Not that it’s anyone’s favourite topic but if you’re in Chiang Mai for the long run, there’s no escaping monthly bills!
Paying the RENT in Chiang Mai
As soon as you sign a lease agreement and as written in The Ten Commandments for Tenants, you have a legal responsibility to pay the rent in the amount and no later than the due date mentioned in the contract. Hence, settling your rent should be at the very top of your monthly to-do list! Delay paying your rent and you risk receiving a late fee or, worse, being evicted.
Each landlord has their own preferred way of accepting monthly rental payments but, in Chiang Mai, it’s most common for rent money to be transferred straight into the landlord’s bank account; whether that involves you visiting the nearest branch of their bank and paying over the counter or, infinitely better, by setting up a standing order. You can even pay at a some ATM Machines outside of the banks. Though remember to send the receipt to the owner to keep everything clean, simple and easily to track,
Whenever paying a household bill over the counter here, the process is consistently the same. After presenting your invoice/bill to a member of staff, they will scan the bar code on your bill then confirm the amount owing; once payment has been made, the original bill will be returned to you stapled to which will be a receipt and, if having paid in cash, any change.
Going direct to the provider won’t incur a surcharge though for the convenience of paying through a third-party, a small handling fee from 5 baht is normally applied.
Paying your UTILITIES
Whether it’s slid under the front door, lands in the mailbox or dropped into the special bill holder outside your condo unit or house, you’ll have either of 7 or 10 days from the date it’s issued to pay your utility bill. And if you don’t pay up by the due date shown on the invoice, don’t be surprised when your electricity/water gets cut off ! (remember that any reconnection cost are solely your responsibility, and the time that you are without the utilities is not the owners responsibility)No matter if you stay in a condominium or a house in Chiang Mai, mains electricity is always billed by the state-owned Provincial Electricity Authority. Looking like a till [store cash register] receipt with the PEA logo and name in the top left-hand corner of the invoice, you can pay what’s owing in person at:
- Any of the four PEA Shops around town: inside SEA Games village on Canal Road as well as at each of Central Airport Plaza, CentralFestival and Meechok Plaza malls
- Any PEA Mobile Shops (vans) parked up around Chiang Mai
- Any 7-Eleven
- Any branch of Thailand Post
- Any of Tesco Lotus, Big C or Tops supermarkets
- Any branch or ATM of your own Thai bank
- Or else pay your PEA bill online using: Your Thai bank’s own bill payment service or, with a mandate form from the PEA, by direct debit
- The Provincial Electricity Authority’s ePay facility
- Any of Counter Service Pay, AIS mPay, True Money Wallet, easyBills Thailand, AirPay and BluePay ‘scan and pay’ mobile apps on your smartphone
As you can see there are plenty of places to pay your electricity bill, so it is easy to avoid the electricity being cut off due to late payments. Please note that should your electricity be cut off that it is your responsibility and cost to have it reconnected.
For those living in a condo or a moo baan [gated housing development] in Chiang Mai have their mains water usually supplied and thus billed by the property itself. Little more than a printed slip of paper showing the amount due, you simply pay at the front/juristic person office. Otherwise, mains water will be invoiced by the state-owned Provincial Waterworks Authority. Looking like a till [store cash register] receipt with the PWA logo and name in the top left-hand corner of the bill, you can pay what’s owing in person at:
- The payment counters in the main building or the drive-thru facility of PWA’s branch office on the Super Highway (a couple of hundred metres further along from Tesco Lotus Kamtieng Hypermarket)
- Any 7-Eleven
- Any branch of Thailand Post
- Any of Tesco Lotus, Big C or Tops supermarkets
- Any branch or ATM of your own Thai bank
- Or else pay your PWA bill online using: Your Thai bank’s own bill payment service or, with a mandate form from the PWA, by direct debit
- The Provincial Waterworks Authority’s web-based payment facility
- Any of Counter Service Pay, AIS mPay, True Money Wallet and AirPay ‘scan and pay’ mobile apps on your smartphone
Again pay your on time as any late fees or reconnections fees will be your responsibility
HOME Internet bills
Arriving by regular post either in your mail box or slid under your door will be your monthly statements from whichever of 3BB, AIS, CAT Telecom, Sinet, TOT or True Online Internet Service Provider you have chosen. Other than paying your broadband bill through the ISP’s own web site or by walking into any of their outlets (the precise locations of which are mapped out on each’s web site), you can also choose to pay by stopping by any 7-Eleven, Thailand Post office, or Tesco Lotus, Big C or Tops supermarket.
UBC or Other TV Channel Providers
Again these bills will arrive the same as internet and can be paid Arriving by regular post either in your mail box or slid under your door will be your monthly statements and you can pay directly to the provide where you signed up for the TV Package or again you can also choose to pay by stopping by any 7-Eleven, Thailand Post office, or Tesco Lotus, Big C or Tops supermarkets.
The bottom line paying bills has never been easier!
Please let us know how you pay your bills. Have you had any issues? Please let us and our readers know your tips and tricks to avoid being cut off!
FAQ about Pay Bills
Disclaimer: These FAQs are meant to serve merely as guidance and Perfect Homes cannot be held responsible for any inacuracies.
