Rental Contract in Phuket: Clauses to Check Before You Sign
Check your landlord's unit count first: one who lets three or more units must use the standard lease. On that short-term lease, deposit plus advance rent may not exceed three months of rent. Under the standard form, an undamaged flat's deposit returns within seven days, and the owner or possessor reports your address to immigration within twenty-four hours.
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Before you sign a lease in Phuket, read five clauses closely: the standard form, the deposit and advance rent, the bills, the deposit return and early exit. Each one comes from the residential lease rules and from Form A, the standard short-term lease. Keep the table below beside your draft and check it line by line.
| Clause | What the standard lease says | Claim |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit and advance rent | Together no more than three months of rent on a short-term lease | |
| Forfeiting the deposit | A term forfeiting it when you are not at fault is prohibited | |
| Electricity and water | No more than the state rate, no service fee or margin | |
| Deposit return | Seven days if no damage; fourteen days after a deduction | |
| Leaving early | Half the term lived, thirty days’ written notice, no arrears | |
| Landlord entry | Not without prior notice, except in an emergency | |
| TM30 address notice | The host files within twenty-four hours |
Does the standard lease cover your landlord?
Start by asking how many units your landlord lets, because the rules cover operators with three or more units in total. Those units may sit in one building or several, and units let through electronic channels count too. A landlord with a single unit falls outside this count.
The word building is broad here: it means a room, house, condominium unit, apartment or other residence let for living in. Dormitories under the dormitory law and hotels under the hotel law sit outside it. On your side of the deal, the tenant is an individual on either a short-term or a long-term lease.
A short-term lease is one with a rental period of no more than three years. The notification appeared in the Royal Gazette of 6 June 2025, and it has been in force since 4 September 2025.
The form and the language
A covered operator’s building and apartment leases must be drawn up on the standard-form contract. Look for Thai-language text that can be seen and read clearly. The lease is made in two matching copies, and one of them stays with you.
Take your time over the condition record that comes with the lease. Form A also asks the operator to attach a record of the building’s condition, fittings and facilities, and to hand you a copy. Before you sign it, walk the flat with the landlord, note every mark and photograph each one.
Deposit and advance rent
Add the deposit and the advance rent together before you pay anything. On a standard short-term lease, a term letting the operator collect more than three months of the monthly rent between them is prohibited. A second prohibited term concerns fault: the operator may not forfeit the deposit or advance rent when you, the tenant, are not at fault.
Bills and visits
Check every electricity and water line on your bill against the state rate. Operators may charge no more than that rate and must not add a service fee or margin. A term letting them set charges above what the utilities charge the operator is prohibited as well. When you are overcharged, call the hotline 1166.
The invoice should reach you ahead of time, too: Form A asks for it at least three days before the rent is due. Visits follow a clear rule, since entering to inspect without prior notice to you is a prohibited term. The one exception is an emergency where failing to act would cause damage or affect other occupants.
Getting the deposit back
When the lease ends, Form A has the operator return your deposit immediately, unless the operator wants to check for damage you are responsible for. With no damage on your side, it comes back within seven days after the lease ends and the operator has retaken possession.
If you damaged the building or its fittings, the operator may deduct the cost of fixing that damage. Nothing comes off for damage or wear from normal use, causes that are not your fault, or force majeure that could not be prevented.
Once a deduction is made, the balance comes back within fourteen days. Name the method you want for that return; the operator bears the cost of sending it that way.
Leaving early
You may end a fixed-term lease early under Form A once you have lived there at least half the term. Give at least thirty days’ written notice and make sure there are no arrears. The operator then returns rent and other costs you paid ahead for future occupancy within seven days of your notice.
When something breaks, put it in writing and keep the message. Form A expects you to tell the operator first, before you claim the right to end the lease over it.
The TM30 address notice
The TM30 duty sits with your host, not with you. The house-master, owner or possessor of the residence, or the hotel manager, must notify immigration within twenty-four hours of the foreigner taking up residence. Section 38 puts that duty on them.
A missed notice costs a house-master, owner or possessor up to THB 2,000, and a hotel manager THB 2,000 to THB 10,000. Filing can happen in person, by registered post, or online after registering for a username and password. Whichever route your host takes, ask for the receipt or the PDF proof.
For an in-person filing, Phuket Immigration Office is at 482 Phuket Rd., Talad Yai, Mueang, Phuket 83000. The full walkthrough is in TM30 in Phuket.
If the deposit or a bill is wrong
Two steps come first when the deposit or a bill looks wrong:
- Put the problem to the landlord in writing and keep the message.
- Call the OCPB hotline 1166. Through OCPB’s Fasttrack complaint system, your complaint goes straight to the business.
For scam signs and who else to call, see Phuket rental deposit scams. Anything beyond these two steps, such as court, is unverified.
Before you pay
Hold your draft up against Rent an apartment in Phuket for dated rents and electricity rates. Alongside it, read Where to live in Phuket to match the area to the lease.
Step by step
- Ask how many units the landlord letsThe standard-lease rules cover operators with three or more units.
- Get the standard Form AThat landlord's building and apartment leases must be drawn up on the standard-form contract, in two matching copies.
- Check deposit, advance rent and billsDeposit plus advance rent together may not exceed three months of rent on a short-term lease. Electricity and water go at no more than the state rate.
- Sign the condition recordThe operator attaches a record of the building's condition and fittings and gives you a copy.
- Make sure the landlord files TM30The owner or possessor notifies immigration within twenty-four hours.
Not confirmed: How many units your landlord lets: ask, because the standard-form rules cover only operators with three or more units. Leases longer than three years: the Civil and Commercial Code rules are not covered here, so ask the Land Office or a Thai lawyer first. Court or small-claims steps after an OCPB complaint: not covered.
Common questions
Which Phuket landlords must use the standard lease?
Landlords who let buildings for residential use with three or more units in total, in one building or several, are covered. Dormitories and hotels sit outside the rule.
How much deposit can a landlord take?
It binds landlords who let three or more units. On their short-term lease, a term letting the operator collect advance rent and deposit that together exceed three months of rent is prohibited.
How long does the landlord have to return my deposit?
If you caused no damage, Form A sets seven days after the lease ends and the landlord has retaken possession. After a deduction for damage, you get the rest within fourteen days.
Can the landlord deduct for normal wear?
Form A allows no deduction for damage from normal use or for wear from normal use.
Can the landlord charge more than the utility rate for electricity and water?
When the landlord lets three or more units, a term setting electricity and water charges above the rates the utilities charge the operator is prohibited. For an overcharge, call the OCPB hotline on 1166.
How do I leave a fixed-term lease early?
Under Form A, you need to have lived there at least half the term, give at least thirty days' written notice and have no arrears. Your prepaid rent then comes back within seven days.
Does the lease have to be in Thai?
Any lease an operator signs with a tenant must carry Thai-language text that can be seen and read clearly.
Who files the TM30 address notice?
Your host files it: the house-master, owner or possessor of the residence, within twenty-four hours.
Read next
General information checked against the sources listed above, not legal advice for your situation. Rules and office practice change; confirm with the immigration office or a licensed adviser before you act. See how guides are checked.
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