Thai couple claim American tenant damaged rented house (video)

A Thai couple accused an American man of breaking his tenancy contract on their rented house in the northern province of Phitsanulok and trashing the house.

The couple lodged a complaint with the police against the American for vandalising their residence but he has not yet been summoned for questioning or charged. Frustrated by the lack of progress, the couple urged ThaiRath to share their story in the hope of expediting the case.

The Thai man, identified only as Em, told ThaiRath that a Thai woman had contacted him and his wife on behalf of the American, who wished to rent their house for a year.

Em charged the foreigner 8,000 baht a month and required him to pay a tenancy deposit of 16,000 baht before moving in.

Everything went well until the contract nearly ended. The couple asked to check inside the house to see if anything was damaged before returning the tenancy deposit.

According to Em, the American man did not allow him and his wife to enter the house and became angry for no reason.

Em and the foreigner engaged in a heated argument outside the house, daring each other to fight. Em stated they eventually separated without resorting to any violence and he terminated the rental contract.

Anger venting

After the American man moved out, the couple checked inside the house and found part of the roof damaged. The wall was covered in colour splashes and vulgarities were written almost everywhere. They also found that the foreigner was growing cannabis without a license.

Em stated that the foreign man not only made a mess of the house but also avoided paying an electricity bill costing over 17,000 baht. Em attempted to contact the Thai woman to ask about the foreign man but received no response.

ThaiRath shared videos of Em and the American man arguing and of the couple checking the house on its Facebook page yesterday, June 5. In the comment section, a foreign man using the Facebook account Daniel A Martin defended the American man.

“Actually, the Thai man started the fight, called him over to fight him, threw stones, shouted insults. This is called defamation. They kicked him out early, kept all the deposits, and harassed him. They demanded money early, threatened him, and threatened a Thai employee. The foreigner had to get a restraining order against him. Get your facts right!”

As of now, there is no update on the conclusion of the story. Police have not yet investigated the matter.