Court decides: AirBnB illegal in Thailand for daily and weekly rental

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Court decides: AirBnB illegal in Thailand for daily and weekly rental

 

Picture: Manager online

 

 

A court in Hua Hin has effectively decided that people who rent out their rooms via AirBnB on a daily and weekly basis are acting illegally.

 

A letter was sent to the Wan Vayla condominium complex in Khao Tao from the local authority outlining the court's decision in two of three cases where condominiums were rented out for less than a month.

 

In one case a fine of 5,000 baht must be paid and 500 baht per for each of twenty days totaling 15,000 baht.

 

In the second case a 5,000 baht fine must also be paid with further fines of 100 baht for an 81 day period.

 

A third case is pending, reported Manager on Wednesday.

 

The local authority looked into the matter in December of last year and went to court.

 

The ruling could effectively be the beginning of the end for companies like AirBnB in Thailand who have consistently said that what they are offering in the kingdom is legal.

 

Thaivisa notes that the company have carried out training and award giving seminars on a regular basis in Thailand and there are thousands of people offering their rooms for rent throughout the country.

 

AirBnB actively promote their business in Thailand and the consequences from the ruling could be immense for the company, renters and consumers alike.

 

The court ruled that people renting out their rooms on a daily and weekly basis contravened regulations surrounding hotels.

 

Rentals of 30 days and more would be legal.

 

The Wan Vayla condo sits on 20 rai of land in the Khao Tao area.

 

Source: Manager online

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2018-05-16

[MaxLee]

First UBER and now AirBnB...... 

[Chang_paarp]

This could be interesting if AirBnB weigh into the appeal process. I suspect they were not involved in the original case.

[shady86]

How can they regulate this? Airbnb is not located in Thailand and acting as a middle man. There is no money transaction done between owner and tenant too.

[ThorD72]

<deleted>@* shitty (pardon the colours) overpriced hotels,.. just gotten used to Airbnb,.. how’s is this gonna turn out,.. ?

 

[Chang_paarp]

Just now, shady86 said:

How can they regulate this? Airbnb is not located in Thailand and acting as a middle man. There is no money transaction done between owner and tenant too.

The issue is the rental of the room for less than 30 days is the legal domain of the licenced hotel. Over 30 day it is a residential tenancy with different laws.

[Briggsy]

I thought Thailand's legal system did not use precedents. Therefore another court could rule completely differently and it would make no difference. Indeed the same court could rule differently with another Air BnB landlord.

[8OA8]

I wonder if this rule is specific to condominiums, or will a person that rented his spare houses for daily or weekly stays via air bnb also be affected? 

[Athens]

Forget AirBnb, book a Hotel, just check thy have a valid hotel Licens. remember 24 h reporting is done by Hotel. Even Airbnb has to comply with Thai Law operating in Thailand.

[zaphod reborn]

Renting out condo units for less than a month without a hotel license was always a legal violation.  The court ruling was expected.  It doesn't apply to single-unit homes.  

[Maestro]

30 minutes ago, Chang_paarp said:

This could be interesting if AirBnB weigh into the appeal process. I suspect they were not involved in the original case.

 

This court decision does not affect only rentals via AirBnN. All rentals for a period shorter than 30 days are termed illegal.

[Maestro]

22 minutes ago, 8OA8 said:

I wonder if this rule is specific to condominiums, or will a person that rented his spare houses for daily or weekly stays via air bnb also be affected? 

 

The court decision is about condos because the cases brought to court were about condos. It does not necessarily mean that the law cited in the court decision does no also apply to other types of residential premises. Perhaps someone can look up the law and post the relevant section here (I have to rush off now to a dentist appointment)

[Rhys]

Surprising.. they did something noteworthy... and right.

[Mattd]

Personally I will give a big thumbs up for this IF it is enforced.

Weekdays sees me staying in a condo in central Bangkok, approx. 1km from Nana area and the last few months one of the owners on the same floor has been short term renting their unit, last lot were some young kids on holiday, 4 of them in the one condo, absolutely no thought for anybody else, coming home drunk at 3 am, slamming doors, shouting in the corridors and so on.

Most others there are working (myself included) and have to get up around 6 am, the last thing you need or want is this!

[SS1]

These headlines are always so misleading, and tiring to see such as "AirBnB is illegal" , "UBER is illegal" - no, they are not illegal, just platforms used to provide certain services. What is illegal is the actual illegal activities done using these platforms, such as breaking the Hotel Act or driving a taxi without appropriate licences. 

 

Is anyone stopping a residence with the appropriate hotel licences using AirBnB as a platform to find customers? Is UBER illegal if the driver has the appropriate taxi licences? The answers is most likely NO in all cases. 

I totally understand the hassles caused by AirBnB in condominiums though, with tourists going to reception asking for towels to the pool and where is the best elephant trip.. 

[observer90210]

The Thai Hoteliers mafia has apparently done the right P+R,  to the proper people...

[JAG]

2 hours ago, MaxLee said:

First UBER and now AirBnB...... 

Thailand 4.0!

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Myeah.. headline isn't really accurate but I guess in the Bangkok-centric world of Thaivisa / Nation / Manager editors, everyone lives in a condo.  

