The short answer
Eviction in Thailand has two separate steps. First the lease has to end: because the term ran out, or because the landlord terminated it on a ground the law or the contract gives, after the notice the law requires. Second, if the tenant does not move out, the landlord has to sue and have the judgment enforced by a government execution officer. There is no lawful shortcut between the two. A landlord who changes the locks or carries your things out is acting outside that process.
| Situation | Where you stand | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Rent paid monthly, one payment missed | The landlord must first demand payment in writing and allow not less than 15 days. Only then may the lease be terminated | Civil and Commercial Code, section 560 |
| Same, but the landlord is a business with three or more units | Termination needs a written notice giving you at least 30 days from receipt to put things right | Clause 14 of the standard contract under the 2025 Contract Committee notification |
| You broke another term of the lease | The landlord may notify you to comply and may terminate if you do not | Section 554 |
| The fixed term has ended | The lease ends without notice. If you stay and the landlord does not object, it continues with no fixed period | Sections 564 and 570 |
| No fixed period, paying month to month | Either side may end it with notice of at least one rent period. No more than two months is needed | Section 566 |
| The home has been sold | A sale does not end the lease | Section 569 |
| You have not left after the lease ended | The landlord has to file a court case. Self-help is not allowed | Supreme Court decision 4207/2551, as cited by a provincial justice office |
Section numbers refer to the Civil and Commercial Code as translated on Thailand Law Online, read on 14 November 2026.
The rest of this guide takes each row in turn. For the wider picture of what a tenant can expect, start with our guide to tenant rights in Thailand.
Grounds a landlord can use to end a lease
The Code's chapter on hire of property gives a landlord a short list of ways a residential lease can come to an end against the tenant's wishes. A lease can add its own grounds, within the limits described in section 05 below.
- Unpaid rent. Section 560 says that in case of non-payment of rent the landlord may terminate the contract, subject to the demand described in the next section.
- Misuse, neglect or breach of the lease. Section 552 limits the tenant to ordinary and usual use or the use set out in the contract. Section 553 requires the care a person of ordinary prudence would take of their own property. Under section 554, if the tenant acts contrary to those sections or to the terms of the contract, the landlord may notify the tenant to comply, and may terminate if the tenant fails to.
- Subletting or handing the home over without consent. Section 544 bars it unless the lease allows it. Our guide to subletting a rental covers what follows.
- The end of the fixed term. Section 564: a lease is extinguished at the end of the agreed period without notice. A landlord does not need a reason to decline a renewal.
- Notice on a lease with no fixed period. Section 566 lets either party terminate at the end of a rent period, on notice of at least one rent period, with no more than two months needed. A tenant who stays on after a fixed term with the landlord's knowledge and without objection is in this position under section 570.
Two things are not grounds. A sale of the property does not end the lease (section 569), which our guide to a landlord selling a rented home explains. And a landlord who simply wants the unit back during a fixed term has no section to point to: the term binds both sides.
One limit works the other way. Under section 538 a lease of more than three years is enforceable for only three years unless it is in writing and registered, so a tenant on an unregistered long lease loses the protection of the fixed term after year three.
Unpaid rent and the 15-day demand
Section 560 reads, in the translation used for this guide: “In case of non-payment of rent, the letter may terminate the contract. But, if the rent is payable at monthly or longer intervals, the letter must first notify the tenant that payment is required within a period not less than fifteen days.” (“Letter” is the translator's word for the landlord.)
- Monthly rent means a demand comes first. Almost every condo and house lease in Thailand charges rent by the month, so the landlord cannot terminate on the day a payment is missed. The demand has to give at least fifteen days.
- The demand is a last chance. The section lets the landlord terminate only after the period has run without payment.
- Rent charged by the day or week is different. The fifteen-day rule is written for rent payable at monthly or longer intervals. The section sets no demand period for shorter intervals.
- The due date comes from the lease. If the lease and custom are silent, section 559 says monthly rent is payable at the end of each month.
Leases with a business landlord give more time. Where the landlord rents out three or more units to individuals, the lease must follow the standard contract attached to the Contract Committee notification of B.E. 2568 (2025). Clause 14 of that contract says a termination by the business operator must be made by a written notice telling the tenant to comply with the contract within at least thirty days from the day the tenant receives it, and that the operator may terminate if the tenant neglects to comply. The clause is not limited to rent, so it covers a missed payment too.
