Reviewed by ThaiLawOnline, a licensed Thai law firm practising in Thailand since 2006. Thai lawyer of record: Wichuda Atthamethakon, LL.M., Thai Bar Licence 3149/2556.
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A condominium juristic person (นิติบุคคลอาคารชุด, nitibukkhon akhan chut, abbreviated CJP and often just called the juristic office) is the legal entity that every registered condominium in Thailand must have to manage its common property, collect the common expenses and represent the co-owners. It is registered at the Land Office together with the first transfer of a unit to a buyer and becomes a juristic person on that registration (Condominium Act B.E. 2522, Sections 31 and 33), and it acts through a juristic person manager appointed by the co-owners. For a foreign buyer it is the office that issues the quota letter and the debt-free certificate without which no transfer can be registered.
Table of Contents
What the juristic person is and who runs it
The CJP is the co-owners collectively, given legal personality. It does not own the building: the common property (land, structure, lifts, pool, corridors) belongs to the co-owners in proportion to their ownership ratios. The CJP holds a bank account, employs staff, signs maintenance contracts and can sue and be sued in its own name. Its constitution is the set of regulations filed at the Land Office when the condominium was registered, which can be changed only by a resolution of the general meeting.
The juristic person manager is the CJP’s legal representative, comparable to a company director. The manager may be an individual or a management company, is appointed by the general meeting under the Condominium Act and is registered with the Land Office, so that outsiders can check who has authority to sign. A committee of co-owners, elected at the same meeting, supervises the manager between meetings. Day-to-day the building is often run by a hired management company, but that company acts under the manager’s authority, not in its own right.
Where a foreign owner deals with the juristic person
Before the purchase, the CJP office issues the foreign quota letter confirming that the unit can be held by a foreigner within the 49% foreign quota, and the debt-free certificate under Section 29 of the Act confirming that the seller owes no common expenses. The Land Office will not register the transfer without both. The manager must issue the certificate within 15 days of a request once any arrears are settled, and a manager who fails to do so faces a fine of up to 50,000 baht plus up to 500 baht for each day the failure continues (Section 68).
After the purchase, the owner pays the monthly or annual common area fees to the CJP, attends or gives a proxy for the annual general meeting, and votes on the budget, the manager’s appointment and any special assessment. Votes are counted by ownership ratio, not by head, and a single owner holding more than half the votes is cut back to the combined votes of all the others (Section 45). Foreign owners who never attend often discover too late that a sinking fund levy or a rule banning short-term rentals was passed without them.
The common mistake is to treat the sales office of the developer as the juristic person. Until the first general meeting the developer usually controls the CJP, and its interests (unsold units, retained parking, exclusive rights to the ground floor) are not those of the owners. A copy of the regulations and the last audited accounts is part of any sensible due diligence.
When the juristic person goes wrong
Most condominium disputes in Thailand are with the CJP rather than with neighbours. The usual grievances are unpaid fees by other owners, a manager who cannot account for the money, and a developer that refuses to hand over control. The remedies come from the Act and the regulations: co-owners holding the required share of votes (at least 20%, Section 42/2) can call an extraordinary meeting, remove the manager, appoint an auditor and, where the manager’s post falls vacant and leaving it empty is likely to cause damage, ask the court to appoint a temporary representative (Civil and Commercial Code Section 73).
Against a defaulting owner, the CJP can charge a surcharge of up to 12% a year on arrears, rising to up to 20% once they are six months old; from six months it can also suspend common services or the use of common property as the regulations allow (key cards for the pool or gym, for example), and the owner loses the vote at general meetings (Section 18/1). It can also refuse the debt-free certificate so the unit cannot be sold, and sue for the debt. It cannot cut off water or electricity supplied by the utility to the unit, and it cannot lock an owner out of the unit itself. In Supreme Court decision 10230/2553 the court ordered a juristic person to restore an owner’s water supply and hand over the owner’s access and car-park cards: common fees are a debt the Act leaves to be enforced through the courts, and regulations on the use of common property could not be turned into a means of forcing payment. The judgment does not apply Section 18/1, so for arrears of six months or more the statutory suspension above now governs.
Last reviewed: 26 September 2026. Condominium Act B.E. 2522 sections 18/1, 29, 31, 33, 35, 36, 37, 37/1, 42, 42/2, 45, 48 and 68, Civil and Commercial Code section 73 and Supreme Court decision 10230/2553 (read to its disposition) were read in Thai.
Frequently asked questions
What is a condominium juristic person in Thailand?
It is the legal entity formed by all the co-owners of a registered condominium to manage the common property, collect common expenses and represent the owners. It exists from its registration at the Land Office, which is made together with the first transfer of a unit (Condominium Act Sections 31 and 33), and acts through a manager appointed by the co-owners and registered at the Land Office.
Who is the juristic person manager and who appoints them?
The manager is the CJP’s legal representative, an individual or a company, appointed by resolution of the general meeting of co-owners and registered with the Land Office. The manager signs contracts, issues certificates and runs the building under the supervision of an elected committee.
Can the juristic person refuse to issue a debt-free certificate?
Only while common expenses on the unit remain unpaid. Once the arrears are cleared, the manager must issue the certificate within 15 days. Because the Land Office will not register a sale without it, unpaid fees effectively block the transfer of the unit.
See also: Common area fees and sinking fund, Condominium Act B.E. 2522, Foreign quota (49%), Juristic person and Buying a Condo in Thailand.
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