 

Anyway, some hints in no particular order:  

 

1. Guesthouses are a thing in Thailand and have been for decades.  Registering for one is not hard.  Guesthouse = 'Non-hotel accommodation to supplement income for up to 4 rooms / 20 people.'
 

2. Condominiums can of course make regulations against short term rentals. That's their choice.

 

3. If one person is told that his specific rental is against regulations then that doesn't make a whole booking platform illegal. Or in other words: it's not AirBnB that was on trial here.  (Duh..)

4. Many new condominium developers understand that they shift more units when their buyers can actually afford the mortgage via some holiday rental income.

5. AirBnB is just a booking channel. Many hotels and resorts are on it too. Other sites that offer short-term holiday rentals via a Sharing Economy model include Agoda, Booking dot com, TripAdvisor / Holidaylettings, and several in China.

 

6. Any landlord or hotel/accommodation provider needs to register TM30 information either with the form or online, no matter the length of stay, no matter if the guest pays for it or it's their grandmother, that's all the same and not particularly related to this news story.

 

7. ... probably more, but I'll let yawl chew on the above first. 

 

Questions?

Edited May 16, 2018 by WinnieTheKhwai

[MaxLee]

16 minutes ago, JAG said:

Thailand 4.0!

No, Thailand - 0.04 

[KittenKong]

Excellent news. I hope they will soon prosecute all the owners and agencies who do totally illegal short-term rentals in my building.

[Argus Tuft]

4 hours ago, MaxLee said:

First UBER and now AirBnB...... 

Uber no longer in Thailand.

 

Keep up MaxLee

[djayz]

Competition not welcomed here. 

 

 

[stanleycoin]

Good Job 

Why should long term Thailand residents, have there lives interrupted by

trash packers, and various other undesirables. on a daily or weekly basis.

Hope it gets enforced all over Thailand.

Good job courts. 

Edited May 16, 2018 by stanleycoin

[attrayant]

I have little interest in the B&B story but I find the comically huge paragraph indents in the pictured memo to be absolutely ridiculous.  

[Get Real]

Really funny! I would like to see what they bese that judgement on. Since when is Thai law as specific so it separates days, weeks and month.
The law has not even uppdated since Internet was invented. How much more crazy does it have to be? Can they make a bigger fool out of themselfs?

Edited May 16, 2018 by Get Real

[JAZZDOG]

3 hours ago, SS1 said:

These headlines are always so misleading, and tiring to see such as "AirBnB is illegal" , "UBER is illegal" - no, they are not illegal, just platforms used to provide certain services. What is illegal is the actual illegal activities done using these platforms, such as breaking the Hotel Act or driving a taxi without appropriate licences. 

 

Is anyone stopping a residence with the appropriate hotel licences using AirBnB as a platform to find customers? Is UBER illegal if the driver has the appropriate taxi licences? The answers is most likely NO in all cases. 

I totally understand the hassles caused by AirBnB in condominiums though, with tourists going to reception asking for towels to the pool and where is the best elephant trip.. 

Fault lies with the condo owner who signed a contract with Airbnb that their unit was in lawful local compliance as a daily/weekly rental. Airbnb has no way to know otherwise. I can signup and offer Buckingham Palace for rent as long as I check all the boxes.

[JAZZDOG]

Hardly reserved to airbnb. Signs posted everywhere that no daily/weekly rentals allowed. Place is packed with daily/weekly rentals.

 

https://www.booking.com/hotel/th/reflection-jomtien-beach-condo.en-gb.html?label=gen173nr-1DCAEoggJCAlhYSDNYBGjdAYgBAZgBLsIBA2FibsgBFNgBA-gBAZICAXmoAgQ;sid=14f7157ed725e7467d3d9dcbaab8bc15;checkin=2018-07-11;checkout=2018-07-12;ucfs=1;soh=1;srpvid=4e3b63d4e8ff00aa;srepoch=1526479914;highlighted_blocks=;all_sr_blocks=;bshb=2;room1=A%2CA;soldout=0%2C0;hpos=1;hapos=1;dest_type=city;dest_id=900056126;srfid=bc04fd27210fae08ec5349252d16f285f17fd976X1;from=searchresults;highlight_room=#no_availability_msg

[Happy Grumpy]

6 hours ago, MaxLee said:

First UBER and now AirBnB...... 

Suspect that there'll be an all Thai, government run service called ThaiBnB, that is the same, but has commission's going straight to the government. 

Edited May 16, 2018 by Happy Grumpy

[KittenKong]

Really funny! I would like to see what they bese that judgement on. Since when is Thai law as specific so it separates days, weeks and month.

The Hotel Act, which is the one that applies here as far as I know, is fairly well written and clearly differentiates between a month and less than a month.

[KittenKong]

Fault lies with the condo owner who signed a contract with Airbnb that their unit was in lawful local compliance as a daily/weekly rental. Airbnb has no way to know otherwise.

Airbnb (or any other hotel booking agency) could easily ask to see a copy of the hotel registration of anyone wanting to rent out places for less than one month, but they choose not to. That is not a valid defence as far as I can see.

Would you say that it is also not Uber or Grab's job to verify that their drivers have proper insurance? I wouldn't.