The deposit and unpaid rent. The same notification defines the security deposit as money held against damage to the landlord's property and unpaid expenses other than rent, and defines advance rent as rent held as security for the rent, to be returned when the lease ends or applied to the last month. For leases under the notification, advance rent is the money earmarked for rent. See security deposits in Thailand for the caps and return deadlines.
Section 193/33 of the Code, as printed in a Thai reprint read for this guide, gives a five-year prescription period for rent in arrears. Section 563 says no action by the landlord against the tenant in connection with the lease can be entered later than six months after the return of the property. How the two fit together for a given claim is a question for a lawyer.
Lockouts and seized belongings: why self-help is not allowed
The most common fear is coming home to a padlock on the door. The sources read for this guide point one way on the civil side and are less settled on the criminal side.
The civil position. Supreme Court decision 4207/2551, as printed on the ThaiDeka case database, states that a landlord's right to evict a tenant must be exercised through the court, with the court enforcing it, and that the landlord has no right to go in and padlock the door to keep the tenant out. The court treated the lockout as a wrongful act under section 420 of the Code, which means the tenant could claim damages. That case involved a factory building, not a home. The Nakhon Sawan Provincial Justice Office, writing on the provincial government site on 12 October 2023, applies the same reasoning to rented rooms: even where the tenant is in breach and the lease says the landlord may enter and remove belongings, that clause cannot be enforced, and the landlord must sue.
The criminal position. A Ministry of Justice explainer republished by the Government Contact Center on 13 May 2026 sets out the trespass offenses in the Penal Code:
| Section | Conduct | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| 362 | Entering another person's immovable property to take possession, or to disturb their peaceful possession | Up to 1 year in prison, a fine of up to 20,000 baht, or both |
| 364 | Entering or hiding in a dwelling in another person's possession without reasonable cause, or refusing to leave when told to | Up to 1 year in prison, a fine of up to 20,000 baht, or both |
| 365 | Either offense with violence or threats, with a weapon, by two or more people, or at night | Up to 5 years in prison, a fine of up to 100,000 baht, or both |
Ministry of Justice post as republished at gcc.go.th, read on 14 November 2026. The post notes that these offenses can be settled between the parties, except section 365.
A rented home is in the tenant's possession, so a tenant who is locked out can report it to the police under these sections. Whether a court convicts is another matter. In decision 5396/2549, a landlord had a restaurant padlocked after the tenant stopped paying, relying on a lease clause that allowed immediate re-entry on default. The Supreme Court found no intent to trespass and acquitted. The justice office article comments that this was decided before decision 4207/2551 and before residential leases became a contract-controlled business, and that such a clause would now be contrary to law. That is the office's reading, not a court ruling, and no source opened for this guide shows a landlord convicted of trespass for locking out a residential tenant.
Business landlords. Clause 6.1 (7) of the 2568 notification prohibits any lease term that gives a business operator the right to block the tenant from using the building, or to enter it to seize or move the tenant's belongings, where the operator has not yet lawfully exercised the right to terminate.
If it happens to you: photograph the lock and anything moved, write to the landlord the same day asking for access and keep the message, and make a police report so there is a record. Do not force the door. Then speak to a lawyer about a damages claim. Our guide to hiring a lawyer in Thailand explains how to find one.
Extra protection when the landlord has three or more units
The Contract Committee notification on residential leasing, signed on 30 May 2025 and published in the Royal Gazette on 6 June 2025, makes renting out homes a contract-controlled business. It took effect ninety days after publication. It applies where a business operator lets a room, house, condo unit or apartment to an individual to live in and has three or more units for rent, in one building or several, including lettings arranged online. Dormitories under the dormitory law and hotels are outside it.
For eviction, three parts of it matter:
- No termination without a material breach. Clause 6.1 (9) prohibits a term that lets the operator terminate where the tenant has not breached a material term of the contract.
- No lockout or seizure clause. Clause 6.1 (7), described above.
- Set notice periods. Clause 14 of the standard contract, summarized in the table below.
| Reason for ending the lease | Notice the business landlord must give |
|---|---|
| Any breach of the contract, including unpaid rent | Written notice to comply within at least 30 days of receipt. Termination only if the tenant does not comply |
| Conduct that directly affects other tenants living peacefully in the building | Written notice to stop within at least 7 days of receipt. Termination only if the tenant does not stop |
| Failing to comply with a law on public order or good morals | The operator may terminate without advance notice |
Clause 14 of the standard short-term residential lease (Form A) attached to the notification, Office of the Consumer Protection Board file read on 14 November 2026. The long-term form carries the same wording.
