Pattaya rental agreement: clauses to check before signing

Pattaya rental agreement: what 1,152 listings say about the lease

On 29 October 2026 at 10:33 am (Thailand time), RENT KHA counts 1,152 rental listings online in and around Pattaya, posted between 16 and 29 October 2026 by 545 different posters. 1,102 of them give a rent, with a median of ฿24,000 a month. We read the full text of each one, in English and in Thai, to count what it says about the terms of the lease: the deposit, rent paid in advance, the length, the bills, pets and moving out.

The deposit is the most cited clause: 804 listings mention it, or 70%. 826 (72%) give a minimum lease and 478 (41%) ask for one month of rent in advance. After that the numbers drop fast: 134 listings (12%) mention internet, 69 (6%) say how electricity is billed, 52 (5%) how water is billed, and 24 mention the building’s common fees. None says what happens if the tenant leaves before the end of the lease, and only one mentions a notice period for moving out.

The listing gives the price of getting in; the lease sets everything else. What the listing leaves out is a question to ask before the viewing, and a line to get written into the lease before you pay. The sections below take each clause in turn, with what the listings say and what to check.

Method: the words are searched in English and in Thai (deposit, มัดจำ and ประกัน for the deposit; ไฟหลวง for electricity at the public rate), then checked against extracts. A listing leaves RENT KHA 30 days after its last repost, or as soon as its poster marks it rented, and only listings with a photo are counted, as on the Listings page.

• Condos for rent
• Rents by area

Deposit and advance rent: how much you pay when you sign in Pattaya

Of the 804 listings that mention a deposit, 694 ask for two months of rent (86%). 36 mention a month and a half and 32 a single month; 20 of those 32 give both amounts, often one month for a short lease and two for a year, and only 12 stick to one month. 478 listings also ask for the first month’s rent in advance, 448 of them together with a two-month deposit.

The total shows when the listing gives it: 82 listings write down what you pay to move in. In 61 of them it is exactly three months of the advertised rent; in 11, two and a half months; in 3, two months; the other 7 do not land on a round number of months. At the median rent of ฿24,000, three months come to ฿72,000 on signing day. For a one-year lease, the most common practice is a deposit of two months’ rent plus the first month paid in advance; for a short lease, often one month.

The length of the lease changes the stated deposit less than you might expect. Of the 85 listings with a minimum lease of 3 months or less, 57 mention a deposit: 28 say two months, 16 one month. Of the 694 listings with a minimum lease of 7 months or more, 556 mention one, 499 of them two months and 9 one month.

What the lease should say about the deposit: the amount in baht, not just “two months”; who holds it, the owner or the agent; what can be deducted when you leave, and how long it takes to come back. Only 5 listings call it “refundable”. Ask for a receipt for every payment, in the name of the person who signs the lease, and pay nothing before you have seen the place.

• Condos at ฿24,000 or less
• Spot a scam before you pay

Electricity, water, internet: the bills clause

This is the clause the listings leave out most. 69 listings out of 1,152 say how electricity is billed, or 6%; the other 1,083, 94%, say nothing. 60 mention the public rate (“government rate”, ไฟหลวง in Thai) or the electricity company’s bill. 5 give a fixed price per unit, ฿6 or ฿7; 3 just say “by the meter”; 1 bills it through the building’s juristic office, which manages the condominium.

Water follows: 52 listings say how it is billed. 21 have it paid to the juristic office, 17 at the public rate, and 14 give only a price per unit. In all, 16 listings give a price per unit for water, from ฿25 to ฿40, ฿40 in 8 of them. Internet is mentioned by 134 listings: 80 say it is included or free, 7 charge for it separately. The building’s common fees appear in only 24 listings: 11 say they are included in the rent, 6 say there are none, 5 add them to the rent.

The lease should state, for each meter, who pays and at what rate: the public rate on the bill, or a fixed price per unit. The difference shows on every bill. Have the electricity and water meter readings written down on the day you move in, and settle who pays for internet, cable TV and the common fees.

• One-bedroom condos
• Furnished condo: what’s included

Lease length, notice and early termination: what the lease must cover

826 listings give a minimum lease. 693 ask for 12 months, or 84%; 85 accept 3 months or less, 62 of them a single month; 47 range from 4 to 6 months, almost all at 6 (46). The other 326 (28%) say nothing about length: ask before the viewing.

On leaving, the listings are silent. None of the 1,152 says what happens if the tenant leaves before the end of the lease. Only 1 listing mentions notice: tell the owner one month before moving out, or the deposit is kept. Without a written clause, nothing says what becomes of your deposit if you leave early: the notice period and what is withheld on early departure go into the lease at signing, not on the way out.

The lease should also give the start and end dates, the rent and the day it is due, what happens on renewal (same rent or a new one), and who repairs what: appliances, air conditioning, plumbing. 4 listings forbid subletting and 10 ask for a non-smoker; if a rule matters to you, get it in writing.

Under 30 days, a rental falls in principle under the hotel law, and many buildings ban nightly rentals in their rules: a short lease is signed by the month, not by the night.

• Lease of 3 months max
• Monthly or yearly lease

Pets, furniture, building rules: put them in the lease

Pets: 88 listings accept them, 130 refuse them, 934 say nothing. 2 listings ask for an extra deposit for a pet, one ฿30,000, the other one month of rent. A yes in a chat is not enough: the lease should name the pet that is accepted, and you should ask whether the building’s rules allow it too.

Furniture: 806 listings say the place is furnished, 12 unfurnished, 334 do not say. “Furnished” does not say which furniture or which appliances: the list of what is supplied, with the condition of each item, is attached to the lease and signed by both sides. 3 listings mention a paid cleaning when you move out; if so, get the amount in writing.

House rules rarely show in the listing: 10 ask for a non-smoker, 4 forbid subletting. Ask for the building’s rules (pool, parking, visitors, works) and keep a copy with the lease.

• Pets allowed
• Pet friendly rentals in Pattaya

Attached documents, TM30 and the move-in check

It is customary to attach to the lease a copy of the owner’s ID and of the title deed for the property. Compare the name on the deed with the person who signs; if it is an agent or a relative, ask for the document that authorises them. The agent’s commission is generally paid by the owner: if you are asked for one, get it in writing before the viewing.

The owner must report a foreign tenant to immigration (TM30). 2 listings out of 1,152 mention it; for the others, ask who does it and when.

On move-in day, photograph every room, every appliance and every defect, note the meters, and have the owner or agent sign the list. That document is what counts when you leave and the deposit comes back.

On RENT KHA, each listing page shows the minimum lease, pets and furniture when the listing gives them, and the filters on the Listings page (minimum lease, pets allowed, owners only) save as alerts. Access, at ฿75 a month instead of ฿100, lets you message the poster directly to ask these questions and shows the contacts they published, with e-mail alerts; at ฿150 instead of ฿200, the Professional plan also sends every new matching listing on Telegram or WhatsApp, and promotes one property a month for those renting out their own.

• Owners only
• Owner or agent: who posts
• Rents by area