01
The short answer
What late rent costs in Thailand depends on what your lease says. The Civil and Commercial Code supplies a modest default when the lease is silent, lets the two sides agree something larger, and gives a court the power to trim an agreed charge that goes too far. The table gives the position in each case.
| Situation | What the landlord can claim | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| The lease has no late payment clause | Interest of five percent a year on the overdue rent, for the days it is overdue | Civil and Commercial Code, sections 7 and 224, as amended in 2021 |
| The lease sets a late fee, a daily charge or a higher interest rate | The agreed charge, as a penalty for late performance, on top of the rent itself | Sections 379 and 381 |
| The agreed charge is far out of proportion | A court may reduce it to a reasonable amount. Once it has been paid, the claim for a reduction is barred | Section 383 |
| Interest on unpaid interest | Not allowed during default | Section 224, second paragraph |
| The landlord accepts the late rent without a word about the fee | The penalty can be claimed only if the landlord reserved the right to it when accepting the payment | Section 381, third paragraph |
| The landlord wants to end the lease over unpaid rent | Notice to pay within not less than fifteen days first, where rent is monthly or longer. Thirty days in writing where the landlord has three or more units | Section 560; clause 14 of the 2025 standard contract |
| Lockout or seizing belongings for late rent | A landlord with three or more units may not use a term allowing it before lawful termination | Clause 6.1 (7) of the 2025 Contract Committee notification |
Section numbers refer to the Civil and Commercial Code, read in Thai and in an unofficial English translation on 14 November 2026. Clause numbers refer to the Contract Committee notification on residential leasing of B.E. 2568 (2025) and its standard contract.
The sections below take each row in turn. If late rent has already turned into a notice to leave, read our guide to eviction in Thailand alongside this one.
02
No late fee is set by law
Tenants from countries with a statutory late fee, or a statutory cap on one, often look for the Thai equivalent. The sources read for this guide contain neither.
The chapter of the Code on hire of property, sections 537 to 571, was read in full. On unpaid rent it has two sections and no figure:
- Section 559 says when rent is due if the contract and custom are silent: at the end of each period, so monthly rent is payable at the end of each month.
- Section 560 says what a landlord may do about non-payment: terminate the contract, after first notifying the tenant to pay within not less than fifteen days where rent is payable monthly or at longer intervals.
Neither section mentions a fee, a percentage or a daily charge. The 2025 Contract Committee notification on residential leasing, which governs landlords with three or more units, and its two standard contracts were also read. They say nothing on late fees or interest either.
What fills the gap is the general law of obligations in Book II of the Code, which applies to every money debt, rent included. It does two things. It gives the landlord interest when the tenant is in default, at a rate the Code fixes. And it lets the parties agree a penalty for late payment, subject to the court.
What this means in practice
The late payment clause in your lease is the whole rulebook, or the absence of one is. Read it before you sign: the amount, when it starts, whether it runs by the day, and whether there are any days of grace.
03
The day rent becomes late
Interest and penalties both start from default, which is a defined moment in the Code and not always the day after the due date.
- The lease names a date. Section 204, second paragraph: where a time for performance is fixed by the calendar and the debtor does not perform at that time, the debtor is in default without any reminder. A lease that says rent is payable on or before the fifth of each month puts a tenant in default when the fifth passes unpaid.
- The lease names no date. Section 559 makes monthly rent payable at the end of the month. Under the first paragraph of section 204, once a debt is due and the creditor then gives a reminder, a debtor who still does not pay is in default because of the reminder.
- The delay is not the tenant's doing. Section 205: a debtor is not in default for as long as performance is not made because of a circumstance the debtor is not responsible for.
- The landlord refuses the money. Section 207 puts a creditor in default who refuses a proper tender of payment without a legal ground, and section 221 says no interest runs on a money debt during the creditor's default.
The sections read for this guide give no grace period. Any days of grace come from the lease or from a landlord's goodwill.
One protection exists for tenants of business landlords. Under clause 8 of the standard contract, a landlord with three or more units must send the tenant an invoice showing the rent, the due date, the utility charges and the service charges at least three days before the rent is due, and the tenant has the right to check the figures behind it.
Keep proof of the date you paid. A bank transfer slip or a PromptPay confirmation shows the day and time, which is what an argument over a few days turns on. Our guide to PromptPay and mobile banking covers how those records work.
04
Interest when the lease is silent: five percent a year
Where the lease has no late payment clause, section 224 of the Code applies. A money debt bears interest during default at the rate under section 7 plus two percent a year. Section 7 sets the rate at three percent a year wherever interest is payable and no rate has been fixed by agreement or by an express provision of law. Together that is five percent a year.
