Renting Out Property in Thailand: the Hotel Act, the Under-30-Days Rule and What Is Legal
In Thailand, letting a property for less than a month is generally treated as running a hotel, and running a hotel without a licence is a criminal offence. Letting it as a home on a monthly or longer basis is not hotel business, and that is where the market’s “30-day minimum” comes from. On top of the law, a condominium’s own rules can ban short stays outright, and many do. The lawful way to earn from nightly stays is usually to buy in a building or resort that itself holds a hotel licence and is run by a licensed operator.
A draft law to replace the Hotel Act went to the cabinet in September 2026, but as of October 2026 the Hotel Act is still the law. Below we explain what it says, how the 30-day rule really works, the small-accommodation exemption and its limits, the condominium and villa positions, the 2025 rules for long-term leases, and the tax on rent.
What the Hotel Act says
The Hotel Act B.E. 2547 (2004) defines a hotel as any business that provides temporary accommodation to travellers or others for payment. Operating one without a licence from the hotel registrar, contrary to Section 15, is punishable under Section 59 by up to one year’s imprisonment and/or a fine of up to THB 20,000, plus up to THB 10,000 for each day the offence continues.
A replacement is in preparation. On 29 September 2026 a draft Accommodation Establishments Act was put to the cabinet for approval in principle. It would repeal and replace the Hotel Act, cover homestays and sharing-economy rentals, and introduce three size-based tiers. The Hotel Act remains in force until the new law is published in the Government Gazette. Until then, plan on the current rules.
Hotel numbers are no guide to what an owner may do. Phuket’s hotels averaged 81.85% occupancy in the first half of 2026, but that says nothing about how often a private apartment let by its owner is occupied, and it does not change which owners are allowed to take nightly guests.
Where the 30-day rule comes from
The Act excludes accommodation for residential use charged on a monthly-or-longer basis. That exclusion is the origin of the “30-day minimum” you hear about. The statutory test, though, is “monthly or longer”, not a mechanical count of 30 days, and the authorities look at the facts: whether nightly or weekly prices are advertised, and whether shorter stays are accepted.
In practice that means a listing which advertises a nightly rate but adds a “minimum 30 nights” line may still look like hotel business if shorter bookings are taken. A genuine monthly lease, priced and written as a residential lease, is on firmer ground.
The small-accommodation exemption, and its limits
Since 29 October 2023, under Ministerial Regulation No. 2 B.E. 2566, accommodation with no more than 8 rooms and no more than 30 guests in total is not treated as a hotel requiring a licence. The operator must still notify the registrar and receive an acknowledgement, which is valid for five years.
Two cautions apply. First, the limits are 8 rooms and 30 guests; the older figures of 4 rooms and 20 guests are out of date. Second, and more important for foreign owners, a foreign individual should assume they cannot obtain the non-hotel acknowledgement, and so cannot lawfully run nightly or weekly lets on their own without a licensed operator.
Condominiums: the building’s rules come on top
A condominium owner is bound not only by the Hotel Act but also by the Condominium Act and the building’s regulations. The juristic person, the co-owners’ body that runs the building, can prohibit or restrict daily rentals, and neither a hotel licence nor a small-accommodation acknowledgement overrides the building’s rules or the other co-owners’ rights. Many condominium buildings ban stays under 30 days.
The best-known case comes from Hua Hin. In January 2018 a court there fined owners at the Wan Vayla condominium for renting units for less than a month without a hotel licence. Thai courts are not bound by precedent, so the ruling is a warning rather than a rule.
Villas and rental programmes
A villa let by the night or the week is commonly treated as temporary accommodation and needs either a hotel licence or the small-accommodation route, with the limits described above. For most foreign owners, that points to the licensed route used in practice: buying in a building or resort that itself holds a hotel licence and is operated by a licensed operator. That is how rental programmes legally offer nightly stays, and the licence has to be checked project by project.
Rental guarantees
Some projects advertise a fixed rental return for a number of years. No Thai statute guarantees or regulates such returns. They are contractual promises by the developer or operator, and they are only as good as that company’s finances. If the programme runs nightly lets, the building or the operator needs a hotel licence. Treat any rental guarantee as a contract term for your lawyer to review, not as a feature of the property.
The tax side of commercial use
Running a property like a hotel changes its tax treatment. A “business similar to a hotel” must register for 7% VAT once its taxable revenue passes THB 1.8 million a year, while plain leases of immovable property are VAT-exempt. Where a property is used commercially, the Land and Building Tax can move to the commercial scale, which starts at 0.3%.
The deductions change too. Income classified as a lease allows a 30% standard deduction or documented actual expenses. If the arrangement is a service instead, for example with cleaning and laundry provided and possession not handed over to the guest, only actual expenses are deductible.
Long-term letting: the 2025 lease rules
Monthly and longer lets avoid the Hotel Act, but they have their own rules if you let several homes. A Consumer Protection Board notification on residential leasing as a contract-controlled business was published on 6 June 2025 and took effect on 4 September 2025, replacing the 2019 rules. It applies to lessors who let three or more residential units, down from five, and it covers online leases. It sets optional standard forms for short-term leases of up to three years and long-term leases of more than three and up to 30 years, with mandatory content. A foreign owner of three or more units let as homes is within scope.
In Phuket, long-term asking rents in April 2025 were about THB 18,950 a month for a condominium studio, THB 22,541 for a one-bedroom, THB 40,091 for a three-bedroom villa and THB 99,872 for four bedrooms or more.
The letting options compared
| Option | Legal position as of October 2026 | Points to note |
|---|---|---|
| Residential lease, monthly or longer | Outside the Hotel Act | Must genuinely be a residential lease; 2025 lease rules apply to owners letting 3 or more units |
| Nightly or weekly lets of your own condo, no licence | Generally hotel business without a licence; criminal penalties | Building rules may ban it anyway; 2018 Hua Hin court case |
| Small accommodation (up to 8 rooms, 30 guests) | Not a hotel, but needs notification and acknowledgement | Assume a foreign individual cannot use it |
| Licensed hotel or rental programme | Lawful if the building or operator holds the licence | Check the licence for each project; review any guarantee as a contract term |
Whatever the option, rent from Thai property is taxable in Thailand. For income classified as a lease, owners may deduct 30% as a standard deduction or their documented actual expenses; 15% withholding often applies to rent paid to non-resident individuals, and returns are due each year: the annual return (PND 90 or 91) by 31 March, or 8 April if filed electronically, and a mid-year return (PND 94) by 30 September. A Thai tax ID is needed first. The full picture is in our guide to tax for foreign owners.
What to check before you buy
- The building’s regulations on rentals, in writing, before you reserve.
- If a rental programme is offered, the hotel licence of the building or the operator, and who holds it.
- Any rental guarantee clause, reviewed by your own lawyer, with attention to who pays if the operator fails.
- Whether your plan is a monthly residential lease or nightly lets, and whether it would still work under the first option alone.
- For a villa, whether the plan relies on the small-accommodation route, which may not be open to you as a foreigner.
- That you can obtain a Thai tax ID and file the rental returns.
Our Phuket area guide shows where rental demand is strongest, and current projects are on our Thailand properties page.
