Can I own and live in a ground floor condo in a condominium complex?

[Pha Nga Nist]

Hello all,

Is it legal to own a ground floor condo in a condominium complex, use it as a regular condo and live in it?

Is owning one any different (legal wise) from any owning regular condos in the complex? (1st floor up)

I am asking this because all the rest of the condos are used as shops, if I buy the condo I would be the only one who live in the ground floor and I don't want to have any legal issues whatsoever.

Thank you all very much for your help!

[sunnyjim5]

Is someone offering to sell a shop/condo ?

[thaiduncankk]

I don't think you can unless you are Thai.

I think it is because the condo is situated on the land, which you, legally, cannot own.

If I am wrong, I will stand corrected.

[Pha Nga Nist]

I don't think you can unless you are Thai.

I think it is because the condo is situated on the land, which you, legally, cannot own.

If I am wrong, I will stand corrected.

51% of the condo complex should be owned by Thais, otherwise no condo could be sold to foreigner no matter what floor it's located on.

In my there is a 51%+ Thai ownership in the complex so there is no problem to buy condo in this complex.

Question is only on the ground floor as there are no issues with other floors for sure.

[sunnyjim5]

I don't think you can unless you are Thai.

I think it is because the condo is situated on the land, which you, legally, cannot own.

If I am wrong, I will stand corrected.

Ummmm What are the 'upstairs' condos built on ? Are they somehow disconnected from the land ?

[Happy Grumpy]

No problem, same rules as owning any other unit in the building apply.

[Pha Nga Nist]

No problem, same rules as owning any other unit in the building apply.

Wow, that's great!

Sorry for asking but are you 100% sure about that? is it from experience?

Thank you very much.

[blackcab]

With a condominium you don't actually own a fixed piece of the freehold land (unless specifically stated on your deed).

What you own is a piece of unassigned land appropriate to the size of your condo in proportion to every other unit. In reality that might be just be a very few square meters.

Even if you owned a ground floor condo you might not in reality own the same sized notional piece of land.

[JHolmesJr]

Nice to score a ground floor unit in case you suddenly feel the urge to open a business for your wife.

Edited March 14, 2016 by JHolmesJr

[uthaithanirules]

Think is more the case that those ground floor condos can as business as well, thus those 51% of thai owners are always going want the ground floor....or rent it out to someone that wants to run a business

...or its a lot easier carting stuff out from the ground floor to their business that exists somewhere else

[NeverSure]

I don't know about Thailand. In other countries I do know, a condo is a method of ownership, not a design.

The land belongs to the association and the condo buyer owns the unit. The buyer gets what's legally called an "undivided interest" in the association which owns the land. That term means that there is no specific part (it's not divided up specifically) that any one owner owns. They all own it jointly in an undivided way. Think of how you might own a car with a partner. You don't own the left half etc., you both own all of it in an undivided way.

My understanding is that this is why you can own a condo. You don't own any specific, divided part of the land. You own an interest in the association which owns the land.

Cheers.

[thaiduncankk]

Think is more the case that those ground floor condos can as business as well, thus those 51% of thai owners are always going want the ground floor....or rent it out to someone that wants to run a business

...or its a lot easier carting stuff out from the ground floor to their business that exists somewhere else

Thank you for a better reply, I did say I would stand corrected if I was wrong, which I obviously am.

A more civil reply than the one above starting with Ummm.

[sunnyjim5]

Think is more the case that those ground floor condos can as business as well, thus those 51% of thai owners are always going want the ground floor....or rent it out to someone that wants to run a business

...or its a lot easier carting stuff out from the ground floor to their business that exists somewhere else

Thank you for a better reply, I did say I would stand corrected if I was wrong, which I obviously am.

A more civil reply than the one above starting with Ummm.

Sorry the Um was disliked but I was genuinely interested to learn how upper floor condos were built without needing any connection to the land !

[trogers]

No you cannot live in the space on the ground floor. It was designed and approved as a shop space, and not a residence.

[HooHaa]

No problem, same rules as owning any other unit in the building apply.

Wow, that's great!

Sorry for asking but are you 100% sure about that? is it from experience?

Thank you very much.

perhaps if you are considering stumping up the money you should do research with a lawyer rather than an expat forum.

[KittenKong]

No you cannot live in the space on the ground floor. It was designed and approved as a shop space, and not a residence.

That is not correct. An individual building may have specific rules about usage of the ground floor and other areas, but the condo act does not. The condo act merely states that businesses can only be operated in specific designated areas of the building as decided by co-owners, but it does not prohibit these areas being also used for residential purposes. Also any individual building rule can be changed by co-owner vote.

