Condo lawyer
There are 2 types of residential apartment buildings in Thailand, the ones registered under the Condominium Act and the ones not registered under the Condominium Act. Legally these buildings cannot be compared and when it comes buying or even long term renting such apartments there is a completely different approach and contract structure required.
Registered condominiums (with a unit title deed) you find in Bangkok and other areas with a city status, unregistered condos you find often in less developed and tourist areas such as Koh Samui.
Condo acquisition and conveyancing
What is a condominium
The Thailand Condominium Act defines a condominium as a building that can be separated into apartment units for individual ownership and which include personal and common properties such as land on which the building sits, hallways, elevators, etc.. Foreign ownership in a condominium building is limited to 49% of the total floor area of all units in the building combined (also referred to as aggregate unit space or saleable floor area). In case of 100 equal units, 49 can be foreign owned, the other 51% must be owned by Thai nationals.
Units exceeding the 49% foreign freehold ownership quota in a condominium project may be sold under a registered condominium lease agreement read more...
Who can own a condo
Any foreigner who can enter Thailand legally can buy a condominium, but he must qualify for ownership under section 19 of the Condominium Act. Generally this simply means that the full purchase price of the condo must have been remitted into Thailand in foreign currency and exchanged into Thai baht inside Thailand. Without proof of remittance into and exchange of foreign currency inside Thailand the Land Department will not permit the transfer of ownership to the foreign purchaser, unless the foreigner is qualifies under any of the other less common grounds in section 19Translation Condominium Act section 19 first paragraph:
1- Foreigners permitted to have residence in the Kingdom under the Immigration law;
2- Foreigners permitted to enter into the Kingdom under the investment promotion law;
3- Juristic persons as provided in Section 97 and 98 of the Land Code and registered as juristic persons under Thai law;
4- Juristic persons which are foreigners under the Announcement of the National Executive Council No.281 dated November 24, B.E. 2515 and have obtained promotion certificate under investment promotion law;
5- foreigners or juristic persons regarded by law as foreigners who have brought in foreign currency into the Kingdom or withdraw money from Thai baht account of the person who have residence outside the Kingdom or withdraw money from a foreign currency account..
Buying a condo
Buying a condominium in Thailand requires a certain care and assistance by a legal professional familiar with transferring ownership of condominiums. The pre-contract phase, before you hand over a deposit or sign a contract, should include due diligence to assure the seller is the owner of the condominium and is free to dispose of the unit and it has to be verified that there are no encumbrances registered against the title. The sale and purchase contract should drawn up (or reviewed), as the sale contract establishes the respective rights and responsibilities of the parties and is an important contract. Buying a condominium in an off plan condominium development or a re-sale of an existing condo requires a different approach and a different type of sales contract.
Common contracts and legal services
- Condominium sale and purchase agreements (off-the-plan and re-sale)
- Condominium lease agreement drafting service (short term rental or long term lease)
- Due diligence at the Land Department (for an existing apartment or a purchase off the plan)
- Condominium unit conveyancing service for Hua Hin, Pattaya, Phuket and Bangkok (other areas on request)
We can assist in drafting all kinds of condominium documents in Thai and English. We can also help reviewing documents and offer general legal service, including assistance and transferring the unit at the land department. We offer all our services at a fair price. Our condominium 'do it yourself' contracts starts at 2,400 baht.
