ตรวจสอบโดย ThaiLawOnline สำนักงานกฎหมายไทยที่ได้รับใบอนุญาตและดำเนินกิจการในประเทศไทยตั้งแต่ปี พ.ศ. 2549 ทนายความผู้รับผิดชอบสำนวน: Wichuda Atthamethakon, น.ม., ใบอนุญาตให้เป็นทนายความ เลขที่ 3149/2556.
ปรับปรุงล่าสุดเมื่อ
คำตอบโดยย่อ: Our condo lawyer Phuket 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 Phuket is whether what you are buying is a condominium at all: much of what the island markets as a “condo” is a villa on company land, a leasehold apartment or a building not registered under the Condominium Act.
สารบัญ
Condo lawyer Phuket: why the island is different
Phuket sells a lifestyle, and the sales material is written to match. The island has a high share of off-plan projects, many one-project developers, and buyers from Russia, Europe, Australia and China who see the project on holiday and are asked to reserve before they fly home. Three local patterns shape every file:
- Villa projects sold as “condominiums”. Some low-rise projects in Bang Tao, Layan and Rawai are registered under the Condominium Act, so each villa is a unit with its own deed. Many are houses on land held by a Thai company, sold as a 30-year lease or as company shares. The brochure uses the same word for both.
- Leasehold presented as ownership. A lease over three years must be registered under section 538 of the Civil and Commercial Code, and it ends with the term. The “30 plus 30 plus 30” promise is a contractual option against the lessor, not a registered right.
- Height limits near the beach. Under the environmental protection notifications for Phuket Province issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (2010 and later revisions), building height is capped by distance from the shoreline, with a low limit in the first 50 metres and a 12-metre limit up to 200 metres, plus rules on slopes and elevation. A rendering the zoning does not allow will not be built.
Which Land Office handles Phuket condominiums
Phuket has three land offices. The Phuket Provincial Land Office in Phuket Town keeps the registers for Mueang Phuket district: Rawai, Nai Harn, Chalong, Kata, Karon and the town itself. Patong, Kamala and Kathu are registered at the Kathu Branch. Bang Tao, Layan, Surin, Cherng Talay and Mai Khao are in Thalang district and are handled at the Thalang Branch. The unit title deed (Or Chor 2), the condominium file and the foreign-ownership ratio come only from the office that keeps the register. We obtain certified copies, front and back, with the official stamp and date, through the Land Office network. For a project not registered as a condominium, the same offices hold the land title, which tells us whether the land is a Chanote (Nor Sor 4 Jor, full title), a possessory Nor Sor 3 Gor or Nor Sor 3, or not a title at all. See โฉนดที่ดินในประเทศไทย.
Four mistakes Phuket buyers make
1. Reserving a “condo” that is a villa on company-owned land
The buyer pays a reservation fee for a pool villa described as a condominium unit. The project was never registered under the Condominium Act. What is on offer is a lease from a Thai company plus a share in it, and the buyer’s name will never appear on a deed. If no condominium registration exists, you are buying a lease, and the price and the contract should say so.
2. Treating the rental guarantee as part of the asset
“7 per cent for 5 years”, “buy-back at 110 per cent”, “hotel-managed, hands off”. A guarantee from a management company incorporated last year with 1 million THB of capital is a promise, not income. We read who gives it, what it is net of, who pays the common fees meanwhile, and what happens in year six when the “rental pool” takes over. If the guarantee is why you are buying, it needs its own security.
3. Paying large instalments before the project has a permit
Off-plan sales in Phuket often open before the EIA approval and the construction permit exist, sometimes before the developer owns the land. Contracts ask for 30 to 50 per cent during construction, with no escrow. We check the deed, the permit, the EIA status and the developer’s records, and tie each instalment to a milestone you can verify.
4. Buying leasehold with the wrong paperwork
An unregistered lease is enforceable for three years only. Buyers sign a 30-year “lease”, pay in full, and find later that nothing was registered and the land is mortgaged. We make registration a condition of the final payment and check the back of the deed on the day for ภาระติดพัน. ดู สัญญาเช่าในประเทศไทย.
A Supreme Court decision applied to a Bang Tao off-plan purchase
In Dika 1511/2569 a buyer agreed to purchase a condominium unit for 11,643,120 THB, paid a 100,000 THB reservation fee before signing and 2,810,780 THB eight days after the contract, then stopped paying. The developer terminated and kept everything. The Supreme Court set aside the arbitral award that had treated both sums as forfeitable earnest money: the 2,810,780 THB was paid after the contract and was too large a share of the price to be security, so it was part-payment, and forfeiting it was contrary to public order and good morals. The buyer still had to sue for the refund. Full note: การริบเงินมัดจำคอนโดในประเทศไทย.
Apply that to a Bang Tao reservation: 200,000 THB to reserve on holiday, 25 per cent at contract, and six months later no permit. The reservation fee can be lost. The instalment is part of the price and not simply forfeitable, but you will have to sue for it, against a company that may have nothing. Timing and proportion decide the character of a payment, so we fix the schedule, the refund clause and the default clause before the first baht leaves your account.
