Pattaya · Edition 9 September 2026
Pattaya long-stay rent
The portal average is not a price. PropertyScout's Pattaya one-bedroom mean was THB 21,878 a month, $665, on 9 September 2026. One agency quoting genuine twelve-month one-bedrooms puts them at THB 10,000 to 16,000, $304 to $486 (superagent.co, 24 April 2026, updated 22 June 2026). The difference is the lease, not the building. Ask for the annual rate and the same flat drops 15 to 20%.
Current at 9 September 2026. Dollars at THB 32.9 to US$1, the rate of 8 September 2026.
Budget from the portal average and you overpay by THB 106,536 a year
THB 21,878 against THB 13,000, the midpoint of the genuine annual band, is THB 8,878 a month. Over a year that is THB 106,536, or $3,238. That gap is the first thing anyone moving to Pattaya should price.
PropertyScout publishes two different Pattaya one-bedroom means on the same page: THB 21,831 in its comparison widget, THB 24,744 in its FAQ text (propertyscout.co.th, 11 September 2026). That gap is two co-published statistics from 1,927 listings, not a day's move, and Pattaya has no rent index (reic.or.th, 11 September 2026).
Three owners publish more than one price for the same flat
These three owners each publish more than one price for one flat.
| The flat | Term | THB a month | Over its annual rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio, 27 sqm, The Riviera Jomtien | 6 months | 20,000 ($608) | +17.6% |
| same flat | 12 months | 17,000 ($517) | — |
| 1BR, 53 sqm, Sands Condominium, Pratumnak | 6 months | 40,000 ($1,216) | +25% |
| same flat | 12 months | 32,000 ($973) | — |
| 1BR, 51 sqm, The Point Pratumnak | 3–6 months | 27,000 ($821) | +8% |
| same flat | 12 months | 25,000 ($760) | — |
All three read on thailand-property.com, 10 September 2026.
Sands Condominium makes the argument in one row. THB 384,000 a year at its annual rate, THB 480,000 paying six months twice. That is THB 96,000, or $2,918, more.
A dual-priced Jomtien studio once showed a 50% premium, but the snippet behind it could not be reopened on 10 September 2026, and no such listing exists today. Plan around Sands' confirmed +25% instead.
CHECK Two agencies publish a term premium and measure different things. Monthly or quarterly costs run 15 to 20% over annual, any season (superagent.co, 24 April 2026, updated 22 June 2026). A one to three month winter let runs 20 to 40%, high season only (pattaya-property.net, read 10 September 2026).
One THB 16,000 flat costs THB 192,000 a year, or THB 420,000
| How you buy the month | THB a month | Twelve months | Over the annual rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twelve-month lease | 16,000 ($486) | 192,000 | — |
| Six-month lease | 17,280–20,000 | 207,360–240,000 | +15,360–48,000 |
| Quarterly, or monthly off season | 18,400–19,200 | 220,800–230,400 | +28,800–38,400 |
| Monthly, high season, Nov to Mar | 19,200–22,400 | 230,400–268,800 | +38,400–76,800 |
| Monthly, worst ladder found | 24,000 ($729) | 288,000 | +96,000 |
| Monthly-let operator | 20,000–35,000 | 240,000–420,000 | +48,000–228,000 |
| Serviced apartment, one-bedroom | 20,462 average | 245,544 | +53,544 |
| Under 30 days in a condominium | unlawful | — | — |
Rungs two to four apply the premiums above to a THB 16,000 annual rate. The rest were read 10 September 2026.
The bottom rung is not a rung. A paid stay under 30 days is a hotel business under the Hotel Act, and the operator risks a year in prison and THB 20,000 (Formichella & Sritawat, 10 April 2026).
CHECK The 2026 enforcement counts that exist are Phuket's, not Pattaya's: 1,440 inspected, 38 prosecutions, 18 April 2026.
MonthStayz by GoldStar sells one to twelve months in the same towers, unlabelled beside the annual stock. At The Riviera Jomtien its 35 sqm one-bedrooms start at THB 20,000, against the building's own annual floor of 17,000 (thailand-property.com, read 10 September 2026).
The term saves more than the address, and you keep the neighbourhood
| The lever | Sourced saving | THB a year, 16,000 flat |
|---|---|---|
| Central Pattaya to Jomtien | 10–15% | 19,200–28,800 ($583–875) |
| Twelve months, not monthly | 15–20% | 28,800–38,400 ($875–1,167) |
| Twelve months, not a high-season monthly | 20–40% | 38,400–76,800 ($1,167–2,334) |
| Both, in Jomtien | 25–35% | 48,000–67,200 ($1,459–2,043) |
Rows one and two are superagent.co, row three pattaya-property.net, row four the first two together. The cheapest term saving beats the best address saving at its floor. Only one of them makes you move house, and the upfront money is the same either way.
