Sharing a rental with a friend or a roommate can get you a bigger room or a better location for what each of you can afford. The trouble usually starts with the things nobody discussed: who transfers the rent, how the electricity bill is split, or how many nights a partner can stay over. This guide covers what to settle before you sign a lease in Thailand, and ends with a one-page roommate agreement checklist you can use straight away.
Start with the lease: whose name is on it, and how many people may live there
What roommates agree between themselves does not change the lease, so before you sign, be clear about who is named and who answers to the landlord for what.
- One name on the lease: that person is the tenant as far as the landlord is concerned. Under Section 562 of the Thai Civil and Commercial Code, the tenant is liable for loss or damage to the rented property caused by their own fault or by the fault of people living with them, but not for loss or damage that results from proper use. If your roommate breaks something, the landlord can hold the named tenant liable, and the two of you settle it between yourselves.
- Both names on the lease: ask the landlord, and have it written into the lease, whether one of you has to pay the full rent if the other does not pay their share, whose bank account the deposit goes back to, and what happens to the lease if one of you moves out early.
- Tell the landlord how many people will live there. Ask how many occupants the room allows and whether the rent or other charges change for two people, then have the number or the names of the occupants written into the lease.
- Understand what you sign. If the lease is only in Thai, ask someone you trust to translate it before either of you signs.
Section 544 says a tenant may not sublet the property, or transfer their rights in the whole or any part of it to a third person, unless the lease says otherwise; if they do, the landlord may terminate the lease. Renting part of your room to someone else, or letting someone take over your place when you leave, therefore needs a clause in the lease that allows it or the landlord's consent. The safe way is to message the landlord before anyone moves in and keep the reply.
If you are the one moving into someone else's room, for example through a "roommate wanted" post, ask to see the lease and confirm with the real landlord that you may live there before you transfer any money. Our guide to fake landlord scams in Thailand shows how to check who you are dealing with.
Foreign roommates and TM30
Under the Immigration Act, the house master, owner or possessor of a dwelling who takes in a foreigner staying in Thailand on temporary permission must notify the authorities within 24 hours of the foreigner moving in. For apartments and rental houses, the Immigration Bureau asks the owner of the rental or the operator to file it on form TM30. So tell the landlord before a foreign roommate moves in, whether that is you or a new flatmate, and have the passport details ready. Our TM30 guide for tenants explains what to hand over and which receipt to keep.
Put numbers on the money from day one
"We'll split it" is not enough. Agree on who pays how much, on which day and into whose account, and keep every transfer slip.
| Item | What to agree on |
|---|---|
| Rent | An equal split, or a split by bedroom size and private bathroom; the due date; whether each of you pays the landlord directly, or one of you collects and shares the slip every month |
| Deposit and advance rent | Who paid how much, whose account it goes back to, and who bears which part of any repair deduction |
| Electricity and water | With one meter for the room: an equal split or an agreed share, for example the person who works from home with the air conditioner on all day pays more |
| Internet | The building's connection or your own; if your own, whose name is on the contract and who keeps paying if someone moves out |
| Shared supplies and joint buys | Tissue, dish soap, drinking water: a monthly kitty or taking turns; a microwave or rice cooker bought together: who keeps it on move-out day |
Hypothetical example: a two-bedroom unit at 10,000 baht a month, split equally at 5,000 baht each. At signing, the landlord collects a 2-month deposit and 1 month's rent in advance, 30,000 baht in total, so 15,000 baht each. The first electricity bill is 1,500 baht; you agree on 60:40 because one of you works from home, so that person pays 900 baht and the other 600 baht. Water (200 baht) and internet (600 baht) are split equally: 100 baht and 300 baht each.
The 2025 lease rules (the Contract Committee notification on residential building leasing as a contract-controlled business, B.E. 2568, enforced by the Office of the Consumer Protection Board, OCPB, and in force since 04/09/2025) cover landlords who rent out 3 or more homes, but not dormitories under Thailand's Dormitory Act or hotels. Among other things:
- the deposit plus advance rent may not exceed 3 months' rent (1 year's rent for long-term leases paid yearly);
- water and electricity may not be charged above the rates of the utility providers;
- the deposit must be returned immediately when the lease ends; if the landlord inspects the room first, within 7 days when there is no damage, or within 14 days after deducting only the repair cost of damage the tenant is liable for.
