Renting Out Your Phuket Property Short-Term: Airbnb Rules, the Hotel Act and Risks

The 30-day rule

Under the Hotel Act, renting a property for less than 30 days without a hotel licence is generally treated as an unlicensed hotel business. A Phuket News piece from 2025 put it bluntly: most short-term rentals are not technically legal. Rentals of 30 days or more fall outside the Act and are ordinary residential rentals, which is why many landlords set a 30-day minimum.

Condos versus houses

• Condominiums are residential, so nightly lets are generally prohibited unless the building holds a hotel licence, and building rules often set a 30-day minimum on top.
• Houses and villas need a hotel licence or a non-hotel registration under the Hotel Act.
• One data-driven rules site says homes of up to 8 rooms and 30 guests can be notified to the authorities as non-hotel accommodation, with fines of up to 20,000 baht plus 10,000 baht a day for operating without the right permission. Treat that as one source's summary and confirm locally.
• Leases and juristic-person rules can also forbid subletting.

Practical choices for owners

Monthly lets to long-stay tenants are the safest and most common model. See the long-term rentals page and the renting guide for contracts and deposits. If you want nightly income, take advice on licensing and the registration route, and check tax and TM30 reporting duties. See the TM30 guide and the tax guide. For villa running costs see the pool villa guide.

If you are a guest

Guests are rarely the ones penalised, but a building can refuse entry or evict short-stay guests. Check cancellation terms. See the hotel terms guide.