slice-of-thai.com → Rental Contract
On this page, you can download a free, bilingual English-Thai housing/shop rental contract that you can use to rent from a Thai landlord.
This contract is designed to help bridge the language and cultural barrier to assure a smooth, problem-free rental for both tenant and landlord. Every word is in both English and Thai, side-by-side like this:
Why This Contract?
Nearly every foreigner who rents a house or shop in Thailand, especially outside Bangkok, is likely to get one of the "standard" two-page rental contracts, which the landlords purchase from the local stationary store.The "standard" contract is problematic for both tenant and landlord, for several reasons:
- It fails to cover even the basics of rental, such as who pays for electricity and water, what the security deposit covers, who owns tenant improvements, etc.
- It is only in Thai, so most farangs have no idea what they are signing!
- It is written in an arcane Thai legalese that many Thai landlords do not even understand!
- It is obscenely biased in favor of the landlord, so much so that one Thai lawyer told me that several of the clauses in it are actually illegal and unenforceable, or at least laughable enough that it makes the whole contract into a sort of joke.
If you are from a Western country, you probably think of the contract more as a legal document that will help you in court if problems arise. Forget about that—this is Thailand! If some serious disagreement arises, you will lose no matter what. You can hire a lawyer if you like, but the legal system is hopelessly backlogged, and nearly every village headman and judge will be happy to take a bribe from his/her fellow countryman, or simply favor the landlord on nationalistic grounds, rather than kow-tow to the hot-headed farang. Your goal is to avoid problems by being calm and clear from the beginning.
If you are cynical as me, you probably read item 2-4 above and said to yourself "hmm, those are problems for the tenant, but they are features for the landlord, no?" Well, it's true that the biased, obscure, Thai-only contract gives a dishonest landlord much more room to wiggle and squirm out of his/her obligations. But here's the thing: if your landlord is that kind of person, you will get screwed no matter what contract you use.
A good landlord will share your interest in being clear and cool-headed from the beginning. Many Thai landlords are nervous when dealing with foreigners. A contract like this helps reassure them that their concerns are covered, and gives them more confidence that they can avoid unpleasant conflict and confrontation in the future.
If your landlord reads through this contract and refuses to use it, please consider his or her motives.
Some landlords will prefer the "standard" contract simply because it is shorter, and they can't be bothered to read a bunch of text or think about the details ("buat hua" they will say—headache). Consider whether you want to rent from such a landlord. If they are really trustworthy, patient, and generous, it might work out, but more often than not, I have observed that renting "no problem Thai style" from a Thai landlord leads to serious problems.
This is even true when the landlord has good intentions: simple language and culture misunderstandings can send two well-intentioned people into a completely avoidable fighting match. Avoid it yourself by using this contract!
Download the Contract
Important:- The authors are not lawyers. No lawyer has checked this contract.
- This contract is designed to prevent problems, not protect you in court (see above).
- We offer no guarantees whatsoever about this contract. Use at your own risk.
- As with any sample contract, read through the contract and see if it's right for you.
- I understand and I want to download the contract (760k PDF).
