Crackdown on Phuket condo owners confirmed

[webfact]

Crackdown on condo owners confirmed
Phuket Gazette


Phuket Vice Governor Chokdee Amornwat reaffirmed today a tough new stance against accommodation owners operating illegally as hotels. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong

PHUKET: -- Condominium owners in Phuket caught renting out their units on a daily basis face fines and jail time if they do not register their properties as hotels.

Phuket Vice Governor Chokdee Amornwat reaffirmed today a renewed crackdown on owners of condominium complexes and individual unit owners who are operating illegally as hotels, after the provincial land office issued a warning letter to condo owners in Phuket on June 9.

The letter, signed by Phuket Land Office chief Wisit Chokchai, warned that anyone found illegally running hotel-like accommodation faces fines of up to 20,000 baht and prison terms of up to one year, possibly both.

“Phuket officially has about 50,000 hotel rooms but we know that there are in fact close to 100,000 rooms in the province that are being operated like hotels through rentals on a daily basis,” said the vice governor.

“We aim to make Phuket a model province in this respect, so all those rooms must be registered under the Hotel Act BE 2004, which was a directive issued by the Ministry of Interior."

Full story: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket-news/Crackdown-condo-owners-confirmed/64175?desktopversion


-- Phuket Gazette 2016-07-06

[Somtamnication]

Been going on for years. Wonder why the crackdown now?

[trogers]

Been going on for years. Wonder why the crackdown now?

Many wrongs have been going on for years and even decades that past elected governments did not fix.

But this government has started fixing issues since two years ago.

[Freakin Musashi]

It's a "fine" idea.

[shirtless]

I wonder if this law will be selectively enforced

[ezzra]

This is the smile of " now we're going to screw you well and proper farangs " on this man's face.....

[mihalis]

Been going on for years. Wonder why the crackdown now?

Im guessing hotels, complaining during off season low...

[DaveinAsia]

Been going on for years. Wonder why the crackdown now?

Many wrongs have been going on for years and even decades that past elected governments did not fix.

But this government has started fixing issues since two years ago.

Fixing issues that are more in their and other hiso's interests you mean?

[DaveinAsia]

I wonder if this law will be selectively enforced

No need to wonder. I give you a 100% guarantee that this law will only be enforced upon Thais with no connections/farang.

It's an assassination attempt on AirBnB in Phuket. They were taking away too much money from the Thai hotel owners

[newnative]

I welcome the crackdown. Now, on to Pattaya.

[Bob12345]

Been going on for years. Wonder why the crackdown now?

Im guessing hotels, complaining during off season low...

Agree, even though TAT is reporting record arrivals of tourists, the average Phuket hotel that does not have a contract with a Chinese tour operator is seeing lower trade every year.

I am guessing many hotels are being hurt so badly that they even started asking of enforcement of rules. Given the sheer number of hotels and the amounts invested the lobby must have been strong and the local government finally decided to help them out.

[does]

I'm guessing too: the government is crack down on many things, from land encroachment to corruption.

Been going on for years. Wonder why the crackdown now?

Im guessing hotels, complaining during off season low...

[does]

And what is it that makes to wonder? And why?

I wonder if this law will be selectively enforced

[Globalist]

Most people misunderstand this news.

It's about:

1) Condo developers with many unsold units in their buildings and decide to use at least 4 such units to operate as a hotel

and

2) Condo unit owners that own at least 4 units in the same building and operate those as a hotel

Such activity requires a hotel license according to the Hotel Act.

[Remus1830]

This is another nail in the coffin of the Thai property market. Most people who buy condos in Phuket buy for investment purposes if you are not allowed to rent them out why would you buy. Lets face it 90 percent of condo owners are farang so its just another slap on the face for farangs.

[Dibbler]

Property owners will find a way to do this anyway, that's why people invest in property in the holiday rental space. So why not make a deal with online private rental agencies (one of the big ones has over 300+ rentals advertised), else investors will simply move elsewhere where the government is more business friendly (e.g. Langkawi).

[futsukayoi]

This is another nail in the coffin of the Thai property market. Most people who buy condos in Phuket buy for investment purposes if you are not allowed to rent them out why would you buy. Lets face it 90 percent of condo owners are farang so its just another slap on the face for farangs.