Leases signed under the earlier 2019 notification before the new one took effect stay in force until they end (clause 10). The notification also gives the tenant a way out: after living there for at least half the term, a tenant who is not behind on rent may terminate on thirty days' written notice. Our guide to breaking a lease early covers that side.
If your landlord owns one or two units, none of this applies. Your position rests on the Code and on the lease you signed, so read the termination clause with our guide to understanding a Thai lease agreement.
The court route, step by step
When a lease has ended and the tenant has not left, the landlord's remedy is a civil case asking the court to order the tenant out and to pay what is owed.
- Demand and termination. The written demand under section 560 or clause 14, then a written termination once the period has passed. A case filed without that step is exposed to the defense that the lease never ended.
- Filing. Under section 189 of the Civil Procedure Code and the Royal Decree on Amounts in Petty Cases B.E. 2546, a suit to evict a person from immovable property is a petty case where the rent, or the rent the property could fetch, is not more than 30,000 baht a month at the time of filing. A claim for money is a petty case up to 300,000 baht.
- First hearing. A Thai reprint of the Code read for this guide shows that in a petty case the court sets an early date on which the parties are called to mediate, answer and give evidence. A settlement signed at that hearing, with a move-out date and a payment plan, ends the case.
- Judgment. If there is no settlement and the landlord proves the ground, the court orders the tenant and the people living with them to leave, and decides the money claims.
- Enforcement. If the tenant still does not go, the landlord asks the Legal Execution Department to enforce the judgment. The landlord does not carry it out personally.
The Legal Execution Department's flowchart booklet sets out what the officer does under sections 351 to 353 of the Civil Procedure Code:
| At the property | Steps the execution officer takes |
|---|---|
| People are still living there | Posts an eviction notice. Anyone living there who says they are not part of the tenant's household has 15 days from the notice to ask the court to recognize a special right to stay. The officer reports to the court so it can issue an arrest warrant for the judgment debtor or the people living with them. Once they are arrested or have left, possession is delivered to the landlord |
| Nobody is living there | Delivers possession to the landlord and reports to the court |
| Belongings are left behind | Lists them, calls the tenant to collect them within a set time, and if they are not collected sells them and holds the money |
Legal Execution Department, flowchart of enforcement procedures, first print August 2017, read on 14 November 2026. The 15 days is the period for other occupants to make a claim. It is not a grace period for the tenant named in the judgment.
None of the sources read for this guide prints how long a case takes from filing to handover, so this guide gives no figure. Agreeing a move-out date in writing is usually quicker for both sides than waiting for one.
Steps to take if you are behind on rent
- Read the termination clause tonight. Find the notice period, any late fee and what the lease says about the deposit and advance rent.
- Count your landlord's units. If the building or the owner has three or more units for rent, the 30-day clause and the ban on lockout terms apply to you.
- Answer every demand in writing. Email or a messaging app is fine. Say what you can pay and when. Silence reads as refusal.
- Pay what you can, with proof. Bank transfer only, with the month named in the note. Keep the slip.
- Propose a plan before the demand period ends. A dated schedule for the arrears, or a move-out date with the advance rent applied to what is owed. Get the landlord's agreement in writing. Our guide to negotiating rent in Thailand has wording that works.
- Do not ignore court papers. A petty case moves quickly and the first hearing is where a settlement is made. Go, or send a lawyer.
- If you decide to leave, leave properly. Hand back the keys against a signed note, with photos and meter readings, so the six-month clock in section 563 starts and your deposit claim is clean. Use the rental move-out checklist and the deposit-return tool.
- Check who else signed. A guarantor can be pursued for what you owe. See guarantors and co-signers for Thai rentals.
An unpaid rent debt does not disappear when you move out, and the landlord can still sue for it. If money is short because a job ended, read our guide to severance pay in Thailand before agreeing to any figure.
For landlords: ending a tenancy the lawful way
The sequence that holds up is slower than changing a lock and far cheaper than defending a damages claim.
- Keep a rent ledger with dates and transfer slips, so the amount in the demand is exact.