Many buildings in Pattaya have people living in units on the ground floor, and in many of those buildings the ground floor units are identical in every way to those on upper floors.

[KittenKong]

I don't know about Thailand. In other countries I do know, a condo is a method of ownership, not a design.

The land belongs to the association and the condo buyer owns the unit. The buyer gets what's legally called an "undivided interest" in the association which owns the land. That term means that there is no specific part (it's not divided up specifically) that any one owner owns. They all own it jointly in an undivided way. Think of how you might own a car with a partner. You don't own the left half etc., you both own all of it in an undivided way.

My understanding is that this is why you can own a condo. You don't own any specific, divided part of the land. You own an interest in the association which owns the land.

The situation in Thailand is identical. The land and common areas (pool, elevators, utility rooms, corridors, car park, gardens etc) are jointly owned by co-owners according to their voting ratio. On top of that they also own their specific unit(s).

The 51/49% rule applies to the building as a whole, in order to obey Thai law relating to land ownership.

[trogers]

When a developer submits design plans of a project for approval as a condo, the purposes of space usage would have been clearly stated.

Should the ground floor have been designed for residential, then they are residential. Should they have been marked as shops, then that would be the purpose.

The OP has stated that other ground floor units are shops, and I would not assume just one particular unit on the ground floor is submitted as residential.

[Naam]

I don't think you can unless you are Thai.

I think it is because the condo is situated on the land, which you, legally, cannot own.

If I am wrong, I will stand corrected.

you are wrong!

[ThaiBob]

People live in ground floors in my building with no problem. The only difference is the commercial units have glass storefronts which makes things a little awkward in that they have curtains or shades and not a typical entry door.

[thaiduncankk]

I don't think you can unless you are Thai.

I think it is because the condo is situated on the land, which you, legally, cannot own.

If I am wrong, I will stand corrected.

you are wrong!

If you read all the posts, I have admitted I was wrong, and as I stated in that post, I stand corrected, so your post is pretty irrelevant.

[smutcakes]

In the assumption that the Condomnium has been registered properly and it is not a case of people owning GF units simply using them for commerical illegally then the following should be true.

The developer when submitting to apply for the OP/JP status, should submit plans outlining the individual units and their usage. There is no problem the GF units either being registered as commerical units or condominium units but it should be done at the outset.

You should probably check the rules and regs of the condo which should stipulate specific rules for the Commerical units, perhaps different CAM fee, water rates, operating times etc- or specifics in terms of their usage allowance, no gas, parking etc

In reality in older Condminiums i expect that many of the GF units are condo units but have simply been transferred into Commercial usages by the owners. This would be illegal without majority approval in an AGM. (And even with that i suspect it may be illegal) They probably get away with it, as long as they behave becuase they can provide useful services to the Condo.

[chicowoodduck]

I hope you can, will cut down on injuries if you are a typical farang "jumper" ?

[sandgroper2]

Have a thai bird sell coffee in the front, then you can live in the rear. Common knowledge for us in the know.

[little mary sunshine]

Why would you ask that question

Here?? What does your contract

State.

[allane]

In any kind of building, I, as a farang, would never live on the ground floor. As soon as word gets around, you are going to have a stream of beggars and burglers.

[natway09]

The major concern for me would be that the ground floor is a dedicated apartment. If it is no problems.

To repeat earlier comments the total apartment floor area is added up if it is under the control of a Juristic committee.

This means that all (or some) of the units are available for sale. Sale of 49% of area is allowed to be sold to farangs.

Just get a lawyer to check the above 2 concerns & arrange sale to you & payment to CORRECT people

Good Luck & Happy living

[phantomfiddler]

No problem, same rules as owning any other unit in the building apply.

Wow, that's great!

Sorry for asking but are you 100% sure about that? is it from experience?

Thank you very much.

This has many facets ! As long as you realize that you only own the building and not the land that it is standing on! The whole theory behind condominiums is that there is joint ownership of the land that the condominium stands on, including parking, pool etc. Your "Chanote" will not be for the land ownership, just the physical apartment, same as every other owner in the building. There was also a rumour years ago that a farang could not own any condo below the 5th floor. Total nonsense. I have bought condos on the first floor and no problem whatsoever. Great when the lift breaks down also and yes, I have much experience of buying condos in Thailand.

[champken]

I own a ground floor condo from which my wife runs a successful business from and although we don't, if we chose to then we certainly could live in it.

Find one in a popular well located complex and I think they are the ones to buy. Easy to let, sell or run a business from.

[mamypoko]

No problem, same rules as owning any other unit in the building apply.

Wow, that's great!

Sorry for asking but are you 100% sure about that? is it from experience?

Thank you very much.

It's a fact..I'm a case in point

Edited March 15, 2016 by mamypoko