My understanding was that it does not stop you renting it only means you need to be properly licensed. That means the renters will need to actually pay taxes and follow safety regulations.

[Bob12345]

Been going on for years. Wonder why the crackdown now?

Many wrongs have been going on for years and even decades that past elected governments did not fix.

But this government has started fixing issues since two years ago.

Aren't you a little old to be trolling on the internet like a teenager?

Some would always be hurt by the truth...

Some would indeed, but that his little to do with your post.

This is a local matter as it is rolled out in Phuket only at the moment.

It is therefore safe to say that the decision has been made by the local Phuket municipality under pressure of the Thai Hotels Association Southern Chapter.

You are trying to tie this to the change of central government which happened 2 years ago, but there is no suggestion this change in policy is related to that in any way.

Did the order to do this come from Bangkok? If so, show me where that is stated.

Is this related to the mouth service the central government is giving to "anti-corruption"? If so, show me the link and explain to me why it is happening after 2 years and not sooner.

In short you are just trying to get a rise out of posters by linking this to the general political conflict in Thailand.

This can be done easily with every news item; if its positive you remarks that "previous electeed governments" didn't do that, and every negative news item you can say: "its the mess from the previous government" or "the previous government wasted 500 billion on the rice scheme and did other stupid things".

It has therefore little to do with the "truth" you proclaim to tell, and is just some pathetic level of trolling that is basically a waste of time for everybody.

[Remus1830]

This is another nail in the coffin of the Thai property market. Most people who buy condos in Phuket buy for investment purposes if you are not allowed to rent them out why would you buy. Lets face it 90 percent of condo owners are farang so its just another slap on the face for farangs.

My understanding was that it does not stop you renting it only means you need to be properly licensed. That means the renters will need to actually pay taxes and follow safety regulations.

can a single condo be registered as a hotel and if so how easy is it to do

[aidon]

You guys all seem to forget this story http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/916967-condo-with-up-to-ten-arabs-in-a-room-raided-for-illegal-hotel-operation-in-sukhumvit-soi-11/ and this was in Bangkok in May this year.

To put it simply there are 4 classes of accommodation in Thailand:

1. Hotels, obvious characteristics;

2. Apartments where the building has one owner and can rent daily, weekly, monthly etc.;

3. Serviced Apartments where fully serviced apartments are rented on a monthly basis; and,

4. Condominiums where only residential access is permitted.

And it should be made clear that condominiums in Thailand are licensed as for "Residential Purposes only" which means exactly what it says.

Statements such as "90% of condo owners are foreigners" is absolutely wrong, the Condominium ACT enforces the 51% local ownership through the Lands Office.

[Mudcrab]

This is another nail in the coffin of the Thai property market. Most people who buy condos in Phuket buy for investment purposes if you are not allowed to rent them out why would you buy. Lets face it 90 percent of condo owners are farang so its just another slap on the face for farangs.

90% of condo owners are farang? Really.

Can't wait until the 49/51% rule is enforced then....will be a lot of cheap condos on the market.

You haven't got a clue have you??

[Peterw42]

This is another nail in the coffin of the Thai property market. Most people who buy condos in Phuket buy for investment purposes if you are not allowed to rent them out why would you buy. Lets face it 90 percent of condo owners are farang so its just another slap on the face for farangs.

You can still rent out a condo monthly, just not daily.

Given that farang cannot own more than 49% of any condo block, Not sure were the 90% comes from.

[Pinot]

Most people misunderstand this news.

It's about:

1) Condo developers with many unsold units in their buildings and decide to use at least 4 such units to operate as a hotel

and

2) Condo unit owners that own at least 4 units in the same building and operate those as a hotel

Such activity requires a hotel license according to the Hotel Act.

In Kamala there are close to 4000 new condo units under development. This is in a huge property bubble where nobody is buying anything. This is an environmental disaster for Kamala and Phuket doubling the size of the town. Phuket is buried under a mountain of trash now. The sewage system is completely overwhelmed allowing raw sewage out the klongs and they run out of water every April/May.

