Thirty-Year Registered Lease Agreement and Instructions (Thailand, Bilingual EN-TH)

Thirty-Year Registered Lease Agreement and Instructions (Thailand, Bilingual EN-TH)

Thirty years is the longest lease of a home Thai law allows (section 540 of the Civil and Commercial Code), and it binds a later owner of the property for the whole term only when it is registered at the Land Office: unregistered, it can be enforced for three years only (sections 538 and 569). A tenant who pays 30 years of rent in advance needs more than the short official form: the right to improve the house, a rule for repairs and for a fire, the right to resell the remaining years, protection if the owner sells or if the tenant dies, and a renewal clause that says honestly what it can and cannot do after Supreme Court decision 4655/2566. This pack gives you two documents: the agreement itself, and plain instructions to complete it, sign it and register it.

1. The Thirty-Year Registered Lease Agreement

Word file to fill in on your computer and PDF to fill in by hand, 19 pages, English and Thai clause by clause, with initials boxes on every page, a signature page for the parties, the owner’s spouse and two witnesses, an inventory, a handover record and a receipt for the rent.

• Land with a house, or a condominium unit, as a tick box
• Term of up to 30 years from registration, with a co-lessee option
• Rent as one lump sum with a receipt, or yearly rent with a review formula, with no cap on prepaid rent
• Registration at the Land Office, who pays the fees, and a full refund if the lease is not registered
• Handover, condition of the property and hidden defects
• Maintenance and repairs by the tenant, common fees of a condominium unit
• Improvements and alterations with a simple consent rule, and who keeps or pays for them at the end
• Insurance, and what happens if the house is damaged or destroyed: the lease continues and the tenant may rebuild
• Assignment and sublease, so that the remaining term can be resold
• Death of the tenant: succession clause and fallback
• New lease after the term: special consideration recorded, the owner’s promise at the market rent fixed at that time, nothing prepaid, compensation if refused, and a clear statement that it is not a guarantee
• Termination by the owner only for a serious breach after 90 days’ notice, and pro rata refund of unearned rent
• Sale or mortgage by the owner, expropriation, right of first refusal, notices, Thai law

2. The Instructions

PDF, 16 pages, complete English text then complete Thai text, so that both parties read the same thing.

• What the Agreement does, and when not to use it
• Lease, usufruct, superficies and Sap Ing Sith compared in one table
• Thai law in plain words: sections 538, 540, 544, 567 and 569 of the Civil and Commercial Code
• The house during 30 years: condition, repairs, improvements, insurance, condominium units
• Renewal after 30 years: decision 4655/2566, the reciprocal contract doctrine and its limits
• What happens if the tenant dies, and the co-lessee method
• The choices to make, clause by clause, and how to fill in and sign
• The Land Office step by step, what to bring, and the official power of attorney forms
• Fees and taxes: 1 percent registration fee, 0.1 percent stamp duty, income tax on the rent
• Risks stated honestly, including a mortgage registered before the lease
• A checklist

Who it is for

An owner and a tenant, often a foreigner, who have agreed a long lease of a house, a villa or a condominium unit that already exists. For bare land on which the tenant will build, use the Land Lease Agreement with Right to Build. For a rental of up to 3 years, use the House and Apartment Lease Agreement.

A template, not legal advice

We are a Thai law firm and we do not advise on foreign law. This pack is a template with general instructions, and downloading it does not guarantee that a Land Office will register the lease. If you need advice or a personalised lease, our lawyers can prepare it and attend the registration: ask us for a quote at info@thailawonline.com. A consultation is 2,000 THB per hour.

Related guides: Lease agreements in Thailand, The 90 year lease, myth and reality, Automatic renewal of a lease, Usufruct, lease and superficies compared.