How Protected Is Your Thailand Rental Deposit? Take the Free 2-Minute Risk Check

Most tenants in Thailand find out their deposit was unprotected on the day they move out. The landlord produces a list of deductions. The tenant has no photos, no receipts, no written repair requests, no signed inventory. There is nothing to dispute the claims with. The deposit does not come back. The Lease Shield deposit risk calculator takes two minutes, costs nothing, and tells you exactly how protected your deposit is right now, while there is still time to do something about it.

Why Deposit Disputes in Thailand Come Down to Documentation, Not Who Is Right

Thailand's deposit dispute problem is not primarily one of dishonest landlords. It is one of missing paperwork. A landlord claiming aircon servicing costs, professional cleaning fees, or damage repairs does not need to prove you caused the problem. They need you to have no evidence proving you did not.

When a tenant has timestamped move-in photos, a signed condition report, servicing receipts, and a written record of every maintenance request, they have a documented case. When they have none of those things, the landlord's account of events stands unchallenged.

The deposit risk calculator identifies the specific documentation gaps that create the most financial exposure. It covers the exact categories of evidence that landlords rely on when justifying deductions and that tenants rely on when contesting them.

why tenants lose deposit deductions in Thailand and how to stop it.

What the Deposit Risk Calculator Checks

The calculator works through five categories of tenancy documentation. Each one corresponds to a type of deduction claim that regularly appears in Thai deposit disputes.

Move-In Photos and Video of the Property Condition

Whether you have dated photographic and video evidence of every room, wall, fixture, and appliance at move-in is the most significant single factor in any deposit dispute. A landlord claiming damage that predates your tenancy has no viable claim against a tenant with timestamped move-in evidence. Without it, the claim is very difficult to contest.

Signed Move-In Condition Report and Inventory

A condition report signed by the landlord or agent at move-in confirms the property's state at the start of the tenancy. A signed inventory confirms which items were present and in what condition. Under the 2025 Consumer Protection Board Notification, landlords operating three or more units are legally required to provide this. For all other tenancies it remains the most useful single document a tenant can have.

Lease Shield provides document templates for both condition reports and move-in inventories, so you are not starting from scratch.

download a move-in condition report and inventory template.

Air Conditioning Servicing Receipts

Aircon deductions are the most common deposit claim in Thailand. Most landlords charge servicing costs at move-out when no maintenance record exists for the tenancy. A dated receipt for each service, ideally twice per year, makes this claim very difficult to sustain. Without any servicing record, the claim is almost impossible to dispute.

Written Maintenance and Repair Request Records

Every repair or maintenance issue raised verbally during a tenancy disappears when the tenancy ends. The same issue raised in writing via LINE or email creates a dated record that establishes the landlord knew about the problem and either addressed it or did not. If the landlord failed to act and later claims damage from the same issue, that written request record shifts responsibility clearly.

Move-Out Condition Evidence

Whether you have photos and video taken before removing your belongings on move-out day, and written confirmation of key return, determines whether the property's handover condition is documented or open to dispute. This is the final piece of the documentation chain and the one most often skipped in the rush of moving.

When to Use the Deposit Risk Calculator

The calculator is useful at every stage of a tenancy, not just when you are about to move out.

Before You Move In, Know Exactly What to Collect on Day One

Running the calculator before your tenancy starts gives you a precise checklist of what to document in the first 24 hours. The photos you take on move-in day cannot be recreated later. The signed condition report needs to happen before you unpack. Knowing this in advance means arriving prepared rather than realising what was missed three months into the tenancy.

Mid Tenancy, Close Gaps Before They Cost You

If you are already living in a property and your documentation is incomplete, the calculator identifies what can still be done now. Servicing receipts can be generated this week. Repair requests can start being sent in writing from today. A partial tenancy file built from this point forward is significantly better than none at all.

Approaching Move-Out, Understand Your Position Before Handing Back the Keys

If your lease ends in the next one to three months, the calculator tells you exactly how strong your current position is and what gaps remain. There is still time to service the aircon, photograph the property's current condition, reconcile the inventory, and organise payment records before move-out day.

read the December move-out checklist for Thailand tenants.

how to end a lease early in Thailand without losing your deposit.

A real Lease Shield deposit risk result showing ฿90,000 at risk with a High Risk score of 65/100. Vulnerabilities identified include no deposit receipt, no move-in photos, and verbal agreements with no written proof.

What to Do With Your Risk Score

The calculator gives you a clear result. What happens next depends on where you land.

Low Risk Score, Your Documentation Is in Good Shape

Your tenancy file covers the key categories. The main priority is maintaining it through to move-out, ensuring your move-out photos are as thorough as your move-in records, and keeping your repair and payment records complete to the final day.

Medium Risk Score, Specific Gaps to Close Now

There are identifiable weaknesses in your documentation. The most common at this stage are missing aircon servicing records, verbal rather than written repair requests, and utility payment records that were not kept systematically. Most of these gaps can be addressed within a week and uploading everything to a single organised location makes the whole file usable when it matters.

High Risk Score, Act Before Your Tenancy Ends

Significant documentation gaps exist. Move-in photos cannot be recreated if they were never taken, but every other record can still be built from this point. Arrange aircon servicing now and keep the receipt. Start sending all repair communications in writing. Photograph the current condition of the property. Check the inventory against what was present at move-in. Every record added from today strengthens your position at move-out.

For tenants already in a live deposit dispute, Lease Shield Resolve provides professional support including demand letters in Thai and English.

open a Lease Shield Resolve case for deposit dispute support.

Keep Your Tenancy File in One Place With the Evidence Vault

A risk score is only useful if you act on it. The most common follow-up problem is tenants who collect the right documentation but store it in fragments: photos on a phone, receipts in an email thread, LINE messages on a device from two years ago.

Lease Shield Evidence Vault gives you a single secure location for every document that protects your deposit. Photos, videos, servicing receipts, repair requests, condition reports, signed inventories, and payment records are all stored together, linked to your property, and accessible from any device.

Run the calculator to understand your risk. Use the Evidence Vault to close the gaps. Arrive at move-out with a complete, organised, timestamped tenancy file rather than a scattered collection of files you hope you can find when you need them.

start your tenancy file in the Evidence Vault.

Frequently Asked Questions