01
The short answer
If the condo or house you rent is sold, your lease continues with the new owner. Thai law treats the buyer as stepping into the seller's place as your landlord. You do not need to sign a new contract, you do not have to accept a higher rent, and you cannot be told to leave just because the name on the title deed changed.
That protection has edges, and most disputes happen at them:
| Your situation | Where you stand | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Written lease of three years or less, still inside its term | The buyer is bound until the end date | Keep paying, and get the new owner's payment details in writing |
| Lease of more than three years, registered at the land office | The buyer is bound for the full registered term | Keep your copy of the registered lease safe |
| Lease of more than three years, not registered | Enforceable for three years only (section 538) | Count from the start date. After year three you depend on the owner's goodwill |
| Fixed term has ended and you stayed on, paying monthly | A lease with no fixed period. The new owner can end it on notice (sections 570 and 566) | Ask the new owner for a fresh fixed term if you want certainty |
| No written lease or signed note of the terms | Not enforceable by action, and the buyer is not bound | Get the terms signed by the current owner before the transfer |
| You paid a security deposit to the old landlord | The duty to return it stays with the old landlord unless the buyer takes it on | Get a signed handover note for the deposit before the sale completes |
Civil and Commercial Code sections 538, 564, 566, 569 and 570, and Supreme Court decisions as summarized in a Thai university law textbook, all read on 14 November 2026. Details and sources are in the sections below.
If you have not signed a lease yet, the way to make this rule work for you is a clear written contract. Our guide to understanding your Thai lease agreement walks through the clauses.
02
The rule: section 569 of the Civil and Commercial Code
Residential leases in Thailand sit under the Hire of Property title of the Civil and Commercial Code. One short section deals with a change of owner.
Section 569, first paragraph. A contract of hire of immovable property is not extinguished by the transfer of ownership of the property hired.
Section 569, second paragraph. The transferee is entitled to the rights and is subject to the duties of the transferor toward the tenant.
The section is limited to immovable property, meaning land and the buildings on it. The decisions that apply it concern land, shophouses and other buildings. The rule is the reverse for movable things: a Thai law textbook read for this guide explains that a lease of a car or other movable property creates rights only between the two parties, so it ends in practice when the thing is transferred and the new owner takes it back. Homes are the exception the Code makes on purpose, to keep a tenant housed when the property changes hands.
The same textbook draws out four points from the section and from Supreme Court decisions on it:
- Any transfer of ownership counts. It names sale, exchange and gift, and cites decisions applying the section where a property passed under a will (decision 698/2540) and where it was expropriated (decision 1712/2546).
- The buyer is bound whether or not they knew about the lease. A buyer usually knows, because the seller says so or because a registered lease shows on the title record, but knowledge is not a condition.
- The lease must be in force at the moment of transfer. The transfer has to happen while the lease term is still running. Where a property was sold before the lease took effect, the buyer was not bound (decision 7331/2537).
- The person who granted the lease must have had the power to grant it. A lease made by someone with no authority to let the property does not bind a later buyer.
How to read the decision numbers
Thai Supreme Court decisions are cited as a running number and a Buddhist-era year. Decision 1990/2552 is decision number 1990 of the year 2552, which is 2009. Subtract 543 from the year to convert it.
How we read it: sections 537 to 571 in an English translation, and the Thai text of section 569 with commentary in “Law of Hire of Property, Hire Purchase” by Asst. Prof. Sirisak Juengthawan (Burapha University), hosted by the University of Phayao library. Both opened on 14 November 2026. Decisions are reported here as that book summarizes them; we did not read them on the court's own site.
