RAWBangkok

I knew, on the 29th of January, that it was gonna be trouble.

Sometimes you can feel it.  There’s that little jingling bell in the back of your mind, or some sort of “spidey sense” that says that something significant just happened.  Sometimes you understand it… sometimes not.  Often I don’t know exactly what is wrong, just that something is wrong.

On the 29th of January I knew exactly what it was, but I shook off the feeling because the lady involved was someone I’d dealt with for nearly three years and I told myself that it wouldn’t be a problem.

When I moved into my apartment in Sukhumvit the first time in late 2006 I stayed in the room for close to three weeks before the manager bothered to get me to sign my rental agreement.  When I moved out about 16 months later I thought I might have trouble about my security deposit because I couldn’t find my payment receipt.  No problem.  The manager was often lacadasical about paperwork, but never to my disadvantage.

When I left Ratchada and moved back to the same Sukhumvit building in December 2008, once again I took possession of my apartment without a lease.  When I asked her about it, she just waved her hand and said we’d take care of it later.

On the 29th of January I took some cash out of the ATM and went to the management office to pay the rent.  I didn’t have a bill yet, so I asked her how much I owed.  She looked on the computer, then wrote a number on a small piece of paper and showed it to me.

This was unusual.

I normally pay my rent early — before the invoices are distributed — so typically she prints off the A4-sized bill and shows it to me.  I pay the cash, then she signs the bottom to show receipt.

On the 29th of January I paid the bill, but the manager didn’t give me a receipt.  I thought about asking her for it, but then figured she’d slip it under my door later.  Even if she didn’t, we had enough history that I wasn’t worried about her fogetting that I’d paid the money.  (She had a reason to remember, since I had been waiting for my ATM card from America.  She’d been on the lookout for the envelope because I told her I needed to get the ATM before I could pay my rent.  She’d given me the bank envelope when it arrived in the mail that day and I’d come back 15 minutes later with the rent).

So, I thought for a moment about the potential problems, but dismissed the thought.

I was surprised when an invoice was delivered to my apartment on the 30th, but not overly concerned.

On the 25th of January — just five days earlier — I’d written a blog in which I described signs that went up inside the building threatening to cut off water and power if the rent wasn’t paid on time.  Looking back that was part of a pattern that is easy to see now.

About a week later, on the 6th of February, I went out to work in the morning and saw a different woman working in the management office — not the manager I’d been dealing with for the past three years.  It occured to me that if there’d been any confusion about my rent payment I might have a problem.  As fast as I thought of it I dismissed it.  A quick call to the long-time manager would clear things up.

Another day passed with no sign of the old manager.  There was a new lady in the office.  I figured that the manager was on holiday, and that she’d be back in a week.  It made sense that she’d go on holiday right after all the rents had been paid by the 5th.

But in the back of my mind, the alarm bells were ringing.

In a strange way, it was no surprise when there was a knock at my door at 9 a.m. on Sunday morning, the 8th of February.  I was naked so it took me a minute or two to get some shorts on and struggle to the door.  Looking through the peephole I saw two Thai men.  One of them was clearly holding a peice of paper.  I knew why they were there before I opened the door.

I opened it and looked at them — clearly just out of bed and hungover.

They didn’t speak English, but fortunately I knew the Thai language they were using.  You need to pay your room rent (”jai chow hawng”) they said.  I didn’t miss a beat.  “I paid it already”, I said.

They guy looked disappointed, but not surprised.

It had taken me so long to get to the door that they’d already knocked on the door of the room next to mine, and the Thai girl there opened the door and stepped into the hallway about that time.  All attention shifted to her.  A longer, but similar conversation ensued.  She’d already paid her rent.

It was immediately obvious what had happened.  The manager had run off with ALL the rent money for the building.

Suddenly the sign threatening severe penalties for late payment, the lack of paperwork or receipt, and the disappearance of the manager on the 6th formed a single pattern.  She was a thief.

I don’t know how she figures she can get away with it.  Unless she managed to leave the country you have to think they’ll find her.  But that’s another story that I don’t know about.

Meanwhile, back at my building there was a crisis on.  Presumably the building manager was gonna have to take the situation in hand.

I expected the worst.

The following Saturday there was a knock on my door at 8 a.m.   “Come to the office” and he walked away.

When I got there, I was part of a small parade of sleepy residents.  We were all crowding into the office in a fashion that is particularly typical of Thai disorganization.  The two staff on duty were trying to talk to us each individually while the rest of us milled around in the small space waiting in our t-shirts and pajamas.  Some of the residents were Thai.  Others were European or Japanese or Indian.  And there was me.

I didn’t understand all of the conversations completely, but just from what I did understand it was obvious that every story was eerily similar.  “When did you pay rent?  What other expenses were paid?”  Stories spilling out with tenants offering details that made it clear that the manager had tried to collect every possible satang, apparently telling a fair few lies to a fair few tenants to boost the take.

This was the time when we would find out what the Thai landlords were made of.  Would they accuse anyone of lying?  Would they try to force us to pay the rent again?  Would they pull some other crap?

I was prepared for the worst, and so I was very pleased at what actually happened.

The landlord apologized.  He explained to the best of his English ability what had happened (though it was already obvious).  He apologized for the inconvenience, assured me that things would be taken care of immediately and professionally, and issued me a receipt for the rent and utilities I’d paid.

I wasn’t ready to celebrate yet.

I still didn’t have a lease.  They still might be suspicious or try to pull some crap.

I normally pay my rent on the 15th of the month — two weeks early — because that’s when I get my paycheck at work.  I decided on the 15th of February that it might be best to hold my rent until the 5th of March, to minimize the possibility that the landlord might fuck with me.

How would he fuck with me?  I had no idea.  I just figured that it would be wiser to keep the money in my bank account for as long as possible.

But by today there seemed to be no problems, and I have a full workday tomorrow.  So I went to the management office this morning and paid my rent for March.

No drama. The staff received the money.  No suggestion of money owed from last month.  No mention of living here without a lease.  No attempt to increase in my rent payment.

My money was received, my change given, and my receipt issued.  All normal.

Apparently everything is okay.  The landlord hasn’t tried to be a dick.  Apparently he has been screwed royally by the manager, but has decided not to try to take it out on the tenants involved.

I’m impressed.

The only concern I have at this point is collecting my security deposit in full when I move out.  The manager seems to have proven himself to be a reasonable sort, but the fact is that I still don’t have a written lease.  I’m keeping the receipt for the deposit in a place where it won’t get lost.

For the moment, then, the landlord may have a mess on his hands, but everything for me seems to be alright.