in what case a 'permit to build' is necessary?

[thing31]

Hello all,

 

I and my Thai wife bought a land last year and it is time to build !

We live in a remote village and we heard from several people including the village chief that the old system of "can build whatever you want in the countryside without permit" doesn't longer work, or doing so is risky because the owner could be fined.

As we will build small buildings and the main house, here are my questions:

1. Do we need a permit to build for only a house or even something like a outdoor kitchen, sala, workshop etc

2. Is there a minimum size for which a permit to build is not required (for example a 15 square meters building)

3. If I hire workers to build the main room of my house (planning to build extra rooms in the future, i.e. an 'extension'), and assuming I will need a permit to build it, will we need a permit for building the extension too?

 

Thanks for your help ????

[Dagfinnur Traustason]

As know, you will not need a permit for a normal house to live in. Still what I heard, everything over 2 story needs a permit.

[Pilotman]

excellent questions. I can't answer you directly, but I did recently find out that the Land Office allocate a colour code to all land within their jurisdiction, indicating where building is allowed and where it is prohibited.  I have seen such a map for around our district.  I suggest that your first of call is the local Land Office to obtain such  a map for your area. 

[Crossy]

Talk to your village head, he's your man.

 

Generally you get a permit for the main house but "small" add-ons like outdoor kitchen sheds etc. are allowed without a permit.

 

Sort the permit for the final version of the house, there's no need to build it all at once.

 

Oh, and check what the permit actually says, ours read "1 floor wooden house" despite the 3 bedroom steel and concrete mansion drawings being attached.

 

[jvs]

I would try to find out how to get a permit!The reason is this,even if you do not need one it

may be good to have one.

I bought a property in France long ago,there was a house on it but it was built with

permission of the local puy yai ban(forgot the the name in French)he had died and it was a major pita to get it all in my name ,a lot of changes and it took a long time.

What i am saying is ,be prepared for future law changes and get a permit.

My permit 10 years ago costed 35 baht.

They told me any other small buildings do not need a permit.

[thing31]

Thank you all,

 

Pilotman, yes we already asked the village chief, and he said we are allowed to build on that land. 

Crossy, thanks for the answer. We already asked the village chief and he said the process will start at the district office, but I prefer to gather information before going there. I don't really understand the purpose of getting a permit. Is it only for buildings where people live and stay (such as a house) or is it related to the size. Because if we build a small separate room for friends who visit us (such as a bungalow), will we need a permit ?

 

[DrJack54]

OP, not wishing to sidetrack your thread.

Just thought readers might get giggle out of this pic taken just now from my condo 7th level.

Below red line is 3 level buildings and a group of folk have been building the Shantiytown above them. To the right is relatively new condo. The shantytown construction has been thrown together with salvage materials clearly built without any approvals. 

This is CENTRAL BANGKOK!!

[Crossy]

So much depends upon your local district office.

 

I'd go there with the land layout and a sketch of approximately what you want to do including your possible future bungalow. They should tell you what they need (like immigration, all offices are different of course).

 

We already had architect plans for the house so it was a relatively painless job (apart from the wooden house description). That said we did have "contacts", Madam's eldest son is married to puyai-baan's daughter

[Susco]

No building permit = no house number or blue book.

 

The color of the Garuda on the title deed tells you if can build or not.

 

For building permit you will need plans signed by an official architect.

 

Everything can be "arranged" in Thailand

[thing31]

All right, thanks to all of you for your help. When I will get information from the district office, I will write them in this topic.

Cheers

[Sydebolle]

Just went through this subject. You need a building permit, issued by the municipality's office, whatever they say. Even if all your neighbours have none, go for it - it will eliminate future discussions, fines and eventual official orders to tear down the place. Over time they will have to get this part of their administration in order as well; too many houses are life-threatening. Best is to contact that office and get it from the horse's mouth. 

 

You have a basic idea of how you want what; the municipality architect will put this together onto something like 25 - 30 pages (A 3) giving the details of post, foundation etc. etc. and will charge you something like THB 50-75 per square metre of the house. If not, then an outsider can do that (they use CAD and it's done within an hour or two) but the municipality architect will have to sign and approve! 

 

The construction permit application can be done by your wife herself at the office, the approval costs you something like +/- THB 2'000. The application requires five sets of 1:1 copies of the original drawings by the architect which must include a 1:1 copy of the land title deed. 

