Civil and Commercial Code You Should Know When Renting in Thailand

Renting long-term in Thailand? A handful of Civil and Commercial Code sections decide how long your lease can run, when it has to be registered, whether you can sublet, and what happens when it ends.

Thailand treats renting out homes as a contract-controlled business, so tenants get set protections when the landlord rents out three or more units. These rules have applied since 4 September 2025.

For those landlords, the deposit plus any rent paid in advance is capped at three months’ rent. The one exception is a long lease of more than three years with the rent paid once a year. On that kind of lease, the cap is one year’s rent. (Verified October 2026.)

The deposit must also come back within 7 days of the lease ending, or within 14 days if the landlord deducts repair costs. Most individual condo owners with one or two units fall outside these rules, so with them the Civil and Commercial Code is what protects you.

If you’re thinking about renting long-term then you should make yourself familiar with the following sections of the Civil and Commercial Code.