Renting out your Pattaya condo: rules, taxes and the daily-rental trap

A condo that pays for itself while you're away is much of the appeal of buying in Pattaya. And yes — as a foreign owner you can absolutely rent out the unit you own. But three sets of rules decide whether your rental income is a quiet monthly deposit or a problem: the Hotel Act, the tax rules, and immigration reporting. Here's each, without the sugar-coating.

Monthly is legal. Daily is usually not.

Renting your condo on leases of 30 days or more is ordinary, lawful renting. Renting it nightly or weekly — the Airbnb model — generally falls under the Hotel Act, which requires a hotel licence that an individual condo unit essentially cannot get; fines apply, and on top of that most condo juristic rules explicitly prohibit daily rentals, with buildings actively reporting violators. Some listings gloss over this. I won't: if your investment case depends on nightly rates, a Pattaya condo is the wrong instrument — model your returns on monthly tenancies.

The taxes, in plain terms

• Rental income is taxable in Thailand regardless of where you live — it's Thai-sourced income. It's declared on a personal income tax return (PND.90, due by 31 March for the previous year), with progressive rates of 5–35% after deductions. For rental of buildings you may deduct a standard 30% expense allowance (or actual documented expenses), plus the personal allowances — which in practice makes modest rental income lightly taxed.
• If you live abroad, a tenant or agent paying you rent may withhold 15% at source. That withholding is not the final word: file the Thai return, and the withheld amount becomes a credit — most small landlords get a refund of part of it.
• Land & Building Tax: a small annual tax on residential property applies (rates are fractions of a percent of appraised value); the local municipality bills it. Budget for it; it's small but real.
• Your home country may tax the income too — most countries with a double-tax agreement with Thailand credit the Thai tax paid. One for your home accountant, not for guesswork.

TM30: the form nobody tells landlords about

Thai immigration law requires the housemaster — in practice, the owner or their agent — to notify immigration when a foreign national stays at the property, using form TM30, within 24 hours of arrival. For a long-term tenancy that's one filing at the start of the lease, and it can be done online. It matters more than it looks: your tenant needs the TM30 receipt for visa extensions, and an unfiled TM30 turns into your tenant's problem at the immigration counter — which quickly becomes your problem as a landlord.

What a well-run rental looks like

• A written lease (Thai + English), 6 or 12 months, deposit capped at what's returnable and documented with a move-in condition report.
• TM30 filed at move-in; copies kept.
• Common fees stay in the owner's name and get paid — unpaid fees block your own future transfer.
• Income declared yearly; withholding credited. Boring and clean.

I manage this properly for owners I work with — honest tenants, real paperwork, no nightly-rental games. If you'd like your unit rented the boring way, get in touch.

Sources

• HLB Thailand — Thai rental income tax for foreign property owners (rates, 30% allowance, 15% WHT credit)
• Revenue Department — personal income tax (PND.90) and withholding
• Immigration Bureau — TM30 notification of residence for foreign nationals
• Thaiger — foreign landlords, the Hotel Act and the 30-day rule