Both sections were rewritten by the Emergency Decree Amending the Civil and Commercial Code B.E. 2564, given on 9 April 2021 and in force from the day after its publication in the Royal Gazette. The note of reasons printed with the decree records that the earlier rate was seven and a half percent a year, that it had stood for a long time without being brought into line with economic conditions, and that debtors were carrying too heavy an interest burden as a result. Older guides that quote 7.5 percent are describing the law before April 2021.
| Rule | What it says | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Base rate | Three percent a year where interest is payable and no rate is fixed by agreement or by law | 7, first paragraph |
| Changing the base rate | It may be lowered or raised by Royal Decree. The Ministry of Finance normally reviews it every three years against the average of commercial bank deposit and lending rates | 7, second paragraph |
| Default interest | The section 7 rate plus two percent a year, for the time the debtor is in default | 224, first paragraph |
| A higher rate | If the creditor can claim higher interest on another lawful ground, such as a clause in the contract, interest continues at that rate | 224, first paragraph |
| Compounding | Interest on interest during default is prohibited | 224, second paragraph |
| Other loss | The creditor may prove damage beyond the interest | 224, third paragraph |
From the Royal Gazette print of the Emergency Decree of B.E. 2564 and a Thai reprint of sections 203 to 225, both read on 14 November 2026. The decree applies the new rates to interest falling due from the day it took effect.
Two points follow for rent. First, interest runs on the rent that is actually overdue, not on the rest of the lease. Second, five percent a year is small against a month's rent: under three baht a day on a rent of 20,000 baht. That is why a landlord who wants a real deterrent writes a late fee clause into the lease, and why the next section matters more in practice than this one.
Because section 7 lets the base rate be changed by Royal Decree, treat three percent as the rate in the 2021 text and confirm it before relying on it for a large claim.
05
Late fee clauses are penalty clauses, and a court can cut them
A clause that says the tenant pays a fixed sum, a daily amount or a percentage when rent is late is what the Code calls a stipulated penalty. Sections 379 to 385 govern it. Four of them matter here.
- Section 379: the penalty is owed on default. If a debtor promises to pay a sum as a penalty for not performing, or for not performing properly, the penalty is forfeited when the debtor is in default.
- Section 381: the landlord can claim it as well as the rent. Where the penalty is promised for not performing in the proper manner, and the section gives not performing at the fixed time as its example, the creditor may demand the penalty in addition to performance. The penalty counts as the minimum amount of the landlord's damage, and proof of further damage is allowed.
- Section 381, third paragraph: accepting payment without reserving the fee. If the creditor accepts the performance, the penalty may be demanded only if the creditor reserved the right to it at the time of acceptance.
- Section 383: the court may reduce it. If a forfeited penalty is disproportionately high, the court may reduce it to a reasonable amount. In deciding what is reasonable the court considers every legitimate interest of the creditor, not only the financial one. After the penalty has been paid, the claim for a reduction is barred.
So a late fee clause is lawful, and so is a challenge to its size. The Code gives no percentage at which a fee becomes too high. A court looks at the particular lease, the amount, how late the rent was and what the delay cost the landlord. No decisions were read for this guide, so it does not predict where a court would draw the line.
The order of events matters
Section 383 closes the door once the penalty is paid. A tenant who believes a late fee is out of all proportion should pay the rent, say in writing which amount is being paid and that the fee is disputed, and take advice before paying the fee itself. The Code has its own rules on how a part payment is allocated, which were not read for this guide.
For how a late payment clause sits among the other terms worth checking, see our guide to understanding a Thai lease.
06
Landlords with three or more units: the 2025 standard contract
The Contract Committee notification on residential leasing of B.E. 2568 makes letting homes a contract-controlled business where the landlord has three or more units, in one building or several, and the tenant is an individual renting to live there. It was published in the Royal Gazette on 6 June 2025 and took effect ninety days later. Dormitories and hotels under their own laws are outside it, and so is an owner letting one or two units.
