Thailand's 2025 OCPB residential-lease rules: deposit caps for landlords renting out 3+ units

Do Thailand's new landlord rules apply to an owner renting out a few long-term units on Koh Phangan? Since 4 September 2025, yes — a notification under the Consumer Protection Act designates residential leasing a "controlled-contract business" for any lessor with at least three residential units, down from the five-unit threshold set by the original 2018 rule. The notification was published in the Royal Gazette on 6 June 2025 and repeals the prior version.

The deposit and advance-rent caps

• Short-term contracts (up to 3 years) and long-term contracts paid monthly — combined security deposit plus advance rent capped at three months' rent.
• Long-term contracts (over 3 years, up to 30) paid annually — capped at one year's rent.
• These caps apply to the combined total of deposit and advance rent, not to each separately — a landlord can't charge three months' deposit plus a further three months' advance rent under the short-term/monthly band.

Refund timelines and prohibited charges

• No damage found — the deposit must be refunded immediately at the end of the lease.
• Deductions apply — refund of the undisputed balance within 7 days; if repair costs are itemized and deducted, the remaining balance is due within 14 days.
• Normal wear and tear cannot be charged against the deposit, nor can damage caused by force majeure or by someone other than the tenant.
• Utility charges are capped at official government tariff rates — a landlord can't mark up electricity or water resale.
• Renewal fees for extending the contract are prohibited, and rent or fees cannot be increased mid-term.

Contract and disclosure requirements

• A written, Thai-language contract stating lessor, lessee, property details, term, rent and the basis for calculating utility charges.
• A move-in condition report, jointly signed by landlord and tenant, establishing the property's state at handover — the reference point for any later damage deduction.
• Invoices for rent and utilities delivered at least 3 days before the payment due date.
• Termination notice of at least 30 days for ordinary termination, or 7 days for termination based on the tenant's misconduct; a tenant who has occupied the unit for at least half the contract term can terminate early with 30 days' notice and without further penalty.

Does this apply to short-term (Airbnb-style) rentals?

No — the controlled-contract categories in this notification start at "short-term" meaning up to three years, not nightly or weekly stays, and hotels and hospitality businesses are explicitly excluded from its scope. An owner renting a villa on a nightly or weekly basis is instead governed by the Hotel Act B.E. 2547, under which any stay of 30 days or more falls outside the legal definition of a "hotel" and shorter stays generally require Hotel Act or Non-Hotel registration — see Managing a rental villa remotely: how to vet a property-management company for how that licensing question plays out in practice. This OCPB notification instead targets landlords doing month-to-month or annual residential leasing of three or more units — most relevant to an owner who has built or bought multiple long-term rental units rather than one who runs short-let holiday rentals.

Penalties

Breaching the controlled-contract requirements is a criminal offence under the Consumer Protection Act, carrying imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to THB 200,000, or both — enforced by the Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB/สคบ.). Separately, any contract clause that conflicts with the mandatory terms is void and unenforceable against the tenant, regardless of what the lease document says.

The takeaway: if you're leasing three or more residential units on a monthly or annual basis, your standard lease template needs checking against these caps and disclosure rules now, not after a tenant disputes a deposit deduction. If you're only doing short-term holiday rentals, this notification isn't the compliance question that matters to you — your Hotel Act/Non-Hotel registration status is.