I couldn't be happier about enforcement of this law. Taking away the short term rentals I hope puts a major dent in all this unneeded and unwanted development. You can no longer rent a condo on a short term basis. Hooray!!!

Buying condos was always a terrible financial decision with this law being enforced, it takes away any reason to buy anything here.

A big middle finger salute to all the greedy developers ruining Phuket. In a western country there would have been a building moratorium a long time ago. Never buy property in Thailand. Plenty of places to rent with more empty units coming online everyday. RENT!

[Peterw42]

You guys all seem to forget this story http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/916967-condo-with-up-to-ten-arabs-in-a-room-raided-for-illegal-hotel-operation-in-sukhumvit-soi-11/ and this was in Bangkok in May this year.

To put it simply there are 4 classes of accommodation in Thailand:

1. Hotels, obvious characteristics;

2. Apartments where the building has one owner and can rent daily, weekly, monthly etc.;

3. Serviced Apartments where fully serviced apartments are rented on a monthly basis; and,

4. Condominiums where only residential access is permitted.

And it should be made clear that condominiums in Thailand are licensed as for "Residential Purposes only" which means exactly what it says.

Statements such as "90% of condo owners are foreigners" is absolutely wrong, the Condominium ACT enforces the 51% local ownership through the Lands Office.

Number 2 is essentially a hotel isn't it. What would be the difference ?

It would still require a hotel licence to rent daily.

[Remus1830]

This is another nail in the coffin of the Thai property market. Most people who buy condos in Phuket buy for investment purposes if you are not allowed to rent them out why would you buy. Lets face it 90 percent of condo owners are farang so its just another slap on the face for farangs.

You can still rent out a condo monthly, just not daily.

Given that farang cannot own more than 49% of any condo block, Not sure were the 90% comes from.

you are correct about the 49 51% rule however in Phuket they have circumvented this by the 51 % being bought in a thai company name or leased instead of freehold when I say 90% farang owned I am refering to Phuket only some maybe in girlfriends name etc but in the end its farang money that purchased the property.

[DLang]

Only foreign owned condos, I suspect.

I wonder how many Thai officials covertly own apartment buildings financed through corruption and used for such purposes.

[Remus1830]

You guys all seem to forget this story http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/916967-condo-with-up-to-ten-arabs-in-a-room-raided-for-illegal-hotel-operation-in-sukhumvit-soi-11/ and this was in Bangkok in May this year.

To put it simply there are 4 classes of accommodation in Thailand:

1. Hotels, obvious characteristics;

2. Apartments where the building has one owner and can rent daily, weekly, monthly etc.;

3. Serviced Apartments where fully serviced apartments are rented on a monthly basis; and,

4. Condominiums where only residential access is permitted.

And it should be made clear that condominiums in Thailand are licensed as for "Residential Purposes only" which means exactly what it says.

Statements such as "90% of condo owners are foreigners" is absolutely wrong, the Condominium ACT enforces the 51% local ownership through the Lands Office.

buy the way the law also states that foreigners cannot own land but they do through Thai entities dont they as long as the lawyers in Thailand are not held legally resposible for their advise the law will be broken and in the end the investors will suffer due to taking legal advise from lawyers that in the end wont be made accountable for their wrong legal advise.

[Srikcir]

Does renting a condo no longer require a work permit?

http://www.thaicontracts.com/ask/view/50-can-i-rent-out-my-condo.html

[williamgeorgeallen]

This is another nail in the coffin of the Thai property market. Most people who buy condos in Phuket buy for investment purposes if you are not allowed to rent them out why would you buy. Lets face it 90 percent of condo owners are farang so its just another slap on the face for farangs.

agree with you there. renting out property is one of the few ways of making an income in thailand. i bought 2 houses and chopped them into apartments to rent out short term. what a head ache. then tried monthly rental, slightly better but still not worth the small returns. sold up in the end and now only buy property back in nz. management company does the work for me and i get my rents out of my atm card here in thailand. not sure if this crack down will really make much difference here however as it will most probably be short lived.

[Remus1830]

Does renting a condo no longer require a work permit?

http://www.thaicontracts.com/ask/view/50-can-i-rent-out-my-condo.html

I would not think so most people would use an agent and many would not reside in Thailand