Work permit not required to rent out condos, confirms Phuket labour chief

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Work permit not required to rent out condos, confirms Phuket labour chief
The Phuket News


Despite the warning posted at Patong Palace condominium (inset), Phuket Employment Office Chief Pitool Dumsakorn says foreigners do not need work permits to collect rent from privately owned condos. Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

PHUKET: -- The Chief of the Phuket Employment Office has confirmed that his office will not be investigating any foreigners who collect income from renting out their privately owned condos.

“It is a personal arrangement between the person renting out the condo and the person renting it – it does not concern the Employment Department,” Phuket Employment Office Chief Pitool Dumsakorn told The Phuket News this week.

The news follows owners of units at the Phuket Palace condominium development, at the southern end of Patong Beach, last week receiving a warning that they must be issued work permits in order to legally rent out their units.

In the warning, delivered by a notice posted inside the Patong Palace condominium building, management at the Phuket Palace Condominium said that their lawyers had confirmed with the Ministry of Labour “that the owner must have a work permit because there is money in exchange for rentals and proper taxation must be paid to Patong municipality too.”

“There were questions that the foreign unit owners have a contract with an estate agent, to my personal knowledge the unit owner still have to apply for a work permit but no documentation from Government departments have been sent to our Juristic Person office although we know for sure that the work permit is needed, it is up to foreign unit owners to decide,” the notice continued.

However, Mr Pitoon this week plainly said that work permits were not required – at least in Phuket.

Full story: http://www.thephuketnews.com/work-permit-not-required-to-rent-out-condos-confirms-phuket-labour-chief-58267.php


-- Phuket News 2016-07-15

[Mickmouse1]

Of course. No relevance whatsoever between employment and owning property for investment.

[LivinginKata]

Hooray - sanity prevails after so many nonsense post in the previous thread.

[stevenl]

Good that the labour office has clarified after the panic caused by the previous news report.

[mcfish]

Ahahaha ! so many TV posters look like total idiots now

Long live the landlord

[Maestro]

I consider it possible that the Patong Palace Condominium management had an ulterior motive by scaring the co-owners with that notice. Too much disturbance caused by short-term renters?

[thequietman]

Hooray - sanity prevails after so many nonsense post in the previous thread.

Give it time............................

[mcfish]

It would be wonderful if the the co owners got together and sue condo juristic. This is what happens when a layperson offers their own interpretation of the law and then anonymously slips a note in all of the letterboxes. They should be at least fired, so much damage could have resulted from it.

[OccamsRazor]

"said that their lawyers"

That may explain it.

[mcfish]

I have my doubts there were lawyers involved at all. There is no proof

[balo]

So if I own 10 units I can live like a king in Thailand renting out , no questions asked because it's a personal agreement ? Good to know.

[trogers]

Of course. No relevance whatsoever between employment and owning property for investment.

Same relevance as foreign money buying local shares and receiving dividends...

[trogers]

So if I own 10 units I can live like a king in Thailand renting out , no questions asked because it's a personal agreement ? Good to know.

I am living like half a king then...

Location, location and location, and not just number of units...

Edited July 15, 2016 by trogers

[mcfish]

Oddly enough today announcement by the labour chief has had the effect of strongly promoting Phuket as a legitimate place to create an income from property investment

[NamKangMan]

So, if they are not going to use Thai labor law to stop condo owners renting out their condo's to tourists, what law will they use?

[mcfish]

So, if they are not going to use Thai labor law to stop condo owners renting out their condo's to tourists, what law will they use?

Accept defeat NamKangMan. The dozens of fear mongering posts of yours on that other phuket thread have all been proven wrong and quite frankly your looking desperate clutching at straws here now

[NamKangMan]

Of course. No relevance whatsoever between employment and owning property for investment.

"No relevance whatsoever between employment and owning property for investment." - so, the foreigner who lives on Phuket, and owns one or more condo's, and continuously rent's it / them out to tourists, by actively marketing, advertising, taking bookings, making inspections, receiving money, cleaning, repairing, banking etc etc - IS NOT working here.