Most likely the same office issues house numbers and the blue house registration book, which is also just a form completed by the wife. 

They might "suggest" an all-in price of anything starting as of THB 30'000 upwards; do it yourself and be a little patient. 

With builders, get them to quote the work only; you get the building material yourself and you save a fortune in "mark-ups".

 

Good luck! 

[Crossy]

To add to the above, your ampur office should have books of "pre-approved" house designs, find a likely looking home, get copies of the plans and apply for your permit against those.

 

So long as you don't change the overall dimensions or structure you can make any cosmetic changes later. We actually changed our roof line by sketching on the drawing copies with barely an eye blinked.

 

It was back in 2011 but I think our permit cost 35 Baht ????  

 

You can see the sort of thing that's available here 

https://web.archive.org/web/20160522095154/http://www.crossy.co.uk/Thai_House_Plans/index.html

we built a meld of 27 and 30 with a revised "curvy" Ayutthaya style roof.

 

[GreasyFingers]

We had to do the same process & approval as @Sydebollehas stated. It is a fairly new development by our Tessaban but they started demolishing recently built unapproved houses. Go and talk to them, unless you intend building without a permit anyway.

[seajae]

we have just built on our land, I desiged the house(more of a weekender, 1 bedroom, kitchen, living area & bathroom with a big veranda and carport attached), the builder had a architect do up a blue print and he got the necessary documents/permits etc, he then built a large 12 mtr x 6 mtr cactus/hot house with no permit needed as well so the house was the only one that neded permits. The land is 1 rai and is out of town(dirt roads), had no problems getting a house number(gave us a choice of what number we wanted) and eletricity  put on 

 

[Stevemercer]

Yes, you should get a permit for the main house. If you intend to use a builder he can arrange this for you, based on a very preliminary design.

 

They just need to know the rough dimensions, whether single/double storey, how many bedrooms and how many bathrooms. They are also interested in the placement of septic systems. This is the only thing they checked during our build.

[jumbo]

1 hour ago, seajae said:

we have just built on our land, I desiged the house(more of a weekender, 1 bedroom, kitchen, living area & bathroom with a big veranda and carport attached), the builder had a architect do up a blue print and he got the necessary documents/permits etc, he then built a large 12 mtr x 6 mtr cactus/hot house with no permit needed as well so the house was the only one that neded permits. The land is 1 rai and is out of town(dirt roads), had no problems getting a house number(gave us a choice of what number we wanted) and eletricity  put on 

 

Did they have to go far to get the electricity and what were the costs??

[digger70]

On 1/12/2021 at 10:10 AM, thing31 said:

Hello all,

 

I and my Thai wife bought a land last year and it is time to build !

We live in a remote village and we heard from several people including the village chief that the old system of "can build whatever you want in the countryside without permit" doesn't longer work, or doing so is risky because the owner could be fined.

As we will build small buildings and the main house, here are my questions:

1. Do we need a permit to build for only a house or even something like a outdoor kitchen, sala, workshop etc

2. Is there a minimum size for which a permit to build is not required (for example a 15 square meters building)

3. If I hire workers to build the main room of my house (planning to build extra rooms in the future, i.e. an 'extension'), and assuming I will need a permit to build it, will we need a permit for building the extension too?

 

Thanks for your help ????

Maybe this may help you.

Building Permits and Zoning Regulations

The Town and City Planning Act and the Building Control Act are the two main pieces of legislation governing construction of residential properties in Thailand. Under these acts the following responsibilities are enforced:

• Awarding Building Permits
• Enforcing the Building Control Act
• Property Developments
• Zoning Regulations

The Building Control Act is set up to govern the construction of buildings and details restrictions on their size, shape and height, which are specific to certain areas.

Buyers must ensure that their builder is adhering to all restrictions that have been outlined. Individual requirements under this Act do vary between Provinces, so it is necessary to contact the local Land Department office for exact details.

Building permits

Building permits are regulated by the Building Control Act and issued under the Town and City Planning Act. If the land has a clear and legal title deed, a building permit can be obtained at the Land Department Office. The builder usually applies for building permits on behalf of the owner of the construction.

Use of the land is also a factor when applying for a building permit. If the use of land follows the stated zoning, permission for a permit is possible. If more than nine plots of land are being developed, a sub-division licence is required with all of the infrastructure requirements relating to this.

