ตรวจสอบโดย ThaiLawOnline สำนักงานกฎหมายไทยที่ได้รับใบอนุญาตและดำเนินกิจการในประเทศไทยตั้งแต่ปี พ.ศ. 2549 ทนายความผู้รับผิดชอบสำนวน: Wichuda Atthamethakon, น.ม., ใบอนุญาตให้เป็นทนายความ เลขที่ 3149/2556.
ปรับปรุงล่าสุดเมื่อ
คำตอบโดยย่อ: Our condo lawyer Pattaya service costs 19,900 THB for the full Condominium Package (due diligence, contract review, FET guidance and written transfer instructions), or 4,900 THB for a Title Deed Check alone. The one thing that matters most in Pattaya is the building, not the unit: in many of the towers foreigners like, the foreign quota is full and the juristic person is owed money, and neither problem appears in the listing.
สารบัญ
Condo lawyer Pattaya: why the city needs a different check
Pattaya and Jomtien hold the largest stock of resale condominiums outside Bangkok, and much of it is old. Buildings on Pratumnak Hill, along Jomtien Beach Road and in Wongamat were registered in the 1990s and 2000s. Units change hands often, usually between foreigners through an agent, and the paperwork from the last transfer is not always clean. The city also has one of the highest shares of off-plan projects in the country, many from mid-size developers who build one or two towers and move on. The buyers are mainly Russian and European, and most are abroad on transfer day. Three local patterns drive our work:
- The foreign quota under section 19 bis of the Condominium Act (49 per cent of the combined area of all units) is full or nearly full in the buildings foreigners want most. Agents present a Thai company, a Thai friend or a 30-year lease as “the same thing”. It is not. See จะทำอย่างไรเมื่อโควต้าชาวต่างชาติเต็ม.
- Older buildings carry arrears. A seller behind on common fees cannot obtain the debt-free certificate under section 29, and without it the Land Office will not register your unit.
- Off-plan contracts from smaller developers depart from the section 6/2 standard form, with front-loaded payments and a completion date that slides without penalty.
Which Land Office handles Pattaya condominiums
Pattaya City, Jomtien, Na Kluea, Wongamat, Pratumnak and Huay Yai are all in Banglamung district, so the unit title deeds (Or Chor 2) and the condominium registers are held at the Chonburi Provincial Land Office, Banglamung Branch. Na Jomtien and Bang Saray are in Sattahip district, and their files sit at the Sattahip Branch. Your unit deed, the condominium file and the current foreign-ownership ratio can only be pulled from the branch that keeps the register. We obtain certified copies, front and back, with the official stamp and date, through the Land Office network. The back of the deed is where Pattaya surprises live: a bank mortgage the seller “forgot”, a usufruct registered to a former partner, or a lease still running to a tenant nobody mentioned. See วิธีอ่านโฉนดที่ดินไทย.
Four mistakes Pattaya buyers make
1. Paying a reservation fee before anyone checked the foreign quota
The agent says “foreign name available”. The buyer pays 100,000 THB to reserve. Two weeks later the juristic person confirms foreign ownership at 48.7 per cent and the unit is 1.2 per cent of the building. The seller keeps the deposit and the agent suggests a company. We confirm the ratio in writing before you pay anything, and if the quota is full we tell you to walk away.
2. Treating the debt-free certificate as a formality for transfer day
In an older Jomtien or Pratumnak building the certificate is the deal. The juristic person issues it only when every common fee, sinking fund contribution and fine on the unit is paid. No certificate, no transfer. We ask for it at the start and make clearing the arrears a condition in the contract.
3. Signing the developer’s own contract for an off-plan unit
Mid-size Pattaya developers sell from renderings, often before the EIA approval and construction permit exist. Their contracts ask for 30 to 50 per cent before the structure is up, with no escrow, and allow unlimited extension “for reasons beyond the developer’s control”. We compare the contract with the section 6/2 standard form, confirm the land title behind the project and tie each instalment to a milestone. See buying an off-plan condo in Thailand.
4. Sending the purchase money the wrong way
Section 19 ter requires evidence that the price was remitted from abroad in foreign currency. Buyers send baht, send through a friend, or send in a company name, and find on transfer day that the bank will not issue the FET form or credit advice in their name. The remittance must arrive in foreign currency, in your name, with the purpose stated. We give you the wording before you send.
A Supreme Court decision applied to a Jomtien resale
In Dika 4457/2565 two condominium units were sold at an execution auction and the juristic person and a mortgage bank disputed who should be paid first. The Supreme Court held that common charges notified to the Land Office rank ahead of the mortgage, and confirmed that a transfer can be registered only when the unit is shown to be free of common expense debt, proven by a current debt-free certificate from the juristic person. The execution-sale exception applies to auction purchases only.
Apply that to a typical Jomtien resale. You have signed, paid a 10 per cent deposit, booked your flight, and the seller owes 180,000 THB in common fees from years the unit sat empty. The Banglamung Branch will not register. Your contract may give you a claim against a seller who is abroad; it does not give you the unit. In practice: the certificate is requested at the start, the arrears are deducted from the price on the day, and the seller’s duty to clear them goes into the contract with a cancellation right and a refund clause.
How we work for Pattaya buyers without a local office
Our only public office is in Bangkok, by appointment. Everything on a Pattaya file is done remotely, which suits buyers in Europe or Russia and sellers who live elsewhere:
- You send the listing, the seller’s deed copy and the draft contract by email or through our client portal.
- We obtain the certified copies and the condominium file from the Banglamung or Sattahip Branch through the Land Office network, and write to the juristic person for the foreign ratio, the arrears and the accounts.
- Wichuda Atthamethakon, LL.M., Thai Bar Licence 3149/2556, reviews the contract and signs the due diligence report, which you receive in English with written transfer instructions and a video call.
