Resale listings sometimes read "sold with tenant" or "lease in place until next year". Novice investors scroll past, sensing complication; experienced investors often lean in, because this is a property that has already proven it rents, comes with real numbers to audit, and starts paying the day the transfer registers. Here is the legal mechanism, the verification list, and a systematic way to price such a deal.
The heart of the deal sits in the Civil and Commercial Code: when leased property is transferred, the lease does not end — the new owner steps into the previous landlord's rights and duties by operation of law. In plain terms, buying the unit makes you the sitting tenant's new landlord instantly, on identical terms: same rent, same remaining term, and every special clause in the contract comes along too.
The consequences cut both ways. You cannot evict the tenant mid-term, but neither can the tenant use the change of owner to walk away — income stays contract-stable. The caution: if the old lease contains unfavourable terms — rent far below market, a long lock-in, automatic renewal rights — you carry those to the end as well. This is why reading the actual lease before placing a deposit matters more than viewing the room.
Documents: First, the original lease with every annex — read each line, especially rent, expiry, renewal terms and furniture arrangements. Second, evidence of the security deposit: know the exact amount and agree in writing that it transfers from seller to you at closing, because when the lease ends, the person refunding the tenant is you; forget to collect it from the seller and the refund comes out of your own pocket. Third, at least six months of rent-payment history — real transfer slips reveal both the tenant's discipline and whether the advertised rent is genuine.
Checks: confirm with the juristic office that no common fees are owed and no disputes attach to the unit, and benchmark market rent for identical units in the same building so you know whether the inherited lease is cheap or rich. And one meeting: talk to the tenant before transfer if at all possible — a short conversation reveals intent to stay, how the unit is kept, and the tone of the relationship you are about to inherit.
The right price balances two opposing forces. Certainty adds value: a tenant with a long on-time record and months left on the lease is proven cash flow — no vacancy, no letting costs, lower risk than an empty unit. Obligations subtract value: if contract rent runs 15% below market with ten months remaining, that lost spread is a directly computable cost to deduct from your offer. Occupied units are also harder to show, thinning the buyer pool — negotiating power that belongs to you.
A quick worked example: market value 3,000,000 THB, market rent 15,000, but the lease locks 12,500 for ten more months. The forgone spread is 25,000 THB; add the audit and transfer friction, and negotiating 50,000–100,000 off market is reasonable. Conversely, when the lease runs above market with a two-year spotless payer, the unit deserves to hold firmer than the empty one next door.
First, notify the tenant in writing that ownership has changed, providing new contact details and the account for next month's rent, with a copy of the title for reassurance. Second, sign a lease addendum (not a new lease) recording the change of landlord, confirming existing terms and the deposit amount you assumed — all parties signing. Third, document the unit's condition as of transfer day as far as practicable, as the baseline for the eventual move-out. Finally, plan 60–90 days before expiry: renew at a new rent, adjust, or take the unit back for renovation and a rent reset.
Cleanest: make vacant possession a condition in the purchase agreement so the seller resolves the tenancy before transfer. Alternative: take the transfer and negotiate directly with the tenant, usually with compensation for early departure. Never buy assuming you can "sort them out later" — the law does not offer that path.
Property leases beyond three years are enforceable only for the first three unless registered at the Land Office. This directly caps the obligation you inherit — always check the title's back page for a registered lease.
Every landlord right is now yours: written demands, applying the deposit per the contract, and termination on the stated grounds. This is precisely why the six-month payment history is mandatory pre-purchase — it is the best filter for this risk.
A tenanted unit is not a complication to avoid; for buyers who audit properly it is the deal with better information, where every income assumption is replaced by verified numbers. Read the lease before admiring the room, collect the three documents, price the inherited obligations honestly, and the property does what it should — pay you from day one. Browse investable condos at MyProperty listings.
Was this article helpful?
InvestmentTwice the space at half the price in locations new projects can't touch — old condos tempt every budget-conscious buyer. The structural truths, the financing catch, the fee mathematics, and how to pick the survivors.
InvestmentLife changes between booking and transfer — and 'selling the down' is the exit. How contract assignments work with developers, the fees involved, why the discount exists, and the checks that protect the buyer taking over.
InvestmentA condo's future is written in its juristic person's accounts: collection rates, sinking fund balance, arrears, and insurance. How to request the documents, what healthy numbers look like, and the red flags that predict decaying buildings.