How we work for Phuket buyers without a local office
Our only public office is in Bangkok, by appointment. Phuket files are handled remotely from start to finish, wherever you are:
- You send the brochure, the draft contract, the deed copy and the guarantee by email or through our client portal.
- We obtain the certified copies and the condominium file from the Provincial, Thalang or Kathu office through the Land Office network, and the developer’s and guarantor’s company records.
- Wichuda Atthamethakon, LL.M., Thai Bar Licence 3149/2556, reviews the contract and signs the due diligence report, delivered in English with written transfer instructions and a video call.
- Attendance at the Phuket Land Office on transfer day is quoted before you commit.
How it runs, step by step
| ขั้นตอน | สิ่งที่ต้องดำเนินการ | จังหวะเวลา |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Intake | Project, brochure and draft contract received; Land Office and condominium registration confirmed. | Day 1 |
| 2. Title and register | Certified copies of the unit or land deed (front and back) and the condominium file from the correct office. | Days 2 to 5 |
| 3. Developer and guarantor | Company records, directors, capital and accounts; EIA and permit status. | Days 3 to 8 |
| 4. Contract review | Section 6/2 comparison; payments against milestones; deposit, default and guarantee terms. | Days 5 to 10 |
| 5. Report and instructions | 25-point report, FET wording, seller’s document list, fee estimate. | Days 7 to 14 |
| 6. Transfer or lease registration | Registration at the Phuket Land Office, in person, by power of attorney or with our quoted attendance. | 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.
- Land Office attendance in Phuket: quoted before you commit. The Condominium Premium Package (34,900 THB) covers Bangkok, Pattaya, Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen, Surin and Buriram.
- Land and house due diligence (a villa that is not a registered condominium unit): from 19,900 THB, quoted before we start.
- 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, never included.
Order the Condominium Package (19,900 THB)
Order a Title Deed Check (4,900 THB)
จองคิวปรึกษา if you are unsure which fits.
คำถามที่พบบ่อย
How do I know if a Phuket “condo” is registered under the Condominium Act?
Only the Land Office register tells you. A registered condominium has a registration number, a juristic person and a separate title deed (Or Chor 2) for each unit, and the deed shows the unit’s share of the common property. If the developer can only show a land deed in a company name and a lease template, the project is not a condominium, whatever the brochure says. We check this first, before any other work.
Which Land Office covers Bang Tao, Patong and Rawai?
Bang Tao, Layan, Surin, Cherng Talay and the airport side of the island are in Thalang district and are handled by the Thalang Branch of the Phuket Provincial Land Office. Patong, Kamala and Kathu fall under the Kathu Branch. Rawai, Nai Harn, Chalong, Kata, Karon and Phuket Town are registered at the Provincial Land Office in town. We obtain certified copies from the right office through the Land Office network.
Is a rental guarantee legally binding in Thailand?
It is a contract, and it binds the company that signed it for as long as that company exists and has money. Most Phuket guarantees are given by a management company related to the developer, not by the developer itself, and are net of fees that reduce the real return. We review who is bound, what is deducted, how the guarantee ends and what security, if any, stands behind it, and we say plainly when it is worth nothing.
Can I own a Phuket condominium unit outright as a foreigner?
Yes, in a registered condominium, in your own name, provided foreign ownership in that building stays under 49 per cent of the combined unit area (sections 19 and 19 bis) and you prove the foreign currency remittance under section 19 ter. An offshore company is not a way around a full quota, and a Thai nominee company puts the unit in someone else’s hands. See คำอธิบายโควตาการถือครองกรรมสิทธิ์ของชาวต่างชาติ.
Can you attend the Land Office in Phuket on transfer day?
Phuket is outside the area covered by our Premium Package, so attendance is quoted separately before you commit, once we know the office, the date and whether you will be present or act through a power of attorney. Many Phuket buyers complete through a power of attorney we prepare in the Land Office format, with the due diligence and the written transfer instructions doing the work beforehand.
Why does the height limit near the beach matter to me as a buyer?
Because a rendering is not a permit. Under the environmental protection rules for Phuket Province, building height near the shoreline is restricted by distance from the beach, and further limits apply on slopes and at elevation. A project drawn taller than the zone allows will be redesigned, delayed or stopped, and your “sea view” unit may end up on the ground floor behind a wall. We confirm the permit and the EIA status before you pay an instalment.
What should I check before paying a reservation fee on holiday?
Nothing is lost by waiting a week. Ask the agent for the land deed number, the condominium registration number if one exists, the developer’s company name and the draft contract, and send them to us. A Title Deed Check (4,900 THB) in 3 business days tells you what the land is and who holds it. Reservation fees in Phuket are rarely refunded once the agent has them, and a small one may lawfully be forfeited.
Do I need to be in Thailand for any of this?
No. The due diligence, the contract review and the transfer instructions are done by email, portal and video call wherever you are. For the transfer or lease registration itself you can fly in, or sign a power of attorney abroad in the form the Land Office accepts. We prepare that document, tell you how it must be legalised, and quote any attendance in Phuket before you decide.
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