PropertyScout's Jomtien one-bedroom mean, THB 30,036 over 561 listings, sits above Na Kluea's THB 25,167 over 396 (propertyscout.co.th, 11 September 2026). One THB 3,000,000 listing tagged as a Jomtien one-bedroom carries THB 5,348 of that mean; strip it and Jomtien falls to THB 24,732, below Na Kluea. Jomtien stays cheap and oversupplied; Naklua and Wongamat stay the quiet, expensive north.
One agency lists fifteen units at a before-and-after rate, cut 7 to 31%, median 16.7% (rent-buy-thailand.com, updated April 2026).
A visa exemption now rules you out of the annual rate
- Anyone on a visa exemption from 15 September 2026. A Western passport gets 30 days, or 60 with a THB 1,900 extension (Royal Gazette, 31 August 2026). Land entries are capped at two a year. You cannot lawfully be present for the twelve months the annual rate needs.
- Anyone under 50 without a DTV, LTR or Privilege visa. The Thai retirement extension starts at 50 (Pattaya, honestly, September 2026). The DTV covers twelve months, but bars a work permit, Thai employers and Thai clients.
- Anyone who wants to try the town first. A 30-day look sits on the one-month rung, THB 30,000 against 20,000. Two months of scouting costs THB 60,000, or $1,824, against THB 40,000 at the annual rate.
- Anyone whose year could end early. A sick parent, a job recall, a visa refused at renewal. Breaking the lease forfeits THB 32,000 ($973) of deposit, against a term saving of 28,800 to 38,400.
- Anyone who will not ride a scooter, or holds a car-only international permit. East Pattaya is the cheapest annual band, THB 7,000 to 12,000, and it has no baht bus (pattaya-property.net, read 10 September 2026). Your floor rises to Jomtien's 10,000.
- A family of four. That band buys 22 to 41 sqm. Annual two-bedrooms run THB 20,000 to 32,000 in Central Pattaya (superagent.co, 24 April 2026, updated 22 June 2026), and Walking Street, Soi 6 and the Soi Buakhao belt are not family environments. Expatistan's 78,308 THB family figure (8 September 2026) rests on fewer than five contributors.
- Anyone with asthma, COPD or a heart condition chasing the cheapest stock. One 56-storey and two 49-storey towers are rising on Jomtien Beach Road, which floods 10 to 50 cm (Pattaya Mail, 8 September 2025). November and December PM2.5 averaged 34.4 and 36.8 µg/m³ against a Pattaya annual mean of 20.9 (IQAir, 2019 series). WHO's 2021 guideline is 5 µg/m³ a year, 15 over 24 hours.
- Anyone on a retirement extension who flies home mid-lease. A re-entry permit is mandatory before you leave, THB 1,000 single or THB 3,800 multiple, or the extension dies at the airport (Pattaya, honestly, September 2026).
Twelve months signed direct in the low season is the cheapest month here
- Twelve months, direct with the owner, in Jomtien or East Pattaya. THB 7,000 to 16,000 a month ($213–486), three months upfront. It stacks the term, the area and the season.
- Twelve months in Central Pattaya, Pratumnak or North Pattaya. THB 11,000 to 20,000 ($334–608), for the baht bus at the door or a sea view.
- Twelve months in Naklua, Wongamat or on the beachfront. THB 20,000 to 55,000 ($608–1,672), and the answer for a family.
- Six months. THB 17,280 to 20,000, a premium of 8 to 25%. It buys an exit at month six without forfeiting THB 32,000.
- Monthly, or a monthly-let operator. THB 18,400 to 35,000. Booking direct rather than through the platform saves up to 20% (MonthStayz, read 10 September 2026).
- A serviced apartment. One-bedroom average THB 20,462 ($622) across 21 properties (PropertyScout, read 10 September 2026), with electricity at THB 7 to 9 a unit.
The national tariff runs THB 3.8 to 4.7 a unit, and the ERC has frozen the average at THB 3.95 for September to December 2026 (nationthailand.com, 12 August 2026). Condos often charge a flat THB 6 to 8 a unit.
Budget two to three months upfront: one month booking plus one to two months security is the Pattaya norm (nestopa.com, 16 June 2026; pattaya-property.net, read 11 September 2026). That differs from Phuket's two-plus-one convention.
Ask one question at every viewing. Is that a twelve-month rate? The 34 named buildings and their one-bedroom rents sit in three price bands in Pattaya, honestly.
What this page does not cover
- The 34 named buildings in three bands, each with its rents and a sale price per square metre
- The negotiation script for a twelve-month lease, line by line, and the month in which the discount moves
- The retirement extension in sequence: the THB 800,000 seasoning rule, the income route, the TM.7 and the six documents
- Jomtien Immigration's address, its opening hours and its phone number
- The resort-rate bill table by unit type, with the government tiers and the fuel surcharge
All of it is in Pattaya, honestly — 23 pages, $29. See what's inside
Related
The season decides how hard the annual rate is to get, so read when to arrive in Pattaya first. Bands follow the map, and the areas foreigners rent in differ by tens of thousands of baht. Still choosing? Compare all ten cities on rent, air and visas.
Written by Mihailo Pavlovic. We last changed this page on 21 September 2026.