Is Airbnb Legal in Bangkok? 2026 Rules, Permits & Taxes

Notification required

Yes

Taxes on a stay

None

Fine for hosting without a permit

Up to ฿20,000

Listings showing a permit number

0%

Next rule change

Sep 30, 2027

Listing figures: AirROI, 12 months to September 2026. A number on a listing doesn't prove the permit or licence is valid, and a missing one doesn't prove there is none.

The rules in brief

Who needs it

Any host letting a home, room or condominium unit for payment as temporary lodging of less than a month. A home of up to 8 rooms and 30 guests is notified; anything larger needs a hotel licence.^1,2,9,10,13

Issued by

Registrar under the Hotel Act, Department of Provincial Administration, Ministry of Interior (Order Maintenance Division 3, Investigation and Legal Affairs Bureau, Wang Chaiya, Bangkok)

Valid for

A non-hotel notification certificate is valid for five years from the date of notification. A hotel licence is valid for five years and is renewed before it expires for half the licence fee.

Processing

Within 40 days of notification, after an inspection

Platform checks

Airbnb's Thailand hosting page directs hosts to the hotel licence or the small-home notification and to the local authorities; it does not describe a licence number field on listings.

Fees

Who qualifies

• Small-home route: no more than 8 rooms in total and no more than 30 guests, let as temporary accommodation for payment
• An official assigned by the registrar inspects the premises before the certificate is issued
• Documents include proof of ownership of the building or the owner's written consent, the land title, a location map, proof of the applicant's main income and fingerprints for a criminal-record check
• Hotel licence: a building permit allowing hotel use from the BMA district office, plus the fire-safety standards for hotels
• Condominium units cannot be rented by the night without hotel permission, and many building rules ban it outright

How to apply

1. 1 Count the rooms (8 or fewer across all buildings) and the guests the home can take (30 or fewer); larger properties need a hotel licence instead.
2. 2 Gather the identity card, the notification form, proof of ownership or the owner's consent, the land title, a location map, proof of main income and fingerprints for the criminal-record check.
3. 3 Notify the registrar through the Department of Provincial Administration's electronic system. If paper is needed, file in Bangkok at Order Maintenance Division 3, Investigation and Legal Affairs Bureau, 442 Nakhon Sawan Road, Dusit (Wang Chaiya).
4. 4 An official inspects the premises, and the registrar issues the notification certificate within 40 days of notification.

Permit rules

Hotel licence

Anyone running a hotel business needs a licence issued by the registrar under the Hotel Act. In Bangkok the registrar is the Department of Provincial Administration; Airbnb tells Thai hosts to apply there unless the property qualifies for the small-home exemption.^1,13

Where to notify in Bangkok

A Bangkok home is reported to the Department of Provincial Administration, not to a district office: Order Maintenance Division 3 of the Investigation and Legal Affairs Bureau (Wang Chaiya service centre) on Nakhon Sawan Road, Dusit. Notification is made electronically where possible.^9,13 In force since October 2023

No notification fee

The Department of Provincial Administration's service guide lists no fee for the notification of non-hotel accommodation.⁹

Documents for the notification

The applicant brings an identity card, the notification form, proof of ownership of the building (or the owner's written consent), a copy of the land title, a location map, proof of the applicant's main income and fingerprints for a criminal-record check.⁹

Inspection and certificate within 40 days

After a host notifies the registrar, an assigned official inspects the premises. If they meet the rules, the registrar issues the notification certificate (หนังสือรับแจ้ง) within 40 days of the notification.² In force since October 2023

Certificate lasts five years

The notification certificate for a non-hotel accommodation is valid for five years from the date of notification.² In force since October 2023

Exempt hosts must still report

A home that qualifies as non-hotel accommodation is not free of paperwork: Airbnb states that the host must report the activity to the local authorities, and failure to report can bring fines.¹³

Four hotel types

A licensed hotel is type 1 if it offers rooms only and has no more than 50 rooms. Types 2, 3 and 4 add more rooms, food service, service-venue or meeting facilities; the type sets the licence fee.^2,10 In force since October 2023

Hotel licence fees

The renewal fee is half the licence fee: THB 5,000 for a type 1 hotel, 10,000 for type 2, 15,000 for type 3 and 20,000 for type 4, which makes the licence fee THB 10,000, 20,000, 30,000 and 40,000.¹⁰ Applies to: licensed hotels

Annual fee per room

A licensed hotel also pays an annual operating fee of THB 40 for each room, calculated on the number of rooms.^1,10 Applies to: licensed hotels

Hotel licence lasts five years

A hotel licence is valid for five years. Renewal must be filed before it expires; filing within 60 days after expiry adds a 20% surcharge, and after that the host applies again as for a new licence.¹⁰ Applies to: licensed hotels

