Jingjok
Getting your deposit back
ngoen-bprà-gan
Deposit disputes are the legal problem foreigners in Thailand meet most. For landlords renting out five or more units, a 2018 consumer rule caps the เงินประกัน and advance rent at one month each and requires the deposit back within seven days of move-out, minus documented damage. Many individual condo owners fall outside that rule, so the lease itself matters most. On move-in day, photograph every wall, appliance and stain, and send the photos to the landlord by LINE so they are dated. On move-out, ask for an itemised list and receipts. If talking fails, send a letter of demand, complain to สคบ. (hotline 1166), or file a consumer case, which needs no lawyer and usually no court fee.
Try this today
If you rent, find your lease and check which clause covers the deposit and how many days the landlord has to return it.
The words that carry it
- สัญญาเช่าlease, rental contract
- เงินประกันsecurity deposit
- สคบ.Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB)
Learn this in “Law and bureaucracy deep” →
Your first 90 days of Thai
Culture cards in Jingjok are tied to the words that carry them, each ending in one thing to try today.
- WEEKS 1–2 · SURVIVEGreet anyone, pay, and order food and 7-Eleven exactly how you like it.
- WEEKS 3–6 · SETTLE INGet around by taxi, Grab and skytrain, find anything, and handle your landlord.
- WEEKS 7–12 · RUN YOUR LIFEPharmacy, bank, SIM and apps, how you feel, and a weekend away, all in Thai.
The first week is free.