03
Rights and duties that pass to the new owner, and those that stay behind
Section 569 passes the “rights and duties of the transferor toward the tenant”. Thai courts have read that as the rights and duties of a lease as the Code defines it: the home, the rent, the term, repairs. Extra promises that happen to be written into the same contract are treated as separate agreements between you and the old landlord, and they stay behind.
| Item | Passes to the buyer? | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Your right to live in the home until the term ends | Yes | Section 569. A buyer could not end an unexpired lease or evict a tenant who was not in breach (decision 498/2536) |
| The rent and the other terms of the lease | Yes, unchanged | The buyer takes the lease as it stands and cannot set new conditions alone (decision 461/2552) |
| The landlord's right to collect rent | Yes | After the transfer the buyer may demand the rent |
| The landlord's right to end the lease if you breach it | Yes | For example, subletting without consent gives the buyer the same right the old landlord had |
| The duty to return your security deposit | No, not by default | Decisions 4038/2532, 6190/2538 and 1990/2552 |
| A promise to renew or to grant a further lease | No | A promise to let is not itself a lease (decision 6975/2537) |
| A promise to tell you before selling | No | Decision 6899/2539 |
| Informal habits, such as the landlord sending someone to collect the rent | No | Decision 5445/2537 |
| Claims for loss you suffered before the transfer | No. They stay against the old landlord | Decisions 1840-1841/2523 |
| A side deal that makes the contract more than an ordinary lease, if not registered | No, even if the buyer knew of it | Decisions 7894/2553 and 2282/2539 |
Decisions as summarized in the university textbook listed in the sources, part 1.5.2, read on 14 November 2026. A buyer and seller can always agree that the buyer takes on more than the law requires.
The last row matters to long-stay tenants. Thai courts recognize contracts where the tenant gives something beyond rent, such as paying toward construction in return for a long term. Such a deal creates rights between the two people who made it. Unless it is in writing and registered, it does not bind a buyer, even one who knew about it: in decision 7894/2553 a tenant who had paid 900,000 baht toward building costs for a 20-year term could not hold the buyer to it. If you are paying up front for a long stay, register the lease. Our lease registration checklist covers the process and leasehold vs freehold explains the wider picture.
A promise to renew is only as good as the person who made it. In decision 6975/2537 the first owner had promised the tenant three more years at the end of the term. The property was sold on, and the promise did not bind the later owner. If renewal matters to you, ask the buyer to confirm it in writing. More on renewals is in renewing or ending a lease in Thailand.
04
Your security deposit after a sale
This is the part of a sale that most often costs tenants money. The lease moves to the buyer, but the deposit does not move with it unless someone makes it.
What the Supreme Court held. In decision 1990/2552, as the textbook summarizes it, a buyer bought a shophouse with a tenant in place. The tenant had paid a deposit to the previous owner. The court treated the deposit as security created by an agreement between the tenant and the old landlord. Even though it was written into the lease, returning it was not a duty of a landlord under the Code, so it was not among the duties that pass to a buyer under section 569. The buyer did not have to return it, and the 72,000 baht deposit could not be set off against rent the tenant owed the buyer.
Who you can claim from. The same textbook states that the tenant cannot claim the deposit from the buyer, but can claim it from the original landlord as the other party to the contract.
What the buyer can do. Between seller and buyer the position is different. In decision 44/2553 the court held that a buyer who took over the lease was entitled to receive the deposit the tenant had paid, and the seller had no right to keep it. So a careful buyer will collect the deposit from the seller at transfer. That helps you only if the buyer also accepts, in writing, the duty to pay it back.
The fix is one signed page. Before the transfer date, ask both sides to sign a short deposit handover note that states:
- The property, the lease date and the names of the tenant, the seller and the buyer.
- The amount of the deposit and of any advance rent the seller is holding.
- That the seller has passed those sums to the buyer on the transfer date.
- That the buyer will return the deposit at the end of the lease on the terms the lease sets.
- Signatures of all three, with the date. Keep a copy with your lease and your original deposit receipt.
If the seller will not involve the buyer, the alternative is to have the seller refund the deposit to you at transfer and to agree a fresh deposit with the buyer. If neither happens, keep the old landlord's full name, ID or passport copy, address and bank details: that is the person you will have to pursue when you move out.
How deposits work in general, including the caps and the return timelines that apply to business landlords, is covered in security deposits in Thailand and getting your rental deposit back. The deposit-return tool drafts a written request, and deposit return records lists the papers worth keeping.
