After You Move In

Renting in Thailand is pretty much the same as renting anywhere else in the world, for the most part.

When you first move in, there are sometimes additional questions you need answered after gaining some experience in the home and location. Some of these we can answer, others we must talk with the landlord about.

The most common needs after move-in are just questions about finding places to buy particular things, how to pay bills, and general things about living and working in Bangkok and Thailand.

Most move-ins go smoothly.

Sometimes, however, there are little glitches which are discovered, such as with an electrical or mechanical device, sometimes an item which was renovated or installed by technicians recently. Normally, everything major is checked and tested before you move in, but sometimes something isn't quite right or goes wrong after a little bit of use. In this case, we can either go back to the landlord or else try to fix it ourselves if the landlord permits.

We have a survey agent among our staff who was previously a technician on electrical and mechanical system and does a quality job, but we must gain authorization by the landlord to do anything to their property. Often, the landlord has their own electrical person from before, and that is usually their preference. Nonetheless, we can give some analysis and advice about some electrical matters to both landlord and tenant. (Notably, the expat CEO of Prado Property dealt hands-on with electrical matters in Thailand in the mid-1990s when consulting to engineering and construction companies here, in addition to our good Thai technician.)

For things which are not electrical or mechanical property of the house, we are more free to do what we think is best.

Internet is the most common glitch, and we often fix that or provide guidance ourselves since landlords usually don't know much about those kinds of things, and we have been handling internet connections for tenants for many years.

Paying bills is a different process in Thailand, and the bills are in the Thai language. We can step you through the process. After you've done it once, you can do it again the same way later.

Most other bills can be paid at 7-11, but don't be late paying your bills. Once you pass the due date, then you can no longer pay for many of them at 7-11 but must travel to an administrative office, figure out a new process, and wait in a long queue.

The easiest way to pay the landlord is by depositing into their bank account. This is normally what we state on the lease. Your bank deposit slip becomes your receipt. Just be sure to put your name on the bottom as the person making the deposit. Then, in combination with the lease, the exact amount, and the date, you have proof of paying your rent.

When you plan to move out, be sure to give your advance notice as stated in the lease, which is usually 60 days but can be negotiated before you sign the lease.

If there are disagreements between landlord and tenant, then normally the agent (us) is the arbitrator. Rarely are there disputes because we are careful to cover things in detail in the lease. However, it's impossible to cover every possibility in a lease of a reasonable size. We try to do what seems fair to all. We have a lot of experience in what is reasonable and customary, and in applying social pressure occasionally. Sometimes, it is just a matter of language translation and misunderstandings.

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