The notification and both standard contracts were read for anything on late payment. This is what they contain:
| Point | What the text says | Where |
|---|---|---|
| A late fee or interest clause | None. The standard contracts do not provide one, and the list of prohibited terms does not name late fees | Forms A and B; clause 6 |
| Invoice before the due date | The landlord must send an invoice at least three days before the rent is due, and the tenant may check the charges | Form A clause 8; Form B clause 9 |
| Changing the rent or service charges | A term letting the landlord change the rate before the lease ends is prohibited | Clause 6.1 (3) and 6.2 (4) |
| Ending the lease for a breach | Written notice giving the tenant at least thirty days from receipt to comply, and only if the tenant then fails to do so | Form A clause 14 |
| Ending the lease without a material breach | A term allowing it is prohibited | Clause 6.1 (9) and 6.2 (10) |
| Lockout and seizure | A term letting the landlord block access, or enter to seize or remove belongings, before lawful termination is prohibited | Clause 6.1 (7) and 6.2 (8) |
| Forfeiting the deposit or advance rent | A term allowing forfeiture where the tenant is not at fault is prohibited | Clause 6.1 (4) and 6.2 (5) |
| The tenant's early exit | The right to leave after half the term on thirty days' written notice is open only to a tenant who is not in default on rent or other charges | Form A clause 13 |
Read in Thai on 14 November 2026 from the Royal Gazette print (Chon Buri City Municipality copy) and the Office of the Consumer Protection Board file with the standard contracts. Leases made under the earlier 2019 notification before the new one took effect continue under it until they end (clause 10).
Clause 5 of the notification requires a business landlord's lease to use terms with the substance and conditions of the standard contract. Whether that leaves room to add a late fee clause of the landlord's own is not answered by the text read, and no ruling on it was read, so this guide treats it as unsettled. What the text does say is that the rent and the service charge rates cannot be changed before the lease ends. The general rules in sections 224 and 383 of the Code apply to these leases as to any other.
The last row of the table is easy to miss. Falling behind on rent costs a tenant the early exit right, which is one of the most useful protections in the standard contract. Our guide to breaking a lease early explains how that right works.
07
Limits on what a landlord can do about late rent
Charging interest or a late fee is one response to late rent. Ending the lease is another, and it has its own steps.
- Notice comes first. Section 560: 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 if that passes unpaid may the landlord terminate.
- Thirty days for business landlords. Under clause 14 of the standard contract, a landlord with three or more units terminates by written notice telling the tenant to comply within at least thirty days from the day the tenant receives it.
- No lockout before lawful termination. A business landlord may not rely on a term that lets them shut the tenant out or enter to seize or remove the tenant's belongings before the lease has been lawfully terminated.
- The deposit has a defined purpose. The notification defines the deposit as security for damage the tenant causes to the property and for unpaid expenses that are not rent. It defines advance rent as rent held as security for the rent, to be returned when the lease ends or applied to the last month. Under the standard contract the landlord may deduct from the deposit what it cost to put damage right.
- No interest on interest. Section 224 prohibits charging interest on interest during default, whoever the landlord is.
For a landlord with one or two units the notification does not apply, and the lease and the Code decide. Section 560 and its fifteen days still apply, and so do sections 224 and 383.
Cutting off water or electricity over late rent is not named in the notification read for this guide, so this page does not state a rule on it. What happens to the deposit at the end is covered in our guides to security deposits in Thailand and getting your rental deposit back.
08
A worked example with invented figures
The figures here are made up to show the arithmetic. They are not typical rents or typical late fees, and no source read for this guide prints a typical late fee.
A tenant pays 20,000 baht a month, due on the fifth. One month the rent arrives on the twenty-fifth, twenty days late.
| Lease wording | Calculation | Charge for 20 days late |
|---|---|---|
| No late payment clause | 20,000 x 5 percent x 20 / 365 | About 55 baht |
| Interest on late rent at 15 percent a year | 20,000 x 15 percent x 20 / 365 | About 164 baht |
| A flat late fee of 1,000 baht | One charge, whatever the delay | 1,000 baht |
| A daily charge of 500 baht | 500 x 20 | 10,000 baht |
Arithmetic on invented figures, counting a year as 365 days. The first row is the Code's default rate under sections 7 and 224. The other rows are examples of clauses, not rates taken from any source.
The last row shows why section 383 exists. A charge of 500 baht a day on a rent of 20,000 baht is two and a half percent of the month's rent every day. After twenty days it equals half a month's rent for a delay that, at the Code's own rate, is worth about 55 baht in interest. Whether a court would call that disproportionately high depends on the case, but it is the kind of gap the section was written to address.
The same arithmetic helps before signing. Work out what the clause in a draft lease would cost for a week's delay and for a month's, and negotiate it then. Our guide to negotiating rent in Thailand covers how to raise terms as well as price.
09
Steps for a tenant who is late or about to be
- Read the clause. Find the due date, any days of grace, the late charge and how it is counted. If the lease is silent, the charge is interest at five percent a year.
