Renting Long-Term in Pattaya: What Monthly Rent Buys You, Area by Area

We have been letting and selling property in Pattaya since 1978, and the question we are asked most often by people arriving for a long stay is the simplest one: what does a decent place actually cost per month, and where? The honest answer depends less on the city as a whole than on which side of Sukhumvit you want to live on, and whether you need a condo or a house with a garden.

Rather than talk in generalities, here are the figures straight from our own live book. At the time of writing we have 2,388 live listings, of which 1,393 are for sale and 798 are available to rent (some properties are marketed both ways). Those 798 rentals are not evenly spread, and neither are the prices.

Median monthly rent by area

• South Pattaya — 18,000 THB median rent (126 live listings). The cheapest median in our book, and mostly condo stock within walking distance of Second Road and the beach.
• Central Pattaya — 22,000 THB median rent (268 live listings). Convenience pricing: you are paying for being able to live without a car.
• Jomtien — 24,000 THB median rent (565 live listings). Our deepest area by volume, which is why it usually offers the widest choice at any given budget.
• Pratumnak — 25,000 THB median rent (377 live listings). The quieter hill between Pattaya and Jomtien; sea views push the top of the range well above the median.
• Na Jomtien — 35,000 THB median rent (154 live listings). Newer, lower-density, further south.
• Wongamat — 35,000 THB median rent (128 live listings). The northern beach end, and the same median as Na Jomtien from a very different kind of building.
• East Pattaya — 55,000 THB median rent (428 live listings). The median jumps because this is house-and-pool territory rather than one-bedroom condos.
• Huay Yai — 70,000 THB median rent (100 live listings). The highest median rent in our book, and also the highest median sale price at 12,500,000 THB.

A median is a midpoint, not a floor. Half of what we list in an area sits below the figure quoted above, and rents move with condition, floor, view, furniture and lease length. Treat these numbers as a way to aim your search, then check the live listing for the actual asking rent.

Why East Pattaya and Huay Yai look expensive

They mostly are not, per square metre — they are just a different product. Across the whole book we hold 1,508 condos and 773 houses, plus 46 townhouses, 22 land plots, 10 villas and 6 commercial units. The condo stock concentrates along the coast in Jomtien, Pratumnak, Central and South Pattaya; the houses sit inland around East Pattaya, Mabprachan and Huay Yai. So the 55,000 THB East Pattaya median and the 70,000 THB Huay Yai median are largely the price of a private house and garden, not a marked-up apartment.

The bedroom split tells the same story from the other direction: 727 of our live listings are one-bedroom and 320 are studios, against 458 two-bed, 410 three-bed, 264 four-bed and 112 five-bed. If you are renting alone or as a couple, the great majority of the market is coastal condo stock. If you need three or more bedrooms, expect to be looking inland or paying for a larger coastal unit.

Examples currently on our books

To make the medians concrete, here are live rentals from three different areas:

• A one-bedroom condo in Na Jomtien at 13,000 THB per month — well below that area's 35,000 THB median, which is exactly why it is worth watching individual listings rather than only the averages.
• A one-bedroom at Arcadia Millennium Tower, South Pattaya, at 15,000 THB per month.
• A corner sea-view one-bedroom, one-bathroom in Pratumnak at 26,000 THB per month — a fraction above the 25,000 THB Pratumnak median, with the view accounting for the difference.

Availability changes. Anything listed here is what was live when this article was written, and we will tell you straight if a unit has gone.

If renting turns into buying

A lot of our long-term tenants end up buying, usually in the area they rented in first, and we think that is the sensible order to do it in. For reference, median sale prices in the same areas run from 4,145,000 THB in South Pattaya and 4,500,000 THB in Central Pattaya, through 4,740,000 THB in Jomtien and 4,950,000 THB in Pratumnak, up to 9,900,000 THB in East Pattaya and 12,500,000 THB in Huay Yai. We currently have a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house in East Pattaya at 4,990,000 THB and a two-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse in a Huay Yai resort development close to Phoenix Golf Course at 2,900,000 THB — both well under their area medians.

Two points of law worth knowing before you get attached to anything. Foreigners cannot own land in Thailand freehold, so a house purchase is structured differently from a condo purchase. And foreign freehold ownership of condominium units is capped at 49% of a building's area under Thai law — a unit outside that quota is available to a foreign buyer on a leasehold or company basis, not as foreign freehold. We will tell you which category a specific unit falls into before you commit to anything.

How to use us

We are an agency, not a developer — we do not build or own the projects we list, which means we have no reason to steer you toward one building over another. What we do have is decades of transaction history in these areas: which sois flood, which buildings have sensible management, how Jomtien and East Pattaya have changed since the 1970s. Tell us your monthly budget, the number of bedrooms you need and whether you will have a car, and we will come back with what genuinely fits from the 798 rentals currently on our books.

Enquiries go straight to the agent handling the listing. Request more details, speak to an agent, or arrange a viewing and we will line up several properties in one trip.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a realistic monthly budget for a long-term rental in Pattaya?

It depends on the area and the type of property. Across our live book the median monthly rents run from 18,000 THB in South Pattaya and 22,000 THB in Central Pattaya, through 24,000 THB in Jomtien and 25,000 THB in Pratumnak, to 35,000 THB in both Na Jomtien and Wongamat, 55,000 THB in East Pattaya and 70,000 THB in Huay Yai. Half our listings in each area sit below those figures, so tell us your budget and we will show you what it actually reaches.

Which Pattaya area has the most rental choice?

Jomtien, by volume. It accounts for 565 of our 2,388 live listings, with a median rent of 24,000 THB. East Pattaya is next with 428 and Pratumnak with 377. More stock in an area usually means more genuine options at any single budget.

Why is rent so much higher in East Pattaya and Huay Yai?

Because you are renting a different kind of property. The coastal areas are dominated by condo stock — we hold 1,508 condos against 773 houses — while East Pattaya and Huay Yai are mainly houses with gardens and pools. That is why East Pattaya's median rent is 55,000 THB and Huay Yai's is 70,000 THB, rather than the low-to-mid 20,000s you see along the beach.

Can I rent a one-bedroom condo in Pattaya for under 20,000 THB a month?

Yes, that part of the market exists. As examples currently on our books, we have a one-bedroom condo in Na Jomtien listed at 13,000 THB per month and a one-bedroom at Arcadia Millennium Tower in South Pattaya at 15,000 THB per month. One-bedroom units are the single largest slice of our inventory at 727 listings, plus 320 studios, so there is usually something in that bracket — though availability changes week to week.

Should I rent before buying in Pattaya?

Many of our clients do, and we think it is sensible. Renting for a season tells you how an area actually lives — traffic, noise, whether you need a car — before you commit to a purchase. For context, median sale prices range from 4,145,000 THB in South Pattaya up to 12,500,000 THB in Huay Yai, so the decision is worth getting right.

Can a foreigner own the property they rent if they later decide to buy it?

Sometimes, and it depends on what the property is. Foreigners cannot own land in Thailand freehold, so houses are structured differently from condos. For condos, foreign freehold ownership is capped at 49% of a building's area under Thai law; a unit outside that quota can still be bought by a foreigner, but on a leasehold or company basis rather than as foreign freehold. We check the position on the specific unit before you commit.