We are tenants in a building and on signing the docs with the landlord we all visited the land office to get the lease registered. We paid the tax at the land office and all parties have a copy of the contract with nominal rent increases every 3 yrs. I negotiated a very good deal and think we have low rent.  

 

My question is… Can the landlord evict us at all or change the rent? I assume not because it is registered and tax paid. Is this correct?

 

Years ago I remember reading a comment on this forum where a foreigner rented a building in bkk. The landlord told him he wanted to sell it. The foreigner put up a big vinal sign (in thai) stating that ‘any buyers should be aware that there’s a registered lease on the building at the land office and that current tenants will not move out prior to expiry date of the contract’. He said that the building was never sold. 

 

I thought I would check with anyone that knows if there’s been any changes to the law. Am I correct in my assumption above that the lease contract is effectively ‘set in stone’ until the said expiry date occurs?

thanks
 

You did the correct thing by registering the lease and paying the relevant tax.

 

Now you have done this the lease is classed as a real property right and cannot be changed unless the lease contract itself allows for changes.

 

You cannot be legally evicted unless 1. You breach the lease and the eviction complies with the terms of the lease, or 2. By Order of the Court.

 

The property can be sold by the owner or given as a gift, and there is nothing you can do to prevent this. Any buyer, however, is legally obliged to continue the lease until its expiration or until you breach the lease. This is because the lease is a real property right.

 

In the same way the rent cannot be changed.

 

The only thing to consider is that you do need to strictly comply with the terms of the lease. For example if the payment is by cheque send it by registered mail or obtain a signature if the cheque is delivered or collected.

 

If your lease requires you to get permission in writing before you alter the building, make sure you have that permisdion in writing and that you keep that written permission stored safely. You do not want someone to inherit the property then claim you breached the lease with unauthorised constructions, etc.

In most countries a signed contract is binding, if both parties agree to an amendment or change thats fine read contract carefully make sure no sneaky little clauses or additions otherwise it is binding to finishing date on contract 

11 minutes ago, Boedog said:

In most countries a signed contract is binding, if both parties agree to an amendment or change thats fine read contract carefully make sure no sneaky little clauses or additions otherwise it is binding to finishing date on contract 

Not in a developing country like Thailand. If we had not registered the lease and paid tax and just had a normal contract then it is effectively a worthless piece of paper. Contracts here mean nothing to your average Thai-  thats why I insisted on registering and paying the tax. 

On 7/4/2021 at 8:59 AM, bbabythai said:

I thought I would check with anyone that knows if there’s been any changes to the law. Am I correct in my assumption above that the lease contract is effectively ‘set in stone’ until the said expiry date occurs?

To my knowledge: Yes (i.e. the agreement runs until expiry date).

 

The Law in English translation is HERE.