05
Leases that do not hold against a buyer
Section 569 protects a lease that is itself enforceable. Three kinds of tenancy are weaker than tenants expect.
Leases of more than three years that were never registered. Section 538 says a hire of immovable property for more than three years, or for the life of either party, is enforceable only for three years unless it is made in writing and registered by the competent official. A five-year lease signed privately gives you three years against the old landlord and against a buyer. Registration is described in the land office guide.
Tenancies with nothing in writing. The first sentence of section 538 says a hire of immovable property is not enforceable by action unless there is written evidence signed by the party liable. The textbook read for this guide states the consequence for a sale plainly: where there is no written evidence and no registration, the buyer is not bound under section 569 and may bring an eviction claim without first giving notice to end the lease. A rent paid by bank transfer every month for years does not replace a signed page.
Leases that have run past their end date. Section 564 says a lease ends at the end of the agreed period without notice. If you stay on and the landlord, knowing it, does not object, section 570 treats the lease as renewed for an indefinite period. A lease with no fixed period can be ended by either side under section 566, at the end of a rent period, on notice of at least one rent period, though no more than two months' notice need be given. The textbook confirms that a buyer who wants to end such a lease must give that notice as well. So on a rolling monthly arrangement a new owner can lawfully ask you to leave on roughly one month's notice.
| Your paperwork | Protection against a buyer |
|---|---|
| Written lease, term up to three years, inside the term | Full, to the end date |
| Written and registered lease over three years | Full, to the end of the registered term (decision 2208/2559 applied this to a registered 30-year lease) |
| Written lease over three years, not registered | Three years from the start date only |
| Expired fixed term, staying on month to month | Notice of one rent period, at most two months needed |
| No signed lease or written evidence | None under section 569 |
Civil and Commercial Code sections 538, 564, 566, 569 and 570 in English translation, and the university textbook listed in the sources, read on 14 November 2026.
If you hear the home is going on the market and your lease has lapsed or was never written down, act before a buyer appears. Ask the current owner for a new fixed-term lease now. A buyer who wants rental income will often welcome a signed tenant, and one who wants to move in will at least have to wait out a term you both know.
06
Viewings, notice of the sale and where to pay rent
Nobody has to ask your permission to sell. The owner may sell a rented home at any time. The hire of property sections of the Code set no duty to warn the tenant first, and the textbook cites Supreme Court decisions (1353/2504 and 695/2508) holding that a transfer of rented property is a transfer of the thing, not an assignment of a claim, so no written notice to the tenant is needed for it to take effect.
Viewings. Section 555 obliges a tenant to allow the landlord or the landlord's agents to inspect the property at reasonable times. It says nothing about showing the home to buyers, so the access clause in your lease decides, and where the lease is silent a reasonable arrangement is the practical answer: agreed days, a few hours' warning, someone you know present. If your landlord is a business operator with three or more residential units, the 2025 consumer lease notification prohibits a contract term that lets the operator or an agent enter to inspect without telling the tenant in advance, except in an emergency. Access rules are covered further in the rental inspection and access checklist.
Paying rent after the transfer. From the transfer date the rent belongs to the new owner. Two cautions come from the case law:
- Old habits do not carry over. In decision 5445/2537 the former landlord used to send someone to collect the rent. That was only a practice between those two parties. After the sale the tenant had to bring the rent to the new owner, and a tenant who paid it into a deposit office instead was held to be in default.
- Check who you are paying. Before you redirect rent, ask for a copy of the title deed page showing the transfer, or a letter signed by both the seller and the buyer, with the new bank account. Treat a message from an unknown number saying “I am your new landlord” with caution until you have seen that proof; see our guide to rental scams.
Rent increases and new terms. A buyer inherits the lease as written. In decision 461/2552 a buyer who tried to impose a deadline the original contract did not contain was held to have no right to do so, and could not end the lease early over it. For business landlords, the 2025 notification separately prohibits a term that lets the operator change the rent or service charges before the lease ends, and a term that lets the operator end the lease where the tenant has not breached a material term.