- Send a written demand that names the amount, the months it covers and a deadline of at least fifteen days, or at least thirty days from receipt if you rent out three or more units. Send it in a way that proves delivery.
- Terminate in writing once the deadline has passed unpaid, and ask for the keys by a stated date.
- Do not touch the lock, the belongings or the tenant's access. Decision 4207/2551 treated a lockout as a wrongful act with damages, a lease clause allowing it will not save you if you are a business operator, and the tenant can make a trespass report.
- File the case if the tenant stays. Under 30,000 baht a month it is a petty case.
- Watch the clock after handover. Section 563 bars an action in connection with the lease more than six months after the property is returned.
- Use the standard contract if the notification applies to you. Clause 5 of the notification requires the lease to carry the terms of the standard contract.
For the wider duties of an owner, see renting out your condo in Thailand as a landlord, and for ending a lease on good terms, renewing or ending a lease in Thailand.
Frequently asked questions
A landlord can end the lease by notice when the law or the lease allows it, but cannot physically remove a tenant who stays. Supreme Court decision 4207/2551, as printed on a Thai case database and cited by the Nakhon Sawan Provincial Justice Office, says the right to evict must be exercised through the court, with the court enforcing it. If the tenant does not leave, the landlord files a case and an execution officer carries out the judgment.
Under section 560 of the Civil and Commercial Code, where rent is payable monthly or at longer intervals the landlord must first notify the tenant that payment is required within a period of not less than fifteen days. Only after that period passes unpaid may the landlord terminate. Where the landlord is a business operator with three or more units, the standard contract required since 4 September 2025 says termination needs a written notice giving at least thirty days to comply.
Not on their own authority. The Nakhon Sawan Provincial Justice Office writes that even where the tenant is in breach and the lease says the landlord may enter and remove belongings, that clause cannot be enforced, the landlord must sue, and acting alone is a wrongful act the tenant can claim damages for. For business landlords, the 2025 Contract Committee notification prohibits a clause that lets them block access or enter to seize or move belongings before the lease has been lawfully terminated.
It can be reported as trespass, but the outcome is not certain. Penal Code sections 362 and 364 punish disturbing peaceful possession of immovable property and entering a dwelling without reasonable cause with up to one year in prison, a fine of up to 20,000 baht, or both. In decision 5396/2549 a landlord who padlocked a restaurant relying on a re-entry clause was found not guilty of trespass for lack of intent. No source opened for this guide shows a conviction for locking out a residential tenant.
Section 564 says a lease ends at the end of the agreed period without notice. If you stay and the landlord knows and does not object, section 570 treats the lease as renewed for an indefinite period, and section 566 then lets either side end it with notice of at least one rent period, with no more than two months needed. If the landlord objects and you stay, the landlord's route is still a court case.
A suit to evict a person from immovable property is a petty case under section 189 of the Civil Procedure Code where the rent, or the rent the property could fetch, is not more than 30,000 baht a month at the time of filing. A money claim is a petty case up to 300,000 baht. Both figures come from the Royal Decree on Amounts in Petty Cases B.E. 2546. Cases above those limits follow the ordinary civil procedure.
The Legal Execution Department's flowchart of enforcement steps says the execution officer posts an eviction notice, reports to the court so that it can issue an arrest warrant for the judgment debtor or the people living with them, and delivers possession to the landlord once they have been arrested or have left. Belongings left behind are listed and the tenant is called to collect them. If they are not collected they are sold and the money is held.
Section 193/33 of the Civil and Commercial Code, as printed in a Thai reprint read for this guide, sets a five-year prescription period for rent in arrears on property other than movables let by a rental business. Section 563 separately says no action by the landlord against the tenant in connection with the lease can be entered later than six months after the property is returned. Ask a lawyer which period governs a particular claim.
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General information only, not legal advice. Leases differ and courts decide disputes on their own facts. Code sections are quoted from an unofficial English translation and Thai reprints, and Supreme Court decisions are described as a case database and a provincial justice office print them. A lawyer should review any dispute that matters to you. BAANLYY LLC is a Nevada company and a listing portal: homes on this site are listed by independent owners, agents and agencies, and BAANLYY is not a party to their leases or sales. Legal rules are from the sources named below, read on 14 November 2026.