More detail: rental deposits in Thailand: how much, how fast it comes back, what can be deducted. To bring the shared bill down, see saving electricity in a rented room in Thailand.
Living together: chores, noise and guests
- Chores: put cleaning the bathroom, mopping and taking out the rubbish on a rota, swap every week and pin it in your chat. Wash dishes the same day, give each person a shelf in the fridge, and do a bigger clean together once a month; move-out day will be far less work.
- Hours and noise: share when each of you gets up, sleeps and works, and set quiet hours, for example headphones after 22:00. Agree on the air conditioner temperature and on lights when the other person is asleep.
- Privacy: knock before entering the other person's bedroom or corner, and ask before borrowing anything.
- Building rules: on smoking, pets, cooking and visitors, read them first and make your own agreement fit them, for example whether guests sign in or leave an ID card, and whether they may stay overnight.
- Guests and partners: tell each other before bringing someone over and agree how many nights a week they may stay. Never give a guest your key card or key. If a guest breaks something, the person who invited them pays. If someone stays so often that they practically live there, tell the landlord.
Noise or guests that disturb other units are a problem for the whole room. Under the 2025 rules, a landlord who wants to end the lease must give at least 30 days' written notice, but only at least 7 days where a tenant's conduct directly affects other tenants. Rules on noise and guests protect the lease for both of you.
When one of you moves out early or you change roommates
- Give notice to each other. Agree from day one how much notice a roommate must give, and who pays the leaving person's share of the rent in the meantime.
- A replacement goes through the landlord. Introduce the new person to the landlord and change the names on the lease or sign a new one, because under Section 544 a tenant cannot transfer the lease to someone else unless the lease allows it.
- The leaving roommate's deposit share. Agree when and from whom they get it back: for example, the replacement pays it to them, or you split the deposit when the landlord returns it at the end of the lease. Settle this early if the person leaving is also leaving Thailand.
- Check the room again at the changeover. Take photos and note any marks, so it is clear what happened before or after the change. Our move-in checklist shows how.
- Ending the whole lease early. Read the termination clause in your lease and talk to the landlord before you give notice.
A one-page roommate agreement checklist
Write it as a message in your group chat, or print it and both sign, one copy each. It is an agreement between roommates; it does not replace the lease with the landlord.
- Whose name is on the lease, and how many occupants the landlord allows
- Each person's share of the rent, the due date and the account it goes to
- Deposit and advance rent: who paid how much, and where it goes back to
- How you split electricity, water, internet, shared supplies and things you buy together
- The chores rota, quiet hours and the rules for overnight guests
- Damage: whoever causes it pays; if nobody knows, you split it
- Moving out: how much notice, who covers the gap, and finding a replacement the landlord accepts
- A date to review the agreement, for example after the first month
Hypothetical example: an agreement summary in your chat
Room 512, starting 01/12/2026
Rent 5,000 baht each; each of us transfers by the 1st and posts the slip here
Electricity 60:40; water and internet split equally; shared supplies 300 baht each per month
Headphones after 22:00; overnight guests at most 2 nights a week
Moving out: 30 days' notice; review this agreement on 01/01/2027
This article is a plain-language summary; for your own case, the law, the notification and your lease are what count. The notification and the sample standard contract (in Thai) are on the OCPB website, and the OCPB hotline is 1166.
Find a place for two on RentKrub
Once you agree on a budget and an area, search together on RentKrub.
- Listing pages: the "Room types" table shows the layout, the size in square metres and the monthly or daily rent of each room type, and the "Costs" section shows the deposit, advance payment, water, electricity and internet. Work out each person's share before you book a viewing, and ask the landlord how many occupants are allowed.
- Map search: drop a pin or search a place, then pick a radius of 1–5 km. If you work or study in different places, try a pin halfway between them.
- Compare properties: tap the scale button on the cards or listing pages of up to 4 places, then open the compare page together.
- Rooms near universities and schools, for students sharing with a friend
- Rooms near BTS, MRT and ARL stations, for commuters