Contract Committee Notification on residential building leasing as a contract-controlled business B.E. 2568, clauses 4 and 6.1 (3), (5) and (9), Royal Gazette volume 142, special part 211 Ngor, 6 June 2025, read on 14 November 2026. The notification applies to operators with three or more units and has no clause about a sale of the property. More on it is in tenant rights in Thailand.
07
A tenant's checklist for the day you hear about the sale
- Find your lease and check three things: that it is signed by the landlord, the start and end dates, and whether a term over three years was registered.
- If the lease has lapsed or was never written, fix that first. Ask the current owner for a signed fixed-term lease before any transfer. Our free English and Thai lease template is a workable base.
- Gather your deposit proof: the receipt or transfer slip, and the clause that sets the amount and the return terms.
- Ask for the deposit handover note described in section 04, signed by you, the seller and the buyer.
- Agree viewing times in writing, even by message, so access is orderly and you know who is coming.
- Ask for proof of the transfer and the new payment details before you pay the first rent to anyone new.
- Keep the old landlord's contact and ID details. Anything that does not pass to the buyer, including an unreturned deposit, is claimed from them.
- Record the condition of the home on the transfer date. Dated photos and a short signed list protect you if the buyer later disputes damage that predates them. See the inventory and condition report guide.
- If you are a foreigner, ask who will handle your address report. Address reporting for foreigners is explained in TM30 and 90-day reporting.
- Ask the buyer about their plans. An investor may want you to stay and renew. A buyer who plans to move in may offer money for an early exit. You are free to negotiate, and free to stay to the end of a binding term.
If you would rather leave. A sale does not give the tenant a right to walk away either: the lease binds you to the new owner as it bound you to the old one. Your exit routes are the same as before the sale and are set out in breaking a lease early in Thailand and subletting a rental in Thailand. A buyer who wants the home empty is often glad to agree an early end in writing, with the deposit settled at the same time.
If a new owner tells you to leave during a binding term. Reply in writing, attach the lease, and point to section 569. Do not stop paying rent, since unpaid rent is a ground the buyer can use. If it escalates, a lawyer's letter usually settles it; firms are listed in our property lawyers directory, and hiring a lawyer in Thailand explains fees and what to ask.
08
Buying or selling a home with a tenant in place
The same rule reads differently from the other side of the table. A condo sold with a tenant can be attractive to an investor and a problem for someone who wants to move in.
If you are buying. You are bound by an enforceable lease whether or not you were told about it, so find out before you commit:
- Ask for every lease and addendum, and read the term, the rent, the renewal wording and the deposit clause. A lease over three years should show on the title record if it is registered; our guide to title deed encumbrance checks explains how to look.
- Visit the unit and speak to the occupier. A tenant who is not mentioned in the sale papers still has rights if their lease is in writing and inside its term.
- Have the seller hand over the deposit and any advance rent at transfer, and record it in the sale contract. Decision 44/2553 supports a buyer's claim to those sums. Decide with open eyes whether you are also taking on the duty to return the deposit, and tell the tenant in writing.
- Ask for a rent ledger showing what is paid to date, and a statement from the seller that the tenant is not in dispute with them.
- If you need the home empty, make vacant possession a condition of the sale and let the seller negotiate the tenant's exit before transfer. After transfer it becomes your negotiation, on the tenant's terms.
- Check for prepaid rent. Rent the tenant has already paid to the seller for months after the transfer should be adjusted in the price, since you will be the one housing the tenant for that period.
The wider checks for a purchase are in the condo due diligence checklist and the step-by-step buying process guide.
If you are selling. Tell the buyer about the tenancy early and put the lease in the document pack. Tell the tenant too: you are not required to by the Code, but cooperative tenants make viewings possible. Settle the deposit one of the two clean ways, by handing it to the buyer with a three-way note or by refunding the tenant at transfer, because under the decisions above you remain the person the tenant can claim it from. Guides for owners are selling a condo in Thailand as a foreigner and renting out your condo as a landlord.