- Tell the landlord before the due date. A message naming the day you will pay costs nothing and gives the landlord a reason to waive a fee. Keep it in writing.
- Pay the rent as soon as you can, and keep the proof. Interest and daily charges stop growing on the day the rent is paid. A transfer slip shows that day.
- Ask for the fee in writing. A landlord who wants a late fee should be able to point to the clause and show the calculation. A business landlord's invoice must be sent at least three days before the due date and you may check the charges on it.
- Object before paying a fee you think is excessive. Under section 383 the claim for a reduction is barred once the penalty is paid. Put the objection in writing and take advice.
- Treat a notice to pay as a deadline. A notice giving fifteen days under section 560, or thirty under the standard contract, is the step before termination. Paying within it removes the ground.
- Know where a dispute goes. A claim over a late fee or a deduction is a small money claim. Our guide to small claims court in Thailand sets out the petty case route, the consumer case route and the consumer board complaint route.
If the amount is large or the landlord has started to talk about termination, a short consultation is worth the fee. See our guide to hiring a lawyer in Thailand.
10
Notes for landlords, and the time limits on a claim
The same sections tell a landlord how to write and use a late payment clause that will hold up.
- Name a calendar date. A due date fixed by the calendar puts the tenant in default without a reminder under section 204. Without one, default waits for a reminder.
- Keep the charge in proportion. Section 383 lets a court reduce a penalty that is disproportionately high. A modest fixed fee or a moderate annual rate is easier to defend than a large daily sum.
- Reserve the fee when you accept late rent. Under the third paragraph of section 381, a creditor who accepts performance may demand the penalty only if the right was reserved at the time. A one-line message on receipt does it.
- Do not compound. Section 224 prohibits interest on interest during default.
- Give the notice the law requires before terminating. Fifteen days under section 560, or thirty in writing under clause 14 if you let three or more units.
- Send the invoice on time if you are a business landlord. At least three days before the due date under the standard contract.
Two time limits were read. Section 193/33 of the Code gives a limitation period of five years for rent in arrears and for interest in arrears. Section 563 says no action by a landlord against a tenant in connection with the lease may be entered later than six months after the return of the property. How the two fit together for a particular claim is a matter for a lawyer, and this guide does not decide it.
For the wider picture of letting a unit, including tax and the tenant-side rules, see our guide to renting out your condo in Thailand as a landlord.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a legal late fee for rent in Thailand?
No. None of the sources read for this guide sets a late fee for rent. If the lease has no late payment clause, the landlord's claim is default interest under section 224 of the Civil and Commercial Code, which is the section 7 rate of three percent a year plus two percent a year, so five percent a year on the overdue amount. A larger charge has to come from a clause in the lease.
How much interest can a landlord charge on late rent if the lease says nothing?
Five percent a year on the rent that is overdue, for the days it is overdue. That is the rate in sections 7 and 224 of the Civil and Commercial Code as amended by the Emergency Decree of B.E. 2564 (2021). On 20,000 baht paid twenty days late it comes to about 55 baht. Section 7 allows the base rate to be changed by Royal Decree, so check the current figure if the amount matters.
Is a late fee clause in a Thai lease enforceable?
Yes, as a penalty clause. Section 379 of the Code says a penalty promised for not performing properly is forfeited when the debtor is in default, and section 381 lets the creditor claim a penalty for late performance on top of the payment itself. The limit is section 383: if a forfeited penalty is disproportionately high, the court may reduce it to a reasonable amount.
Is there a maximum late fee a landlord can charge in Thailand?
The sources read for this guide set no fixed maximum for a late fee on rent. The control is case by case: under section 383 a court may reduce a penalty that is disproportionately high, taking account of every legitimate interest of the landlord and not only the money lost. Section 224 also bars charging interest on interest during default.
Can I get a late fee back after I have paid it?
Section 383 says that after the penalty has been paid, the claim for a reduction is barred. A tenant who thinks a late fee is far too high is in a stronger position objecting in writing before paying it than asking for it back afterward. Paying the rent itself promptly is a separate matter and stops more interest or daily charges building up.
When is rent legally late in Thailand?
When the lease names a day of the month, rent is late the day after that date passes: section 204 says a debtor who misses a time fixed by the calendar is in default without any reminder. If neither the lease nor custom fixes a time, section 559 makes monthly rent payable at the end of each month, and a tenant is in default once the landlord has sent a reminder after the rent fell due.
Can a landlord evict me for paying rent late?
