Renting: the 2025 contract-control rules, deposits, and getting them back

Residential renting from a business landlord is now governed by the Contract Committee Notification on residential building rental B.E. 2568 (2025), issued under sections 35 bis and 35 octies of the Consumer Protection Act B.E. 2522 (1979), published in the Government Gazette on 6 June 2025 and in force from 4 September 2025. It repealed the 2019 version and widened the net: anyone renting out three or more residential units (houses, rooms, condos, apartments — hotels and licensed dormitories excluded), including via online platforms, is a controlled business. It now covers both short leases (up to three years) and long registered leases (over three, up to thirty years), with prescribed standard contract forms.

The headline protections: security deposit plus advance rent capped at three months' rent combined (one year of rent for leases priced yearly); electricity and water may not be billed above what the utility charges the landlord, with the calculation method stated in the contract; rent and service rates cannot be raised mid-term; no lock-outs or seizure of a tenant's belongings; the landlord must invoice at least three days before rent is due and must document the property's condition at check-in. At the end, the deposit is returned immediately, or within seven days if the landlord inspects and finds no damage, and any balance within fourteen days after deducting genuine damage — never normal wear and tear, for which the tenant is not liable. A tenant who has stayed at least half the term may terminate early with thirty days' written notice; a landlord terminating for breach must give a thirty-day written warning first. Small landlords under three units fall outside these rules — there the ordinary Civil and Commercial Code lease provisions and your contract govern.