Leasing property in Thailand comes with official laws and regulations and also unofficial (common) laws which people use. If you are not certain about your lease agreement in Thailand, speak to a property lawyer in Phuket before you agree to lease property in Phuket failing which could create legal issues. Speak our lawyers in Phuket today
In Thai law the leasing property in Thailand falls under the Civil and Commercial Code laws of Thailand. This is covered by what it calls the Hire of Property. There are a few basic rules which it does cover for good reason.
1. You may only sublet a property if both parties had agreed to this before the signing of the agreement. If say for example you lease a 12 bedroom villa and decide later that you can sub lease 10 of the rooms, this would not be allowed unless it was greed upon when the contract was signed.
2. All leasehold agreements in Thailand which are for a period of longer than 3 years must by law be registered with the Land Department. This brings us to another issue that being that many people tend to rent a property on a month to month bases with a deposit down. Usually in Thailand this deposit is for 3 months and you are expected to give them 3 months notice before you leave else the deposit falls away. Losing a deposit of a small apartment is nothing compared to an expensive villa in Phuket. Speak to a property lawyer in Phuket about leasehold before you sign or verbally agree on anything. Most short term agreements are done verbally so be careful and always ask about the deposit.
3. The law states that only written agreements are enforceable however having a dispute in a foreign country can turn ugly.
4. Leasehold agreements in Thailand may not exceed 30 years. You might be able to do a roll over contract but this has its own problems with regards to enforcement later when the original owner might have passed on. Always check with a lawyer first as bar stool or forum advice can become costly.
Leasehold on land in Thailand is becoming a hot political issue as well as the use and abuse of. As always before you sign any agreement check with an attorney first. Speak to any of our property lawyers in Phuket if your property is on the island or speak to any of or staff as we have branches in all the main cities in Thailand. Call us on our toll-free US and UK numbers.