Off-Plan Contracts, Deposits and Buyer Protection

Section 19 bis caps aggregate foreign ownership at 49% of the total floor area of all units in the building, not 49% of the number of units. A building with only a small remaining square-metre allowance therefore cannot absorb a large unit. Ask the juristic person for a written foreign-quota certificate before you pay a deposit.

Check the current registered owner, mortgages, servitudes, usufructs, injunctions, litigation, expropriation lines, zoning restrictions and legal access, and confirm the plotted shape matches the land on the ground. Encroachment and boundary discrepancies are the most common source of later disputes.

The law does not fix a split, so it is contractual. The common market practice is to share the 2% transfer fee equally, with specific business tax, stamp duty and withholding tax borne by the seller. Put the split in the contract before any deposit to avoid an argument at the counter.

Use cashier's cheques made out to the payees agreed in advance, handed over only once the officer has completed registration. Large cash payments are risky and some banks require advance notice. Where the parties are in different countries, consider an escrow account under the Escrow Act B.E. 2551.

Yes. The Condominium Act requires developers to use the sale and purchase agreement form prescribed by ministerial announcement, and any clause that puts the buyer in a worse position than that standard form does not bind the buyer. Compare the draft against the standard form before signing.

Check the construction permit, the environmental impact report if the project is within the threshold, the developer's title to the land and any mortgage over it, the completion date and late-delivery penalties, and the refund terms if the project fails. Pay against genuine construction milestones rather than large sums up front.

The Escrow Act B.E. 2551 lets the parties appoint a licensed escrow agent, usually a bank, to hold the funds and release them when the contractual conditions are met, such as completion of the ownership transfer. Escrow is voluntary between the parties and the agent charges a fee.

The buyer normally pays a one-off sinking-fund contribution plus advance common-area fees as stated in the contract at handover, and the juristic person then issues the debt-free certificate needed to register the transfer. Arrears of a previous owner must be cleared first or the Land Office will not register.

The buyer can terminate and claim a refund with interest under the standard-form contract and consumer protection law. Complaints can go to the Office of the Consumer Protection Board (ocpb.go.th) and a consumer case can be filed in court. Keep every payment record and demand letter as evidence.

We run the title search and document review, draft or review the sale and purchase agreement, prepare Land Department powers of attorney with signature certification by a Notarial Services Attorney, arrange translation and legalisation, and attend the transfer with an interpreter. Ask about scope and timing by phone, LINE or email. Registration is at the officer's discretion, so we do not guarantee outcomes.

Verify the project holds the land subdivision licence and construction permits, check whether the land is mortgaged to a bank and whether a mortgage release will be issued at transfer, use the government's standard contract form where the project falls within it, and negotiate escrow or a bank guarantee for instalments. Fix clear liquidated damages for late delivery in the contract.

Phuket applies building-height limits tied to ground elevation, provincial comprehensive plan zoning, environmental protection area rules, and constraints near beaches and on steep slopes. Many attractive hillside plots are far less buildable than they appear. Check with the provincial Public Works and Town Planning Office and the local administration before paying a deposit, and make the construction permit a condition precedent in the sale and purchase agreement.

Identify the plot or unit exactly as in the title document; state the true price and payment schedule; allocate every fee and tax; fix the transfer date; add conditions precedent covering legal due diligence, loan approval, the debt-free certificate and foreign-quota availability; and set default remedies and termination rights. If bilingual, state which language version governs in case of conflict.

The Condominium Act caps aggregate foreign ownership at 49% of the total saleable floor area of a building. Once that ratio is reached, the Land Office will not register a transfer into a foreign name. Lawful alternatives are to wait until another foreign owner sells and quota is released, to buy within the Thai quota through a genuinely operating Thai company, or to register a long-term lease instead. Before paying a deposit, always request the juristic person's current foreign-quota certificate, because the ratio changes daily. We obtain that certificate and run the Land Office title search before you become contractually bound.

The contract must follow the prescribed standard form for land subdivision and condominium sales, instalments must track verified construction progress rather than the calendar, and the transfer date plus late-delivery penalties must be explicit. Verify that the subdivision licence and construction permit have actually been issued, and check whether the land is mortgaged to a bank along with the per-plot mortgage release terms. A seller who avoids showing these documents is a warning sign.