careless in fact Id say the majority, many move in and out without ever  cleaning.

There should be a better formula. A blank "you lose all of your SD" was obscene before. The pendulum is swinging the other way. That's what happens when things are not fair.

[Felt 35]

What if the owner rent out some rooms as apartments paid pr. month (long stay) and some as short stay accommodation (pr. night) will I then most likely get the answer regarding electricity cost that the place is registered as hotel?

 

Felt

[jerry921]

12 minutes ago, Felt 35 said:

What if the owner rent out some rooms as apartments paid pr. month (long stay) and some as short stay accommodation (pr. night) will I then most likely get the answer regarding electricity cost that the place is registered as hotel?

 

Felt

I bet the owner doesn't have the proper license to operate a hotel, but is doing it anyway, and if the owner is willing to break that law then this new lease law will be ignored as well. But perhaps I'm just pessimistic.

[newnative]

1 hour ago, Felt 35 said:

What if the owner rent out some rooms as apartments paid pr. month (long stay) and some as short stay accommodation (pr. night) will I then most likely get the answer regarding electricity cost that the place is registered as hotel?

 

Felt

Most condos cannot be legally registered as a hotel; they are already legally registered as a condo at the Land Office

[cyril sneer]

I’m due to move into a new property today and the owner has contacted me about a change.

 

The electric will go down from 8 baht a unit to 5 baht, and the deposit has now been reduced a little to match the rent.

 

All good except they are requesting an extra 250 baht a month to ‘maintain the area’. Small amount I know but is this some new loophole to make up for profit lost in electricity?

[jerry921]

Probably. Still, all good. If they don't maintain something in the area you now have ammunition for complaining. Eight bucks a month for complaining rights is an awesome bargain!

[thequietman]

Contacted 2 landlords today for sons Uni acommodation. All the above new laws all ignored. Just more bluster and bullsh@t by this government. People continue to ignore the law.

[CLW]

Contacted 2 landlords today for sons Uni acommodation. All the above new laws all ignored. Just more bluster and bullsh@t by this government. People continue to ignore the law.

Sad to hear this. But on the other hand as expected. People don't give a s... about laws because there are no consequences.

Btw, can one complain anonymously at the Consumer protection board?