Bangkok can ask platforms to remove listings

Among the measures Bangkok's authorities listed in 2025 is coordination with Airbnb and other rental platforms to control and block unauthorised room rental announcements.⁵ Applies to: Bangkok · In force since February 27, 2025

Airbnb's position

Airbnb's Thailand page tells hosts to check the Hotel Act, the Building Control Act and the Public Health Act, and to apply for a hotel licence unless an exemption applies.¹³

What counts as a hotel

The Act treats paid temporary lodging for travellers or anyone else as a hotel, so a nightly or weekly rental of a home, room or condo unit falls inside the licensing rule unless an exception applies.¹

Small homes: up to 8 rooms

Accommodation with no more than eight rooms in one or several buildings, let as temporary lodging for payment and notified to the registrar, is not a hotel and needs no hotel licence. The regulation does not require the host to live in the home.^2,13 In force since October 2023

Building permit for hotel use

Where the building control law applies, a licensed hotel must show a building permit that allows the building to be used as a hotel. In Bangkok, building permits are filed at the civil-works section of the BMA district office for the site.^2,11,13 Applies to: licensed hotels · In force since October 2023

Condominium units

The government treats renting condominium units to tourists by the night, without permission to operate as a hotel, as illegal. In February 2025 the Interior Ministry told the Department of Provincial Administration to inspect condominiums where such rentals were suspected, and Bangkok's authorities ordered inspections of condominiums for illegal rentals.⁵ Applies to: condominium units · In force since February 28, 2025

Lease and building rules

Leases, building regulations, condominium regulations and community rules can ban subletting or hosting, and a government announcement in 2025 noted that most condominiums explicitly prohibit daily rentals.^5,13

Monthly stays are outside the Act

Accommodation charged by the month or longer is carved out of the hotel definition, so a licence is not needed for monthly lets. The Act sets no night-by-night minimum stay beyond that monthly line.¹

Small homes: up to 30 guests

A notified non-hotel accommodation may take no more than thirty guests in total, counted across all its buildings.^2,13 In force since October 2023

Fire equipment in small licensed hotels

A licensed hotel of up to two storeys, 10 rooms per building and 300 square metres needs at least one hand-held extinguisher (4 kg or more) and smoke detectors with a built-in alarm in the guest rooms. Larger hotels face fuller fire-protection rules.^3,13 Applies to: licensed hotels · In force since 2023

Joint inspections by district officers and police

Bangkok's local government can send district officers and police together to inspect buildings where illegal daily rentals are suspected, and collect any keys or key cards they find.⁵ Applies to: Bangkok

Key boxes in public areas are removed

Key boxes left in public areas for self check-in are removed and the person responsible can be charged for unauthorised use of the area.⁵ Applies to: Bangkok

Report foreign guests within 24 hours

A host who accommodates a foreign guest must notify the Immigration Bureau or the local police, online or on form TM.30, within 24 hours of arrival. In Bangkok the Immigration Bureau's TM.30 counter is in Laksi. Airbnb gives the fine for non-compliance as up to THB 2,000.¹³

What the host still handles

• Notification of the home as non-hotel accommodation with the Department of Provincial Administration, or a hotel licence (see the permit section)
• VAT registration within 30 days after taxable income passes THB 1.8 million, then monthly VAT returns by the 15th of the following month
• Notification of foreign guests to the Immigration Bureau (TM.30) within 24 hours of arrival^4,6,14,15

• Operating a hotel without a licence: imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to THB 20,000, or both, plus an additional fine of up to THB 10,000 a day throughout the violation.^1,13
• Condominium owners in Bangkok renting by the night without hotel permission face the same Hotel Act penalty: a fine of up to THB 20,000 and a daily fine of THB 10,000 until the business stops.⁵
• Failing to notify the Immigration Bureau of a foreign guest within 24 hours: a fine of up to THB 2,000, according to Airbnb.¹³
• Key boxes or keys left in Bangkok's public areas for guests are removed, and the person responsible can be charged for unauthorised use of the area.⁵

1. September 30, 2027 Upcoming
   Reduced 7% VAT rate scheduled to end

   Royal Decree No. 807 sets 30 September 2027 as the last day of the reduced 7% VAT rate unless the government extends it again.⁶

2. September 30, 2026 Not in force
   Second House bill on accommodation establishments opens for public comment

   A draft Accommodation Establishments Act proposed by Member of Parliament Thanayot Timsuwan and colleagues was open for public comment on the Parliament's Section 77 system from 30 September to 14 October 2026. It sorts accommodation into three classes (notification, registration and licence), moves filing mainly online and adds guest protections. It has not become law.¹²

