Koh Samui: Only 10% of properties - some owned by foreigners - on disputed hills are legal

[webfact]

Koh Samui: Only 10% of properties - some owned by foreigners - on disputed hills are legal

 

 

Channel 7 reported from Koh Samui about the large number of luxury villas that have been built on steep hills on the holiday island.

 

They spoke to the chief of a group investigating encroachment who said that on two hills in particular only 10% of the properties have legal land title deeds. 

 

The hills are Chaweng Noi and Ma Ngaen.

 

Much of the illegality stems from the fact that they should not have been given planning permission in the first place as the gradient is too steep. 

 

One in particular comprising 150 units is French owned and has sold units to Chinese and German people. 

 

Apart from the illegality of the properties many are now deserted eyesores due to the downturn in tourism and the economy. 

 

Locals in Samui are furious that some of the most attractive spots on their island have been carved up illegally in this way and are demanding action to have them removed.

 

Meanwhile the Land Department promises action but the complex nature of the cases means it is dragging on for years. 

 

Dusit Kasenkaew spoke of irregularities in land acquisition and building permits going back to 2005 involving "land gangs", nominees and investors using loopholes to build.  

 

Source: Channel 7

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2020-10-30

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

[ThreeEyedRaven]

8 minutes ago, webfact said:

Dusit Kasenkaew spoke of irregularities in land acquisition and building permits going back to 2005

Irregularities? Doesn't he mean blatant fraud and criminal activity by the land department and the judiciary that was supposed to be keeping things honest? I would wager that it involves a lot more than just two hills too.

[Surelynot]

Best not to be wearing socks if you have to go to jail.

[Hamus Yaigh]

Shouldn't the title of the article be "Koh Samui: Only 90% of properties - some owned by foreigners - on disputed hills are illegal"?

 

Thought I'd keep the 'Only' in there as that is a surprise as well.

[Natai Beach]

I first went to Samui in 1997. And every year until 2003. Chewaeng still had a dirt two way road, no Maccas etc. Mornings I would float in the sea to recover from my hangover. It was beautiful, tropical paradise surrounded by nature. So beautiful I decided to move to Thailand when sitting on Chewaeng Beach.
 

Last year I was there and really noticed how ugly it looked now with the hills being built on. 
 

If they are illegal I hope they bulldoze them all and return the area to nature. It would be good if the French developers return the money to the buyers, but I know they won’t.
 

[Phuketshrew]

54 minutes ago, webfact said:

Meanwhile the Land Department promises action but the complex nature of the cases means it is dragging on for years. 

Yep. It must be a bit of a dilemma now all the cash from the brown envelopes has been spent ...

[BritManToo]

22 minutes ago, Natai Beach said:

If they are illegal I hope they bulldoze them all and return the area to nature.

Nah, they'll be abandoned and left to slowly rot.

That's the Thai way.

[KC 71]

Lots and lots of infinity pools with sea views.

I wonder if they will take them down while there is now such a low occupancy rate.

The brown envelopes must be getting scarce these days i guess.

[Swimfan]

Don’t investigate the developers. Look at where the land titles and planning permits came from. 

[NCC1701A]

if they start tearing these places down now, they should be ready for the next batch of suckers say around 2024. 

[billd766]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Koh Samui: Only 10% of properties - some owned by foreigners - on disputed hills are legal

 

 

Channel 7 reported from Koh Samui about the large number of luxury villas that have been built on steep hills on the holiday island.

 

They spoke to the chief of a group investigating encroachment who said that on two hills in particular only 10% of the properties have legal land title deeds. 

 

The hills are Chaweng Noi and Ma Ngaen.

 

Much of the illegality stems from the fact that they should not have been given planning permission in the first place as the gradient is too steep. 

 

One in particular comprising 150 units is French owned and has sold units to Chinese and German people. 

 

Apart from the illegality of the properties many are now deserted eyesores due to the downturn in tourism and the economy. 

 

Locals in Samui are furious that some of the most attractive spots on their island have been carved up illegally in this way and are demanding action to have them removed.

 

Meanwhile the Land Department promises action but the complex nature of the cases means it is dragging on for years. 

 

Dusit Kasenkaew spoke of irregularities in land acquisition and building permits going back to 2005 involving "land gangs", nominees and investors using loopholes to build.  

 

Source: Channel 7

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2020-10-30

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

Who in their right mind would even want to live in a place like that?

[AlfHuy]

One in particular comprising 150 units is French owned and has sold units to Chinese and German people. 

 

Now, they have a go at the French.

French Covid lady and now the French property owner.

[Tropicalevo]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Locals in Samui are furious that some of the most attractive spots on their island have been carved up illegally

I wonder who sold the land in the first place? Not the 'furious' locals, surely.

[Natai Beach]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

Nah, they'll be abandoned and left to slowly rot.

That's the Thai way.

