Furnished vs unfurnished rentals in Thailand: what you get, what it costs, and which suits you.

The three tiers, defined

Listings use the same three words everywhere, but they describe a spectrum — and Thai usage differs from what newcomers expect. Here is what each tier really means on the ground:

• Fully furnished — move-in ready: all major furniture, white goods, air conditioning in every room, a fitted kitchen and usually a TV. The default for condos marketed to foreigners. You arrive with a suitcase.
• Partly furnished — the fixed, costly items are in place (built-in wardrobes, kitchen cabinetry, aircon, sometimes white goods) but loose furniture — bed, sofa, dining set — is not. Common in newly-handed-over condos and mid-market houses.
• Unfurnished / bare shell — walls, floors, bathrooms and basic lighting only; often no white goods, sometimes no aircon or kitchen. A true bare shell can be bare concrete awaiting fit-out. Mostly houses and long-term lets.

The word on the listing is only a starting point. The contents vary unit by unit, so the decisive document is always the written inventory — never the adjective in the advert.

What 'furnished' includes — the realistic checklist

A standard fully furnished Thai condo typically comes with:

If a furnished unit is missing something you consider essential, ask the landlord to add it as a condition of signing — it’s a normal negotiation, especially in a soft market.

The price difference — rent vs upfront cost

The trade-off is simple: furnished costs more each month but almost nothing up front; unfurnished costs less each month but a large one-time outlay. As a rule of thumb:

• Furnished rent premium: commonly 10–30% higher than the same unit unfurnished, depending on quality and market.
• Furnishing an unfurnished unit yourself: a realistic one-bedroom kit — bed, sofa, dining set, fridge, washer, a couple of aircon units, basics — runs into the tens of thousands of baht and often well over a hundred thousand for anything stylish, plus the time to buy and install it.
• Resale loss: when you leave, used furniture sells for a fraction of cost, so the upfront spend rarely comes back.

The break-even point is roughly two years: below that, the furnished premium is cheaper than buying and reselling; above it, unfurnished can win — but only if you actually stay. Use the lease slider on any BAANLYY residence to see your exact monthly and move-in numbers, and our cost-of-living guide to budget the rest.

Who each tier suits

Match the tier to your visa, timeline and whether you already own furniture:

• Furnished — DTV holders, LTR holders, digital nomads, corporate housing, retirees on a trial year. Anyone here for months to ~2 years who wants to land and live. The rent premium beats the cost and hassle of furnishing then reselling.
• Partly furnished — tenants who own some furniture, or want to choose their own. Good value if the expensive built-ins are already there and you only need to add loose pieces. Common for couples upgrading from a furnished starter unit.
• Unfurnished / bare shell — long-term families and settled residents. Worth it when you’re committing to a multi-year home (especially a house), already own furniture, or want to invest in a space that’s truly yours. Rarely sensible under two years.

Not sure how long you’ll stay? Default to furnished and negotiate a break clause — it keeps both your furniture costs and your exit costs low.

Deposits and the inventory list

The Bangkok norm is two months’ security deposit plus one month’s advance rent, and for furnished lets that deposit is also covering the furniture and appliances — which makes the inventory document critical:

• Insist on a written inventory (a handover or condition report) at move-in, signed by both parties.
• Photograph everything — dated photos of each item and any existing marks, scratches or stains, kept with the signed list.
• List condition, not just presence — “sofa: minor stain left cushion,” “fridge: working, small dent door.”
• Note serial numbers for major appliances and the aircon, so a swap or fault is easy to prove.

Without an inventory, a move-out dispute over a “missing” kettle or “damaged” sofa is your word against the landlord’s — and your deposit is the stake. See how a fair landlord should handle returns in our deposits guide and work the numbers with the deposit-return tool.

Wear and tear: who pays for what

This is where furnished deposits are won or lost. The general principle — reflected in Thailand’s Civil and Commercial Code and the 2018 consumer regulation for landlords with five or more units — is that normal wear and tear is the landlord’s cost, damage is the tenant’s:

Get the repair-responsibility split written into the lease, and report faults promptly in writing — a documented “the aircon failed on its own” is what keeps an age-related repair off your deposit. Your baseline protections are in our tenant rights guide.

Newcomer mistakes to avoid

Frequently asked