3. August 2026
   7% VAT rate continued for another year

   Royal Decree No. 807 B.E. 2569 extends the reduced VAT rate of 7% until 30 September 2027; the Revenue Department listed the decree among its new tax laws on 24 August 2026.⁶

4. July 2026 Not in force
   Draft Accommodation Establishments Act sent for Cabinet consideration

   The Office of the Council of State proposed a draft Accommodation Establishments Act to replace the Hotel Act. It would cover homestays, hostels and daily-rented rooms such as Airbnb listings, use notification or registration for small and low-risk properties, and move filing to an electronic system run by the Department of Provincial Administration. On 28 September 2026 it was under consideration by the Cabinet Secretariat and has not been enacted.⁷

5. March 31, 2026 Not in force
   House members' bill on hotels and overnight accommodation opens for consultation

   A draft Hotel and Overnight Accommodation Act proposed by Member of Parliament Nattaphon Towichaksachaikul and colleagues was open for public comment on the Parliament's Section 77 system from 31 March to 30 April 2026. It has not become law.⁸

6. February 28, 2025
   Government warns against nightly condominium rentals

   A government spokesperson said renting condominiums to tourists for short stays breaks the Hotel Act, and the Interior Ministry told the Department of Provincial Administration to inspect condominiums where illegal rentals were suspected.⁵

7. February 27, 2025
   Bangkok orders condominium inspections and lists enforcement measures

   The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration sent a letter to the Land Office of Bangkok ordering the inspection of condominiums for illegal rentals and told its City Enforcement Division to regulate the matter strictly. Its measures include joint inspections with police, working with condominium representatives and booking platforms, and removing key boxes from public areas.⁵

8. October 2023
   Non-hotel accommodation raised to 8 rooms and 30 guests, with a five-year certificate

   Ministerial Regulation (No. 2) B.E. 2566, published in the Royal Gazette on 30 August 2023 and in force 60 days later, redefined non-hotel accommodation as up to eight rooms and thirty guests, set a 40-day inspection and certificate period and made the certificate valid for five years.^2,13

Estimate what a Bangkok home could earn

1. 1. Hotel Act, B.E. 2547 (2004) (unofficial English translation) · Department of Provincial Administration, Ministry of Interior (translation by the Office of the Council of State)
2. 2. Ministerial Regulation on Hotel Business Types and Criteria (No. 2) B.E. 2566 (2023), Royal Gazette vol. 140, part 52 Ko, 30 August 2023 · Royal Gazette of Thailand
3. 3. Ministerial Regulation Prescribing Characteristics and Safety Systems of Buildings Used for Hotel Business B.E. 2566 (2023), Royal Gazette vol. 140, part 52 Ko, 30 August 2023 · Royal Gazette of Thailand
4. 4. Value Added Tax · The Revenue Department of Thailand (English site)
5. 5. Thailand: Government Warns Foreign Investors Over Illegal Condo Rentals (Global Legal Monitor, 7 April 2025) · Law Library of Congress
6. 6. New tax laws (กฎหมายออกใหม่), entry for Royal Decree No. 807 B.E. 2569 on the reduced VAT rate · The Revenue Department of Thailand
7. 7. Law development work of the Office of the Council of State: draft Accommodation Establishments Act (ร่างพระราชบัญญัติสถานที่พักแรม พ.ศ. ....), 28 September 2026 · Office of the Council of State (press release carried by Thai Post)
8. 8. Section 77 public consultation: draft Hotel and Overnight Accommodation Act (ร่างพระราชบัญญัติโรงแรมและสถานที่พักค้างคืน พ.ศ. ....) · Parliament of Thailand
9. 9. Issuing a notification certificate for non-hotel accommodation (การออกหนังสือแจ้งสถานที่พักที่ไม่เป็นโรงแรม), public service guide · Department of Provincial Administration, Ministry of Interior
10. 10. Renewing a hotel business licence (การต่อใบอนุญาตประกอบธุรกิจโรงแรม), public service guide · Department of Provincial Administration, Ministry of Interior
11. 11. Dealing with Construction Permits (building permits in Bangkok are filed at the BMA district office) · Board of Investment of Thailand, One Start One Stop Investment Center
12. 12. Section 77 public consultation: draft Accommodation Establishments Act (ร่างพระราชบัญญัติสถานที่พักแรม พ.ศ. ....), 30 September to 14 October 2026 · Parliament of Thailand
13. 13. Responsible hosting in Thailand · Airbnb Help Center
14. 14. Airbnb Tax Guide 2026: Thailand (prepared by an independent third-party law firm) · Airbnb
15. 15. Areas where tax collection and remittance by Airbnb is available · Airbnb Help Center