 

Not necessarily. 
The southern Thais are a lot more proactive than their Northern and Central cousins. 
Hundreds of encroaching buildings have been bulldozed in Phuket and Phangnga in the last decade. 
 

eg 

https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-surin-beach-buildings-destroyed-57100.php

 

 

[b17]

Back in 1999, my wife and I were shown a nice property beside an inland lake on Koh Samui. The real estate agent was the boyfriend of a lady we had befriended five years earlier. We liked the property, but fortunately decided to call my brother in law prior to signing on the dotted line. When we described the chanote (land deed), he told us not to go near it, as it was fake. We bailed, and headed back to Chiang Rai. 

Fast forward about six months. To our astonishment, we read about the same property being sold to five different foreigners...it seems that they learned about the scam when two construction teams almost came to blows at the same location. Despite many attempts to get the money back, further reports suggested that not a satang was returned. A further revelation was that the land was actually owned by the government, and never should have been put up for sale in the first place. 

 

Chastened by the experience, we built up north, and haven't regretted it so far. 

 

 

[sammieuk1]

French owned and has sold units to Chinese and German people heads will roll ????

[ftpjtm]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

One in particular comprising 150 units is French owned and has sold units to Chinese and German people. 

 

Would that, perchance, be the one that used to advertise hillside properties on this site?

[Japhrodisiac]

"Locals in Samui are furious that some of the most attractive spots on their island have been carved up illegally in this way and are demanding action to have them removed."

 

Are the furious locals the same locals that sold all the land to foreigners for big money, then when the properties are found to be illegal are nowhere to be found?

[ChrisY1]

Of course as usual.....blame everyone else but the lands office people....these guys issue titles the last I heard, but this time it's "land gangs"... and investors using "loopholes"

What loopholes?.....Utter <deleted>!

[RickG16]

14 minutes ago, Japhrodisiac said:

Are the furious locals the same locals that sold all the land to foreigners for big money, then when the properties are found to be illegal are nowhere to be found?

No, they are probably the locals who had nothing to do with it. Not every Ko Samui resident is involved in real estate. 

[KamnanT]

As far back as I can remember (mid-90s), a substantial percentage of Samui land deals have been seriously dodgy.  Fake titles, state land encroachment, zoning violations or simply flogging chanote land that the "seller" didn't own.  I can't remember reading about any subsequent prosecutions.  I don't have the stones to buy in that sort of market: too much to lose.

[thaibeachlovers]

4 hours ago, Natai Beach said:

Chewaeng still had a dirt two way road, no Maccas etc.

Wasn't it a great place to holiday back then. Not so much before corona though.

 

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Much of the illegality stems from the fact that they should not have been given planning permission in the first place as the gradient is too steep. 

No <deleted> Sherlock.

Samui, the island of ruined ( IMO ) beaches and houses in danger of falling off the hills. My my, hasn't the gloss come off what used to be a real paradise island.

Greedy developers should be put in jail for what they did to Samui, IMO. Sadly that is quite unlikely to happen. Hopefully they have lost their own money though.

5 hours ago, webfact said:

One in particular comprising 150 units is French owned and has sold units to Chinese and German people. 

One has no sympathy if they end up losing their money with no refund. Hopefully it will put future prospective buyers off for good.

[from the home of CC]

so people paid bribes into letting them develop and now have been undone by the investigation of land title fraud - looks good on them..

[from the home of CC]

5 minutes ago, KamnanT said:

As far back as I can remember (mid-90s), a substantial percentage of Samui land deals have been seriously dodgy.  Fake titles, state land encroachment, zoning violations or simply flogging chanote land that the "seller" didn't own.  I can't remember reading about any subsequent prosecutions.  I don't have the stones to buy in that sort of market: too much to lose.

think you should replace the word 'stones' with 'brains'...

[thaibeachlovers]

1 minute ago, from the home of CC said:

so people paid bribes into letting them develop and now have been undone by the investigation of land title fraud - looks good on them..

The right thing would be to demolish them at the developer's expense. If I could I'd go to see them come down. Sadly I expect them to still be there for many years to come. If they can't be occupied that would be some satisfaction though.

[KamnanT]

2 minutes ago, from the home of CC said:

think you should replace the word 'stones' with 'brains'...

You must be one of the lucky 10% --- good for you.

[Surelynot]

Just not worth the risk buying in Thailand...rent and remain free.

[thaibeachlovers]

I expect those that are losing money on illegal property developments are the ones demanding the government open the country to "tourists" ( <deleted> that will buy their shoddy buildings ).

[thaibeachlovers]

1 minute ago, Surelynot said:

Just not worth the risk buying in Thailand...rent and remain free.

That has been known for decades, but still the deleted buyers come. One born every minute, or something like that I believe.

[JusticeGB]

The planning laws in Samui are that houses built on slopes between 35 and 50 degrees can have a maximum size of 80 square metres and 75% of the land must remain free of buildings of which 50% be filled with native trees. It's obvious looking at the pictures of these houses that none comply with these conditions before even considering if the chanots are legal.