The buyer and seller steps above are practical consequences of section 569 and of the decisions summarized in sections 03 and 04. They are general guidance, and a sale contract should be reviewed by a lawyer.
Frequently asked questions
Can a new owner evict me after buying the home I rent in Thailand?
Not because of the sale alone. Section 569 of the Civil and Commercial Code says a lease of immovable property is not ended by a transfer of ownership, and the new owner takes the previous owner's rights and duties toward the tenant. During a fixed term that binds the buyer, the new owner can end the lease only on the grounds the old landlord could have used, such as unpaid rent.
Does my lease stay the same after the sale?
Yes. The buyer steps into the lease as it stands: same rent, same end date, same duties to repair. A university law textbook read for this guide summarizes Supreme Court decisions holding that a buyer could not end an unexpired lease where the tenant was not in breach, and could not set new conditions on their own.
Who has to return my security deposit after the sale?
By default, the landlord you paid it to. Supreme Court decision 1990/2552, as summarized in the textbook read for this guide, held that returning a deposit is not one of the lease duties that passes to a buyer under section 569. Ask the old landlord and the buyer to sign a note saying the deposit has been handed over and that the buyer will return it, or ask for it back before the transfer.
Does the landlord have to tell me the property is being sold?
The Code sections on hire of property set no duty to tell a tenant before a sale, and the textbook read for this guide cites Supreme Court decisions holding that a transfer of rented property does not require written notice to the tenant. A lease clause promising notice binds the old landlord, not the buyer. In practice you usually hear when viewings start.
What if my lease is longer than three years?
Under section 538, a lease of more than three years is enforceable only for three years unless it is in writing and registered with the competent official. A registered lease binds a buyer for its full term. An unregistered one protects you for the first three years only, however long the paper says.
What if I have no written lease at all?
You are exposed. Section 538 says a lease of immovable property cannot be enforced by action without written evidence signed by the party liable, and the textbook read for this guide states that a buyer is not bound under section 569 by a lease with no written evidence. Get a signed lease, or at least a signed note of the terms, before the sale completes.
Do I have a right to buy the home before someone else does?
Not under the Code. Sections 537 to 571 on hire of property contain no right of first refusal for a tenant. If your lease gives you one, it is a promise by your current landlord, so use it before the transfer: side promises in a lease do not automatically bind a buyer.
Can the landlord bring buyers into my home for viewings?
Section 555 obliges a tenant to let the landlord or the landlord's agents inspect the property at reasonable times. It does not mention buyers, so your lease clause and a sensible arrangement decide. Where the landlord is a business operator with three or more units, a clause allowing entry without advance notice is prohibited except in an emergency.
Looking for your next home in Thailand
Live homes for rent and for sale with asking prices, photos and the agency that lists each one, so you know who you are dealing with.
General information only, not legal advice. Leases differ, courts decide disputes on their own facts, and Supreme Court decisions are described here as a university law textbook summarizes them. A lawyer should review any sale or lease 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.538 written evidence and registration of leases over three years, s.555 inspection at reasonable times, s.564, s.566 and s.570 on the end of a lease, s.569 a lease of immovable property is not ended by a transfer of ownership ↗Thailand Law Online (unofficial English translation, not a government host) · Accessed 14 November 2026
- Law of Hire of Property, Hire Purchase (Thai, first revised edition, August 2023), part 1.5 on transfer of ownership of rented property: Thai text of s.569 and summaries of Supreme Court decisions 498/2536, 6975/2537, 5445/2537, 1990/2552, 44/2553, 7894/2553 and 2208/2559 ↗Asst. Prof. Sirisak Juengthawan, Burapha University; hosted by the University of Phayao library (law textbook, not a court or government print) · Accessed 14 November 2026
- Royal Gazette print of the Contract Committee Notification B.E. 2568 (vol. 142, special part 211 Ngor, 6 June 2025; signed 30 May 2025): definitions, including that a tenant includes a sub-tenant who is a natural person, and the prohibited contract terms ↗Chon Buri City Municipality (copy of the Royal Gazette), Kingdom of Thailand · 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.