- Pattaya is inside the Premium Package area: with the Condominium Premium Package (34,900 THB) our team attends the Land Office on transfer day with your power of attorney, translates, checks the figures on the deed and sends you the registered deed the same day.
How it runs, step by step
| ขั้นตอน | สิ่งที่ต้องดำเนินการ | จังหวะเวลา |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Intake | Unit details, seller’s deed copy and draft contract received; Land Office branch confirmed. | Day 1 |
| 2. Title and register | Certified copies of the unit deed (front and back) and the condominium file from the Banglamung or Sattahip Branch. | Days 2 to 5 |
| 3. Juristic person | Written confirmation of the foreign ratio, arrears, sinking fund and any special assessments. | Days 3 to 8 |
| 4. Contract review | Section 6/2 comparison; deposit, cancellation, arrears and certificate conditions; tax split. | Days 5 to 10 |
| 5. Report and instructions | 25-point report, FET wording, seller’s document list, government fee estimate. | Days 7 to 14 |
| 6. วันที่ย้ายทีม | Registration at the Land Office; with the Premium Package our team attends and checks the deed before the balance is paid. | Agreed with the seller |
ค่าใช้จ่าย
- Title Deed Check: 4,900 THB. Certified copy from the Land Office, front and back, official stamp and date, English translation and a 2-page lawyer’s report, in 3 business days. Credited against the Condominium Package within 30 days.
- Condominium Package: 19,900 THB. 25-point due diligence, contract review, FET guidance and written transfer instructions, in 7 to 14 business days.
- Condominium Premium Package: 34,900 THB. Adds Land Office attendance and translation on transfer day. Pattaya, Jomtien, Na Jomtien and Bang Saray are inside the Premium area.
- Consultation: 2,000 THB per hour, credited against a package.
- Government fees (2 per cent transfer fee, 3.3 per cent specific business tax or 0.5 per cent stamp duty, withholding tax) are paid at the Land Office and never included.
Order the Condominium Package (19,900 THB)
Order a Title Deed Check (4,900 THB)
Still choosing? Download the free condo buying checklist.
คำถามที่พบบ่อย
Do I need a condo lawyer in Pattaya if the agent says the building is “foreign freehold”?
Yes. “Foreign freehold” is sales language, not a registered status. What exists is a unit registered under the Condominium Act in a building whose foreign ownership is under 49 per cent of the combined unit area at the moment of your transfer. The ratio moves every time a unit is sold. We confirm it in writing with the juristic person and against the Land Office register before you pay a reservation fee.
Which Land Office will register my Pattaya or Jomtien unit?
Units in Pattaya City, Jomtien, Na Kluea, Wongamat and Pratumnak are registered at the Chonburi Provincial Land Office, Banglamung Branch. Na Jomtien and Bang Saray fall under the Sattahip Branch. We identify the correct branch from the deed and obtain the certified copies there through the Land Office network, so you do not have to visit before transfer day.
Can you check a resale unit in an older building for unpaid fees?
That check is the core of a Pattaya file. We write to the juristic person for the unit’s balance, the sinking fund position and any special assessments voted by the co-owners. The seller must produce the debt-free certificate under section 29 before the Land Office will register. If arrears exist, we make clearing them a condition of completion and provide for deduction from the price.
The foreign quota is full. Should I buy through a Thai company?
No. A company set up to hold one unit for a foreigner who funds everything is a nominee arrangement, and you do not control the unit in law. If the building you want has no foreign quota left, the honest options are a registered lease, a usufruct, or a different building. We explain each and tell you plainly when the only sound answer is to walk away.
Can you attend the Land Office in Pattaya on transfer day?
Yes. Pattaya and the rest of Banglamung and Sattahip districts are inside the Premium Package area. With the Condominium Premium Package (34,900 THB) our team attends with your power of attorney, translates for you if you are present, checks the amounts the officer enters on the deed and the receipts, and sends you the registered deed the same day. You stay in control of the balance payment.
How is an off-plan purchase from a Pattaya developer different?
You are buying a promise, not a unit, so the checks shift to the developer: the land title behind the project, the EIA approval, the construction permit, the company’s financial standing and the contract’s compliance with the section 6/2 standard form. We tie each instalment to a construction milestone and tighten the delivery and refund clauses before you sign. Reservation money paid before that review is at real risk.
How do I send the money so the Land Office accepts it?
Transfer the price from abroad in foreign currency, in your own name, with the purpose stated as the purchase of the specific unit. Your Thai bank then issues the FET form or a credit advice in your name, which section 19 ter requires for registration. Baht transfers, payments through a third party and company-name remittances all create problems on transfer day. We provide the exact wording before you send.
Do I need to come to Thailand at all?
Not for the due diligence or the contract, which are done entirely by email, portal and video call. For transfer day you can attend in person or give a power of attorney, which we prepare in the Land Office format and which must be signed and legalised abroad in a way the Land Office accepts. Many of our Pattaya buyers complete without entering Thailand until the unit is theirs.
ข่าวสารกฎหมายไทย ฟรีทางอีเมล
อัปเดตข่าวสารเป็นภาษาอังกฤษที่เข้าใจง่ายเกี่ยวกับการเปลี่ยนแปลงของกฎหมายไทยที่ส่งผลกระทบต่อชาวต่างชาติ: อสังหาริมทรัพย์, วีซ่า, การสมรส, ธุรกิจ และพินัยกรรม จดหมายข่าวสั้นเพียงฉบับเดียวต่อเดือน จากสำนักงานกฎหมายที่ดำเนินงานมาตั้งแต่ปี 2549 ไม่มีการส่งสแปม ยกเลิกรับได้ทุกเมื่อ.