You found a great condo near BTS Phrom Phong, signed the lease, paid two months deposit plus one month advance, and moved your stuff in on a Saturday afternoon. Six months later you move out, and the landlord deducts 8,000 THB from your deposit for a scratch on the kitchen counter that was already there when you arrived. Sound familiar? This exact situation plays out hundreds of times a month across Bangkok. The fix is simple, free, and takes about 20 minutes: a proper photo inventory before you unpack a single box.

What a Photo Inventory Actually Is

A photo inventory is a time stamped set of photos and videos that document the exact condition of your condo unit on the day you take possession. We are talking about walls, floors, ceilings, countertops, appliances, bathroom fixtures, furniture, curtains, air conditioning units, and every scratch, stain, or crack that already exists. The goal is proof. If it was damaged before you moved in, your photos say so.

Think of it like the walk around inspection you do when you pick up a rental car at Suvarnabhumi. You note every dent and ding so you do not get charged later. Same concept, bigger stakes. A two bedroom condo near MRT Phra Ram 9 renting for 25,000 to 35,000 THB per month typically requires a deposit of 50,000 to 70,000 THB. That is real money worth protecting.

Most landlords in Bangkok use a simple condition checklist during handover, but those paper forms rarely capture enough detail. A checkbox that says "living room walls: good condition" does not help you when the landlord later claims you caused a hairline crack near the window frame. Photos do.

How to Take a Proper Photo Inventory in a Bangkok Condo

Start at the front door and work clockwise through every room. Use your phone camera with the date and time stamp enabled. If your phone does not have a built in timestamp feature, download a free app like Timestamp Camera. Natural daylight works best, so try to do this during daytime hours.

Take wide shots of each room first, then close ups of any existing damage. Open every cabinet, every drawer. Turn on every burner on the stove. Run each air conditioning unit for a few minutes. Flush toilets. Check that the water heater works. Test the washing machine if one is included. A friend of mine moved into a studio on Soi Sukhumvit 39 near BTS Phrom Phong and discovered three weeks later that the built in microwave had a broken door latch. By then the landlord insisted it was working at handover. No photos, no proof, no luck.

Shoot a slow video walkthrough as well. Start at the entrance, narrate the date and unit number out loud, and pan across every surface. Video catches things that individual photos sometimes miss, like a wobbly ceiling fan or a window that does not close properly.

Pay extra attention to these common problem spots in Bangkok condos: water stains on ceilings from upstairs units, mold in bathroom corners, chipped tiles near entryways, scratches on laminate flooring, and marks on painted walls. These are the exact items landlords tend to deduct from deposits.

What to Do With Your Photos After You Take Them

Taking the photos is only half the job. You need to store them somewhere with a verifiable timestamp and share them with your landlord. Email yourself the entire set on the same day so you have a dated record in your inbox. Better yet, email the photos directly to your landlord or property manager with a short message like "attached are photos documenting unit condition at move in, taken today." If they reply or even just acknowledge receipt, you have a paper trail.

Back up everything to Google Drive or iCloud. Create a folder named with the building, unit number, and move in date. For example, "Life Asoke, Unit 1205, 15 Jan 2025." This sounds obsessive until the day you need it. A couple I know rented a one bedroom at Ideo Mobi Sukhumvit for 22,000 THB per month. At checkout the management company tried to charge them 12,000 THB for a stained sofa cushion. They pulled up their move in photos showing the same stain already there. Full deposit returned within two weeks.

When the Landlord Pushes Back

Some landlords in Bangkok, especially individual owners who manage their own units, may seem annoyed or suspicious when you want to document everything. Do not let that deter you. A good landlord will appreciate that you are careful and responsible. A bad landlord will be put on notice that you are not an easy target for unfair deductions.

If your landlord insists the unit is in perfect condition and does not want photos taken, that is actually a red flag. Reputable property management companies at buildings like Ashton Asoke or The Lumpini 24 typically conduct formal inspections with their own photo records. If your landlord is not doing this, you definitely should be.

Keep your tone friendly during the process. You are not accusing anyone of anything. You are simply creating a shared record that protects both parties. Frame it that way and most landlords will cooperate without any issues.

Do Not Skip This Step for Furnished Units

Bangkok's rental market is heavily weighted toward furnished condos, which makes photo inventories even more critical. Every piece of furniture is one more thing that can supposedly get "damaged" during your stay. Document the condition of sofa fabric, mattress surfaces, dining table tops, desk edges, and TV screens. Open the fridge and photograph the interior. Check chair legs for existing wobble.

A fully furnished two bedroom near BTS Thong Lo in the 40,000 to 55,000 THB range often comes with 100,000 THB or more in deposit money on the line. Spending 20 minutes on photos to protect six figures of baht is one of the best investments of time you will ever make as a renter in this city.

Whether you are renting your first studio near BTS On Nut or upgrading to a family unit in the Ari neighborhood, take the photos. Every single time. Make it a non negotiable part of your move in routine, just like setting up your Wi Fi or finding the nearest 7 Eleven. If you are starting your condo search and want help finding units with transparent landlords and clear lease terms, check out superagent.co to browse listings matched to what you actually need.