Thread: Problems with management at apartment

Why hire a lawyer you have a leak,find a person to solve the leak tell who every you rent the room from they will be billed.

Rather than simply bill the owners, deduct the money from your rent and give them the receipt for your payment for the repair.

That way the money stays with you, you're not left waiting for them to pay up.

First, talk to the building owner if you haven't already. Most often, staff in Thailand cannot make any decisions on their own or do anything out the ordinary without the owner's approval. They're also greng jai and reluctant to pass on negative news/requests to the owner, unless forced.

As others mentioned, withholding the rent is the only real leverage you have, and it works especially well if the place is expensive and has low-ish occupancy. Do warn the owner beforehand that you will do it if your problem is not fixed (either by plugging the leak or moving you to a new unit), and pay after it has been fixed. One thing that's certain is that you aren't getting any money you already paid back (possibly including your deposit, especially if there's a conflict).

If your Thai wife or her family knows a cop, preferably senior, you could ask him for a favor to stop by and talk to the staff. This is not a criminal matter, but cops in Thailand often act as dispute mediators, and Thais do listen to casual requests from them, since it shows that you may have some leverage in case of conflict. Of course, if it comes to this, be prepared to pay the cop, and agree to an eventual compromise he may devise (e.g. splitting the portion of the repair cost). Cops tend to have more authority than lawyers around here.

I wouldn't stand outside with the sign. That might work, but could also backfire quite badly. If you make the owner or staff lose face in public, even if they fix your problem promptly with a Thai smile, they'll hold a grudge and you'll need to watch your back as long as you stay at that place.

Hire someone to fix the leak yourself, pay for the work, make sure you keep a receipt and then deduct the amount from the rent. Inform the building staff that you will be doing this (NB inform them, don't ask permission). Should be a simple and painless process. Finding someone reliable to fix the leak then remains your only challenge.

They must have some handyman there, keep bothering them. Move your bed too

Plastic buckets and pails work nicely in the interim.

See LT.

See a competent Thai lawyer before you do anything. The withholding of rent in the West is based on specific laws which allow you to do so and sets forth the rights and duties of the parties, and those likely do not exist in Thailand.

Be careful, many lawyers here are less than competent, chose carefully.

Some good responses/suggestions, especially croc's input. The only one with which I disagree is BobR's - I would never get a lawyer involved. A lawyer (and BobR, as a former lawyer, is prejudiced) will accomplish nothing, other than billing you.

Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton

Some good responses/suggestions, especially croc's input. The only one with which I disagree is BobR's - I would never get a lawyer involved. A lawyer (and BobR, as a former lawyer, is prejudiced) will accomplish nothing, other than billing you.

Sorry, I should have been more clear, I meant consult an attorney for competent advice, not necessarily to run into Court.
Sometimes it's better to buy an hour of time for an unbiased discussion of your options instead of accepting the free consultation, which, of course is aimed at signing up a client.

I had a small leak that dripped from the middle of the kitchen once in a house. We could not get hold of the owner and knew of no plumber, newly arrived in a small Alaska town. Going to the nearest city, Anchorage, was a 315 mile drive. Well, I got a mad idea. I screwed a small eye in the ceiling next to the leak. I tied a nylon string to it, routed it to behind the sink, where I put another eye, lower than the first, ran the string through it and down to the back of the sink, and success! The word got out and people came by to watch the drops run down the string into the sink. It worked perfectly, never losing a drop, and no bucket to empty.

^You are serious Not Now? Must have been a very intellectual gathering in Homer?

Originally Posted by crocodilexp

First, talk to the building owner if you haven't already. Most often, staff in Thailand cannot make any decisions on their own or do anything out the ordinary without the owner's approval. They're also greng jai and reluctant to pass on negative news/requests to the owner, unless forced.

As others mentioned, withholding the rent is the only real leverage you have, and it works especially well if the place is expensive and has low-ish occupancy. Do warn the owner beforehand that you will do it if your problem is not fixed (either by plugging the leak or moving you to a new unit), and pay after it has been fixed. One thing that's certain is that you aren't getting any money you already paid back (possibly including your deposit, especially if there's a conflict).

If your Thai wife or her family knows a cop, preferably senior, you could ask him for a favor to stop by and talk to the staff. This is not a criminal matter, but cops in Thailand often act as dispute mediators, and Thais do listen to casual requests from them, since it shows that you may have some leverage in case of conflict. Of course, if it comes to this, be prepared to pay the cop, and agree to an eventual compromise he may devise (e.g. splitting the portion of the repair cost). Cops tend to have more authority than lawyers around here.

I wouldn't stand outside with the sign. That might work, but could also backfire quite badly. If you make the owner or staff lose face in public, even if they fix your problem promptly with a Thai smile, they'll hold a grudge and you'll need to watch your back as long as you stay at that place.

Good advice. Moreover it may be easier to search for the source yourself and put on some covering or stuff which sticks to a wet surface.

Definitely don't deal with the staff and go straight to the owner. The staff won't want to greng jai the owner, as stated above. Politely explain the problem and don't panic. It's only water.

You're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy.

Read your contract.

Is there a clause that allows you to notify the owner of a problem (in writing) and then rectify said problem yourself if the owner fails to respond within a certain time and claim for the expense? Most contracts have a clause like that.

Not paying the rent is dodgy, because then you are lobbing the ball back in to the owners court and giving them ammo to say that you are in default.





PS: "get over it, this is Thailand"
PPS: Sorry, couldn't resist!

Contact the owner.

Be polite.


Oddly enough, you'd be surprised at how often this is nice and effective.

Or you could not contact him, deal a bit more with useless staff that don't know what to do so thus want to ignore it, and you then start not paying your rent, giving them bills for handymen instead of payment, stand outside with a sign badmouthing the place etc etc, and all the other suggestions.

Just contact the guy and be nice. He probably hasn't been informed of it and will be happy to fix it up for you.

1. Read your contract

2. If no provision for your problem, contact the owner

3. If no joy, give the required notice your are moving out

4. Unless it a minor issue, don't attempt repairs - you may breach contract provisions

5. Although offsetting rent against repairs seems plausible, it is illegal in some jurisdictions. You can also get involved in disputes over what is reasonable costs for the work you had done.

If the owner wants to keep you as a tenant, I'm sure it can be resolved.

Don't withhold rent. Not unless you fancy coming back one evening and finding your door padlocked. (Happened to a friend of mine when he was in dispute over getting his aircon fixed).

Move! Who needs the headaches?

Originally Posted by Rocksteady

Move! Who needs the headaches?

He signed a lease. Plus, given that he says it is an upscale building, he probably put down first and last month rent, plus a serious security deposit. Probably not that easy to just walk away.