Renting an apartment in Bangkok

You pay three months of rent before you get keys in Bangkok: two months deposit plus one month in advance. On a THB 30,000 flat that is THB 90,000, about $2,735, as of September 2026. The agent costs you nothing. The bigger money is the electricity meter, which some buildings re-bill at nearly double the government rate.

Current at 9 September 2026. Dollars at THB 32.9 to US$1, the rate of 8 September 2026.

The same unit of electricity has two prices here

Ask one question at every viewing. Does the electricity authority bill me, or does the building?

The Metropolitan Electricity Authority charges THB 3.25 a unit for the first 150, 4.22 up to 400, and 4.42 beyond that. Add the THB 24.62 service charge, the fuel adjustment and 7% VAT and you land at THB 4.20 to 4.70 all-in, $0.13 to $0.14 (Expatden, 3 August 2026). Buildings that re-bill you charge THB 6 to 8. That is the resort rate, and it is 50 to 90% more for the same power.

It is not in the rent, so nobody mentions it. It is the costliest question people forget to ask when moving to Bangkok.

Three months of rent before you hold keys

On a twelve-month lease you pay two months deposit plus one month in advance (Expatden, 7 September 2026). Six-month leases and older buildings often take one plus one.

Here is the upfront number on a THB 30,000 flat.

The agent is free. The landlord pays, usually one month. CHECK That one-month figure is a reported norm, not a published rate (Expatden, 7 September 2026).

Agents want a lease of six to twelve months and rent of at least THB 10,000 (Expatden, 7 September 2026). Twelve months is the standard term. Notice is contractual, typically 30 to 60 days — a market norm, not a statute — and leaving early forfeits the deposit. A landlord letting five or more units faces a further rule: Notification B.E. 2568, effective 4 September 2025, lets you leave early once you have lived through half the lease, with 30 days' written notice and the rent paid up (Tilleke & Gibbins, read 12 September 2026).

You also leave a one-month holding deposit at the viewing to take the unit off the market. Whether it counts toward the three months is a contract matter. Get that in writing before you hand it over.

The deposit is not your last month's rent, and it earns no interest.

There are not two readings of one rule here. A landlord letting five or more units runs a controlled-contract business under the Contract Committee Notification B.E. 2562 (2019), effective 29 January 2020, which replaced the 2018 rule the book once cited (Tilleke & Gibbins, read 11 September 2026). It caps deposit and advance combined at three months' rent, and the market's two plus one sits exactly at that ceiling, not above it. The same rule returns your deposit immediately at term end, or within seven days if damage is being assessed.

What the meter should actually read

At the government rate, a one-bedroom with the air on bills THB 2,000 to 2,200 a month (Expatden, 3 August 2026). In the March to May heat it runs THB 3,000 to 5,000. With no AC it is THB 800 to 1,500.

Call it 450 units a month. What they cost depends on who reads the meter.

Over a twelve-month lease the gap is THB 7,020 to 20,520 ($213–624).

The rate moved this month. The energy regulator capped units 26 to 200 at THB 3.00 (Nation Thailand, 24 August 2026). Rented rooms with no registered address now qualify.

The book's THB 3.25, 4.22 and 4.42 bands predate this change. The new schedule runs THB 2.35 to 4.36 a unit across five bands, lowest on the first 15 units and highest above 400 (Nation Thailand, 24 August 2026). Treat any bill above THB 4.70 a unit as a markup.

The book calls the resort rate legal. That holds only for a landlord letting one to four units. Five or more makes them a controlled-contract business, barred from charging more than the electricity authority's own published rate (Contract Committee Notification B.E. 2562, effective 29 January 2020, via Tilleke & Gibbins, read 11 September 2026).

Water is the same story, smaller. The government rate is about THB 7 a unit and landlords bill 15 to 25. For one person that is under THB 200 a month.

Furnished means one thing in a condo and another in an apartment

Condos come fully furnished, bed included. Buildings sold as apartments are basic. The listing does not always say which one you are getting.

Common-area fees are the owner's cost. You should never see them on your bill. They run about THB 65 to 70 per square metre a month in an upper-mid tower, and about THB 200 in a hotel-branded tower (FazWaz, September 2026).

The band table in Bangkok, honestly names 28 buildings in five price levels. It says which bands hand the meter to the building.

Internet is rarely included. Fibre at 500 Mbps runs about THB 600 a month, $18, billed to the lease-holder (Expatden, 8 September 2026).

Five to fifteen per cent off asking is normal

Portal prices are asking prices and agents inflate them. Five to fifteen per cent off is normal, and more on a twelve-month deal (Expatden, 7 September 2026).

The market behind that number is split. Luxury launches still sell at 93%, and downtown asks are forecast up to 15% higher in 2026 (CBRE Thailand, 2026 outlook). Mid-market towers sit on unsold stock and discount quietly (Colliers Q1 2026, via Global Property Guide). Push hard in a 2016 to 2022 mid-Sukhumvit tower. Do not bother in a new prime launch.

CHECK Some guides claim up to 40% off direct with an owner. That is anecdotal. Do not plan on it.

The portals people actually use

DDproperty carries around 61,000 Bangkok rentals and FazWaz about 51,700 (portal counts, 8 September 2026). Hipflat and PropertyScout are worth a look. Facebook Marketplace and the expat housing groups are cheaper and messier.

The conversation then moves to LINE. Everyone uses it.

Filter by station, not by district. Pick the area first. Rents across the eight areas foreigners actually live in differ by tens of thousands of baht.

Your landlord owes immigration a form within 24 hours

This is the TM30. Your landlord must tell immigration you sleep at the address, within a day of your arrival. That is a legal duty under section 38 of the Immigration Act.

The law caps the fine at THB 2,000 (Immigration Act B.E. 2522, s.77). What an office actually charges varies, commonly from THB 800 upward. Either way the landlord owes it and the tenant usually ends up paying it.

Do not let it slide. You need the TM30 receipt for your 90-day report, for a residence certificate, and therefore for a driving licence. If you are here on a remote-work visa, the same receipt has reportedly unlocked a two-year licence for DTV holders. CHECK No official notice confirms it; the evidence is expat guides and a July 2025 Chonburi rule. Filing is online and takes minutes.

Three scams, and the question that stops each one

The listing under market price. A flat sits well below the going rate, and the agent pushes you to pay today.

The defence. Never pay for a flat you have not walked through. No viewing, no money.

The owner who is abroad. The message says the owner is travelling, so the deposit goes by QR and the keys get couriered. They never come.

The defence. Ask for the chanote, the title deed, or a utility bill in the landlord's name. Match that name against whoever is asking for money.

The sub-letter posing as the owner. Someone with a real key shows you a real flat, signs a real-looking lease, and is a tenant themselves.

The defence. Same document check. Confirm the name on the lease matches the name on the chanote.

Then film the flat on move-in day, every scratch. The consumer board acted on 1,655 rental cases this year. Withheld deposits and inflated bills topped the list (Pattaya Mail, 29 May 2026). Getting money back is an evidence problem.

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