Sources
- Civil and Commercial Code ss.537-571, unofficial English translation: s.554 notice to comply and termination for breach, s.559 when rent is due, s.560 non-payment of rent and the demand of not less than fifteen days, s.563 six-month limit after return of the property, s.564, s.566 and s.570 on the end of a lease ↗Thailand Law Online (unofficial English translation, not a government host) · Accessed 14 November 2026
- Contract Committee Notification on residential building leasing B.E. 2568 with standard contract forms (Thai, 21 pages): clause 14 of Form A, termination by the business operator on written notice of at least thirty days, at least seven days for conduct affecting other tenants, and without notice for breach of public order law ↗Office of the Consumer Protection Board, Kingdom of Thailand · Accessed 14 November 2026
- Royal Gazette print of the Contract Committee Notification B.E. 2568 (vol. 142, special part 211 Ngor, 6 June 2025): three or more units, definitions of deposit and advance rent, clause 6.1 (7) no term allowing lockout or seizure of belongings before lawful termination, clause 6.1 (9) no termination without a material breach, clause 10 earlier leases ↗Chon Buri City Municipality (copy of the Royal Gazette print) · Accessed 14 November 2026
- Royal Decree on Amounts in Petty Cases B.E. 2546 (Thai, 3 pages): claims of not more than 300,000 baht, and suits to evict a person from immovable property with rent or rental value of not more than 30,000 baht a month at filing, under Civil Procedure Code s.189 ↗Parliament of Thailand repository (Royal Decree as published in the Royal Gazette) · Accessed 14 November 2026
- Flowchart of enforcement procedures (Thai, first print August 2017), page on eviction and demolition under Civil Procedure Code ss.351-353: eviction notice, 15 days for other occupants to claim a special right, report to the court for an arrest warrant, delivery of possession, inventory of belongings ↗Legal Execution Department, Ministry of Justice, Thailand · Accessed 14 November 2026
- Article of 12 October 2023 on landlords removing a tenant or belongings (Thai): a lease clause allowing the landlord to enter and remove belongings cannot be enforced, the landlord must sue (compare Supreme Court decision 4207/2551), with comment on decision 5396/2549 ↗Nakhon Sawan Provincial Justice Office, on the Nakhon Sawan provincial government site · Accessed 14 November 2026
- Ministry of Justice explainer on trespass (Thai, published 13 May 2026): Penal Code s.362 and s.364, up to one year or a fine of up to 20,000 baht, and s.365, up to five years or a fine of up to 100,000 baht ↗Government Contact Center 1111, republishing the Ministry of Justice, Thailand · Accessed 14 November 2026
- Supreme Court decision 4207/2551 (Thai): the right to evict a tenant must be exercised through the court, and a landlord who padlocked the leased building committed a wrongful act under Civil and Commercial Code s.420 ↗ThaiDeka case database (not a court or government host) · Accessed 14 November 2026
- Supreme Court decision 5396/2549 (Thai): a landlord who padlocked a leased restaurant relying on a re-entry clause lacked intent and was not guilty of trespass ↗ThaiDeka case database (not a court or government host) · Accessed 14 November 2026
- Civil Procedure Code ss.351-354 as amended by Act No. 30 B.E. 2560 (Thai reprint): enforcement of a judgment ordering a person out of immovable property ↗Nitithammalai Institute reprint (not a government host) · Accessed 14 November 2026
- Civil Procedure Code ss.189-193 (Thai reprint with notes on the 2546 Royal Decree): definition of a petty case and the early hearing for mediation, answer and evidence ↗Nitithammalai Institute reprint (not a government host) · Accessed 14 November 2026
- Penal Code ss.362-366 as amended by Act No. 26 B.E. 2560 (Thai reprint): trespass on immovable property and dwellings, aggravated trespass, and which offenses can be settled ↗Nitithammalai Institute reprint (not a government host) · Accessed 14 November 2026
- Civil and Commercial Code ss.193/30-193/35 (Thai reprint): five-year prescription for rent in arrears under s.193/33 (3), two years for rent of movables let by a business under s.193/34 (6) ↗Nitithammalai Institute reprint (not a government host) · Accessed 14 November 2026
Official primary sources are listed above with the date we last checked them. Thai rules, fees, thresholds and procedures change and can be applied differently by individual offices and embassies — confirm the current requirement with the responsible authority before relying on it. General information only, not legal, tax or medical advice. BAANLYY never takes paid placement in editorial content.