These document are needed to get a building permit:

• Title deed that allows for purchase, sale or transfer
• Architectural drawings
• Land Development Permits (obtained before the land sale): the Land Trade Licence and Land Distribution Licence
• Infrastructure permits such as water, electricity and housing construction permits

Zoning regulations

It is important to understand and consider the zoning regulations of the specific area being built in. Keep in mind that when developing a property several zoning restrictions may apply. They may include some or all of the following depending on the Province:

• Height of the structure
• Width of the structure
• Distance from the beach and/or shore
• Proximity to another property
• The use of the structure (residential, commercial, industrial)
• Building lot size
• Angle of slope of land
• Height of land above sea level
• Type and colour of roof

For detailed information of zoning requirements:

• Bangkok Department of City Planning
• Krabi Land Zoning
• Phuket Land Zoning

[natway09]

Do not trust "the Headman" 

Permit required for any permanent structure that is going to habitated.

Also, check on which areas of property have been approved for a building if large plot.

While the builder is able to wire the house he will need a licenced sparke to "sign off" on it these

days in most provinces.

Some shires will also want to know where you are going to dig your septics

Get it right to save a lot of heartache, I have just done it.

An "add on "not connected  also approved with permit,  as seperate issues, cost 970 Bht

I did not want to take the risk of having to remove it

[khunPer]

I would talk to the tessa ban office about permission and requirements, and whenever possible get a building permission for the major construction.

 

Compared to the costs of building a home, the costs for the permission is minor. What if the construction(s) is later found illegal and demanded demolished, wouldn't the small cost for a legal permission had been a good "investment".

 

Furthermore there is the question of blue house book and allocated house number, as some has mentioned. There might also appear other obstructions like connection to electricity (in my case a blue house book was needed for permanent connection and low tarif).

[scorecard]

3 hours ago, Sydebolle said:

Just went through this subject. You need a building permit, issued by the municipality's office, whatever they say. Even if all your neighbours have none, go for it - it will eliminate future discussions, fines and eventual official orders to tear down the place. Over time they will have to get this part of their administration in order as well; too many houses are life-threatening. Best is to contact that office and get it from the horse's mouth. 

 

You have a basic idea of how you want what; the municipality architect will put this together onto something like 25 - 30 pages (A 3) giving the details of post, foundation etc. etc. and will charge you something like THB 50-75 per square metre of the house. If not, then an outsider can do that (they use CAD and it's done within an hour or two) but the municipality architect will have to sign and approve! 

 

The construction permit application can be done by your wife herself at the office, the approval costs you something like +/- THB 2'000. The application requires five sets of 1:1 copies of the original drawings by the architect which must include a 1:1 copy of the land title deed. 

Most likely the same office issues house numbers and the blue house registration book, which is also just a form completed by the wife. 

They might "suggest" an all-in price of anything starting as of THB 30'000 upwards; do it yourself and be a little patient. 

With builders, get them to quote the work only; you get the building material yourself and you save a fortune in "mark-ups".

 

Good luck! 

Five years back my buddy did pretty much as above but divided the work into small sections, then had the builder sign off on an agreed date/time of completion with photos of similar treatments/ quality, and with stated penalties for late/shoddy work.

 

First 'section' was deliberately a small amount of work, but was 4 days over the agreed 4 days completion time. Buddy paid after some work had been pulled down and rebuilt but deducted 2,00Baht before paying for initial late finish, and stuck to his guns about the 2,000Baht deduction. 

 

Builder quickly got serious and mentioned to buddies brother in law he liked this approach and told buddies' wife that he wanted to complete the whole structure in small sections because it meant quick cash flow and quick checking that each 'section' has passed quality tests.

 

Before all of this started buddies' wife talked to appropriate people at local amphur office and got them to sign something agreeing that this approach was legal. 

 

Ultimately everybody happy. 

[KKr]

we were told:
under 100 sqm to just submit technical drawing by an engineer for notification.
and above 100 sqm submit building permit application.

[LukKrueng]

On 1/12/2021 at 10:39 AM, thing31 said:

Thank you all,

 

Pilotman, yes we already asked the village chief, and he said we are allowed to build on that land. 

Crossy, thanks for the answer. We already asked the village chief and he said the process will start at the district office, but I prefer to gather information before going there. I don't really understand the purpose of getting a permit. Is it only for buildings where people live and stay (such as a house) or is it related to the size. Because if we build a small separate room for friends who visit us (such as a bungalow), will we need a permit ?

