Thai Building Regulations

[GuestHouse]

Some time ago my wife, who is Thai, inherited a piece of land, on which there is an existing family home.

This land is in a location were there is a demand for tourist accommodation.

We would like in the future to add to this some adding some small buildings as guest rooms and perhaps a small restaurant.

Can anybody please advise us if there are any special regulations or licenses that we need to meet and obtain?

[Digger]

Some time ago my wife, who is Thai, inherited a piece of land, on which there is an existing family home.

This land is in a location were there is a demand for tourist accommodation.

We would like in the future to add to this some adding some small buildings as guest rooms and perhaps a small restaurant.

Can anybody please advise us if there are any special regulations or licenses that we need to meet and obtain?

You need to obtain planning permission from the local council equivalent to wherever the land is. Some land is zoned for certain types of buildings, others are completely clear.

For planning permission you should have a complete set of blueprints done by an architecht that stipulates and specifies all the building you are planning. Fully qualified architecht (with a degree) has to sign off the construction if its two or more stories in height or over a certain sq meter size. Single story can be done by a architecht with a higher diploma. Not much difference except for the price of the blueprints. They will invariably all follow the same traditional manner of construction using pillars every 4 meters, however the overall standard of specification of items such as steel quality in the supporting pillars, base etc can vary tremendously.

Your best bet is to have your wife go and talk to the local opodor/planning guys at the town hall and ask what you need in your area. Odds are they will offer to do it for you, and speed up the approvl process. If its a simple construction job they are likely to be just as good and cheaper than going to a fully fledged architecht. Anything quite complex or where you want to speak in English, your better off going to an architecht. They all have 'associattes' that can undertake the building work for you but the key is understanding the specifications before you give them the go ahead to start.

Also dependant upon number fo rooms, you might have to consider safety laws primarily designed for hotels, which come into play for anything over 9 rooms from memory. This would cover things such as fire escapes etc.

[Khutan]

Digger, Now that is very interesting....... and I don't doubt for one minute what you are saying.

My wife was told by someone in her village who was adamant that you just started to build the house and since she owned the land.

I think a trip to the Ampour is in order in the next few weeks.

Thanks for the post.

[Digger]

Digger, Now that is very interesting....... and I don't doubt for one minute what you are saying.

My wife was told by someone in her village who was adamant that you just started to build the house and since she owned the land.

I think a trip to the Ampour is in order in the next few weeks.

Thanks for the post.

This is certainly the case in and around Pattaya. I have been through it many times and its a pain in the neck - as soon as they cotton on that a farang is involved, things get more complex.

If your place is in the countryside, then the restrictions may be lax and barely enforced however this is the law, albeit I know of some entire villages built in Pattaya that never even had as much as a blueprint done for one of the houses let alone the entire village. Having said that, nothing too much seems to come of it except when you want to amend it or build an extension and some opportunist smelling some under the table money stops at your land and asks for the copy of the original planning approval

The key to the process is getting the infamous tabian bahn - which is essentially the document that should follow the house approval. Strange how a brown envelope stuffed with cash can sometimes eliminate the need for the approval and you jumo straight to Tabian Bahn. Problems can occur if the whole thing burns down and your insurance company ask to see the planning approval to ensure that a) the house was properly constructed, they are paying out on what the claimant says was their house which is know just a pile of ash and rubble...

[NedKelly]

I am surprised that there are any zoning laws. Just have to look along a row of shopfronts and see the wide variety of types of business that are side by side in some places .......eg wedding dresses next door to a grease monkey mechanic shop, next to a cake shop etc. The brown envelope full of cash must definitely speak the main language there.

Do the building codes extend toprivate houses ? I wonder ! The house next to me was newly built recently .....I watched as they completed all the walls etc and then procdeeded to knock holes everywhere for plumbing and wiring etc. They could have saved themselves at least a weeks work with a bit of planning.

[Guest Sales Director]

Ned Kelly are you sure the house next to yours was newly built as well as recently.

[Digger]

I am surprised that there are any zoning laws. Just have to look along a row of shopfronts and see the wide variety of types of business that are side by side in some places .......eg wedding dresses next door to a grease monkey mechanic shop, next to a cake shop etc. The brown envelope full of cash must definitely speak the main language there.

Do the building codes extend toprivate houses ? I wonder ! The house next to me was newly built recently .....I watched as they completed all the walls etc and then procdeeded to knock holes everywhere for plumbing and wiring etc. They could have saved themselves at least a weeks work with a bit of planning.

Zoning laws in most places do not cover the type of shop that operates however for example in Pattaya, there are restrictions on the use of some buildings located near to the resevoirs. i.e you cant go and open a lovely chemical plant next to the supply of fresh water for an entire city.

In general terms, they are pretty lax however close attention is now being paid to ensuring walls are minimum 2m from boundaries for houses etc. Some villages get around this by building their village on private roads however there are guidelines for the distance between the public road and your property. Also lots of requirments to intall roadside water drains that front your land on a common one insisted upon of developers to allow the local council to have mains drainage for relatively little cost (i.e you, not them paying). Again many have ignored this kind of thing in the past but is creeping up on people, as is the requirement to seek planning permission for any additional building on your land or an extension. All technically need to go through the council and have permission obtained.

In terms of houses, often they are built with little regard for plumbing and electrics as these are done by other contractors. Therefore very common to see houses being built and completed and then the aircon company comes in and has to knock out loads of walls to install the piping and then make good the damage. However dont forget labour is relatively cheap and the irony is that neither the original builder or the aircon company will likely redcue their relative price by thinking like this, so the end result is the same to the buyer.

Hope this helps