Late rent is a ground to end a lease, but not overnight. Under section 560, where rent is paid monthly or at longer intervals the landlord must first notify the tenant to pay within not less than fifteen days. Where the landlord rents out three or more homes, clause 14 of the standard contract requires written notice giving at least thirty days to comply. Our eviction guide covers what happens after that.
Can a landlord lock me out or keep my things because the rent is late?
A business landlord with three or more units may not use a lease term that lets the landlord block the tenant from using the home, or enter to seize or remove the tenant's belongings, before the lease has been lawfully terminated. That is clause 6.1 (7) of the 2025 Contract Committee notification. Recovering possession after termination goes through the court, as our eviction guide explains.
Can a landlord take late fees out of my deposit?
For a landlord with three or more units, the 2025 notification defines the deposit as security for damage the tenant causes and for unpaid expenses that are not rent, and the standard contract lets the landlord deduct the cost of putting damage right. It defines advance rent as money held as security for the rent. The standard contract read for this guide has no clause on deducting a late fee. Outside the notification, the lease decides.
How long can a landlord wait before claiming unpaid rent or interest?
Section 193/33 of the Code gives a five-year limitation period for rent in arrears and for interest in arrears. Section 563 separately says no action by a landlord against a tenant in connection with the lease can be entered later than six months after the property is returned. Which period governs a particular claim is a question for a lawyer.
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General information only, not legal advice. Leases differ and courts decide disputes on their own facts. Sections 7 and 224 are taken from the Royal Gazette print of the 2021 Emergency Decree. Other Code sections are quoted from a Thai reprint that is not a government publication and from an unofficial English translation. The 2025 notification and its standard contracts were read in Thai. The worked example uses invented figures. 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
- Emergency Decree Amending the Civil and Commercial Code B.E. 2564 (Thai, Royal Gazette print, 4 pages), given 9 April 2021: s.7 three percent a year where no rate is fixed, adjustable by Royal Decree; s.224 default interest at the s.7 rate plus two percent a year, no interest on interest during default; s.224/1 installment debts; transition sections and the note of reasons naming the earlier seven and a half percent ↗Royal Thai Government Gazette, Secretariat of the Cabinet · Accessed 14 November 2026
- Civil and Commercial Code ss.203-225 (Thai reprint with amendment notes): s.204 default after a reminder and default without a reminder where the time is fixed by the calendar, s.205, s.207 creditor in default, s.221 no interest during the creditor's default, s.224 and s.224/1 as amended in B.E. 2564 ↗Nitithammalai Institute reprint (not a government host) · Accessed 14 November 2026
- Civil and Commercial Code ss.377-385 (Thai reprint): s.379 penalty forfeited on default, s.381 penalty for late performance claimed in addition to performance and the need to reserve it on acceptance, s.383 the court may reduce a penalty that is disproportionately high, and the claim for reduction is barred after payment ↗Nitithammalai Institute reprint (not a government host) · Accessed 14 November 2026
- Civil and Commercial Code ss.377-385, unofficial English translation: earnest and stipulated penalty, including s.379, s.380, s.381 and s.383 ↗Thailand Law Online (unofficial English translation) · Accessed 14 November 2026
- Civil and Commercial Code ss.537-571, unofficial English translation, read in full: 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; no section sets a late fee ↗Thailand Law Online (unofficial English translation) · Accessed 14 November 2026
- Civil and Commercial Code ss.193/30-193/35 (Thai reprint): five-year prescription for interest in arrears under s.193/33 (1) and for rent in arrears under s.193/33 (3) ↗Nitithammalai Institute reprint (not a government host) · Accessed 14 November 2026
- Royal Gazette print of the Contract Committee Notification B.E. 2568 on residential leasing (vol. 142, special part 211 Ngor, 6 June 2025): three or more units, definitions of deposit and advance rent, clause 5 standard contract terms, clause 6.1 (3) no change to rent or service charges, 6.1 (4) no forfeiture without fault, 6.1 (7) no lockout or seizure before lawful termination, 6.1 (9), clause 10 earlier leases; no clause on late fees ↗Chon Buri City Municipality (copy of the Royal Gazette print) · Accessed 14 November 2026
- Contract Committee Notification on residential building leasing B.E. 2568 with standard contract forms (Thai, 21 pages): Form A clause 8 invoice at least three days before the due date, clause 10 return of the deposit and deductions for damage, clause 13 early exit only for a tenant not in default, clause 14 written notice of at least thirty days before termination; the forms contain no late fee or interest clause ↗Office of the Consumer Protection Board · 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.
