Lopburi landlady’s daughter in law locks in tenants over deposit row

A house owner’s daughter in law in the central province of Lopburi trapped five tenants inside the property after the family failed to pay a tenancy deposit of 2,500 baht.

One of the trapped tenants, a 25 year old woman, Siriwan, sought help from police and a rescue team after she, and her husband, were unable to leave the house for work after the owner’s daughter in law put a padlock on the rented house‘s fence. Police and a rescue team eventually rode to the rescue and used metal cutters to remove the lock, freeing the family.

In an interview with Channel 8, Siriwan revealed that the woman, named Aom, placed a lock on the fence after the family was unable to agree on a 2,500 baht tenancy deposit.

Siriwan explained that she stayed in the rented house with her husband, her husband’s parents, and her newborn baby, a month before the incident took place.

Siriwan explained that Aom was responsible for managing the rental contract and collecting fees. Aom requested Siriwan’s family to pay a monthly rental fee of 2,500 baht along with a tenancy deposit of 7,500 baht.

For the first month, the total amount Siriwan was required to pay amounted to 10,000 baht. However, as she had to care for her baby, leaving her husband as the sole breadwinner, Siriwan could only manage to pay 7,500 baht. She proposed to settle the remaining 2,500 baht in two instalments over the next two months, but Aom declined the offer.

Siriwan then requested to discuss the matter with Aom at the house but she failed to show up at the agreed-upon time. The night before the incident, Aom attempted to contact her around 1am but Siriwan missed the call. Upon waking up the following day, she discovered a message from Aom.

“You broke the promise, so I had to put on a lock.”

Siriwan revealed that the house owner later visited her at the house and apologised for her daughter-in-law’s action but Aom herself did not issue any apology.

Siriwan stated that she and her family would vacate the premises by the end of May as they were unable to afford legal action against Aom, even if she were inclined to pursue it.