 

The process starts at the tesaban/o.b.t. (sub district office). you get the permission to build from them. Then the village chief assigns you a house number which is essentially you address. The chief is supposed to check the building completion and then sign some documents which you take to the District office to get the house book. 

[Sydebolle]

On 1/18/2021 at 1:17 PM, scorecard said:

Five years back my buddy did pretty much as above but divided the work into small sections, then had the builder sign off on an agreed date/time of completion with photos of similar treatments/ quality, and with stated penalties for late/shoddy work.

 

First 'section' was deliberately a small amount of work, but was 4 days over the agreed 4 days completion time. Buddy paid after some work had been pulled down and rebuilt but deducted 2,00Baht before paying for initial late finish, and stuck to his guns about the 2,000Baht deduction. 

 

Builder quickly got serious and mentioned to buddies brother in law he liked this approach and told buddies' wife that he wanted to complete the whole structure in small sections because it meant quick cash flow and quick checking that each 'section' has passed quality tests.

 

Before all of this started buddies' wife talked to appropriate people at local amphur office and got them to sign something agreeing that this approach was legal. 

 

Ultimately everybody happy. 

 

Of course, you have to split the entire building development and payment into sections. I did it in ten sections defining which goals in which time frame have to be reached by the end of the individual block and subsequently of course my ten part payments. This was discussed and mutually agreed, written down in Thai and signed by one and all. 

I had built in a conventional penalty for an overall delay but nullified it after section eight. It kept the pressure on for a while but if they have to hurry at the end, you will see the screw-ups as the last part of the job is the most visible. Big relief everywhere and at the end everyone happy. 

[thing31]

Hello all,

 

Just get back with additional information, after my wife went to meet with the municipality 'architect' (we live near Chiang Rai).

Here are the answers of the questions I asked in that topic:

- Yes, building permit is required for the main house as it it is the condition to get the registration number, then apply for electricity and water. In addition, if the surface is more than 150 sqm, we will need to hire an architect or construction engineer to supervise the work

- In the future, if we want to make some extension, don't need to ask any permission

- For other buildings such as outdoor kitchen, even a big 'Sala', no need a permit to build

- If we want to build a separate small house for friends/visitors (eg 20 sqm), no need any permit

Thanks again to everyone who contributed in this topic????

 

[seajae]

On 1/18/2021 at 11:39 AM, jumbo said:

Did they have to go far to get the electricity and what were the costs??

we were lucky as someone else put power on last year and had it brought down from the main road then a couple of other houses were built, one was only 50 metres from us , the electricity people put the power to our land but we had to set in a post near the house and pay extra to have the power brought in from the fenceline, from memory it was only a few thousand. We paid(as did the other houses) 10,000 baht to the lady that had the electricity brought in from the main road originally even though it wasnt required by law( we just wanted to help her with the original costs, cost her a couple hundred thousand) but we did have to get permission from them to extend the power to our land, we are around 100 metres from the main road and once the power was set at the original house there were no costs to extend it to the other houses, it is only the first house that got the power brought in from the main power lines that had to pay. They do allow you around 10 metres for free if it has to be brought into your land then you pay per metre after that as well as for any posts needed.

[jumbo]

On 1/21/2021 at 9:42 AM, seajae said:

we were lucky as someone else put power on last year and had it brought down from the main road then a couple of other houses were built, one was only 50 metres from us , the electricity people put the power to our land but we had to set in a post near the house and pay extra to have the power brought in from the fenceline, from memory it was only a few thousand. We paid(as did the other houses) 10,000 baht to the lady that had the electricity brought in from the main road originally even though it wasnt required by law( we just wanted to help her with the original costs, cost her a couple hundred thousand) but we did have to get permission from them to extend the power to our land, we are around 100 metres from the main road and once the power was set at the original house there were no costs to extend it to the other houses, it is only the first house that got the power brought in from the main power lines that had to pay. They do allow you around 10 metres for free if it has to be brought into your land then you pay per metre after that as well as for any posts needed.

Thanks for the info

[chrisandsu]

I remember when we got a house built about 7 years ago . The house was up and finished , we went to the city to get the registration and house address , they pointed out to us that there was no permit .... they proceeded in giving me a blank piece of paper and a pencil and asked me to draw roughly what the dimensions were of the house . I didn’t win any awards for my drawings but they were happy . ????