Really?

[Peterw42]

So, if they are not going to use Thai labor law to stop condo owners renting out their condo's to tourists, what law will they use?

If its under a month, The "you are not a Hotel" law.

Over a month, No law, as its legal.

[mcfish]

Of course. No relevance whatsoever between employment and owning property for investment.

"No relevance whatsoever between employment and owning property for investment." - so, the foreigner who lives on Phuket, and owns one or more condo's, and continuously rent's it / them out to tourists, by actively marketing, advertising, taking bookings, making inspections, receiving money, cleaning, repairing, banking etc etc - IS NOT working here.

Really?

You do realize there is an official statement at the top of this thread right?

The real estate agent does all of the above for me. Unless of course you think that withdrawing rent money from an ATM should require a work permit? That could get tricky

[NamKangMan]

So, if they are not going to use Thai labor law to stop condo owners renting out their condo's to tourists, what law will they use?

Accept defeat NamKangMan. The dozens of fear mongering posts of yours on that other phuket thread have all been proven wrong and quite frankly your looking desperate clutching at straws here now

I stand by everything I have posted.

For me, a condo owner who lives in Thailand and is actively marketing, advertising, taking bookings, handing out keys, receiving money, inspecting, cleaning, repairing, banking etc - is working here.

The condo owner doing exactly the same, but from abroad, over the internet / phone, but using Thai's for the hands on work, is not working in Thailand.

I don't think this issue will go away after this announcement.

I think some wealthy Thai hotel owners, who are losing money to foreigners with small condo's, during tough times, have complained.

These "digital disruptors" are hard to police, but the Thai's have a lot of laws at their disposal to use.

[NamKangMan]

Of course. No relevance whatsoever between employment and owning property for investment.

"No relevance whatsoever between employment and owning property for investment." - so, the foreigner who lives on Phuket, and owns one or more condo's, and continuously rent's it / them out to tourists, by actively marketing, advertising, taking bookings, making inspections, receiving money, cleaning, repairing, banking etc etc - IS NOT working here.

Really?

You do realize there is an official statement at the top of this thread right?

The real estate agent does all of the above for me. Unless of course you think that withdrawing rent money from an ATM should require a work permit? That could get tricky

"The real estate agent does all of the above for me." - you do realize there are a lot of foreigners here doing it all themselves.

So, are they "working" or not?

[mcfish]

So, if they are not going to use Thai labor law to stop condo owners renting out their condo's to tourists, what law will they use?

Accept defeat NamKangMan. The dozens of fear mongering posts of yours on that other phuket thread have all been proven wrong and quite frankly your looking desperate clutching at straws here now

I stand by everything I have posted.

For me, a condo owner who lives in Thailand and is actively marketing, advertising, taking bookings, handing out keys, receiving money, inspecting, cleaning, repairing, banking etc - is working here.

The condo owner doing exactly the same, but from abroad, over the internet / phone, but using Thai's for the hands on work, is not working in Thailand.

I don't think this issue will go away after this announcement.

I think some wealthy Thai hotel owners, who are losing money to foreigners with small condo's, during tough times, have complained.

These "digital disruptors" are hard to police, but the Thai's have a lot of laws at their disposal to use.

Yaaaaaawn

They already had their win by banning <30 day rentals . They could care less about 6 month or 12 month rentals , it has zero effect.

Seriously dude continue to humour us if you wish but its just being silly now

[Peterw42]

Of course. No relevance whatsoever between employment and owning property for investment.

"No relevance whatsoever between employment and owning property for investment." - so, the foreigner who lives on Phuket, and owns one or more condo's, and continuously rent's it / them out to tourists, by actively marketing, advertising, taking bookings, making inspections, receiving money, cleaning, repairing, banking etc etc - IS NOT working here.

Really?

You still cannot rent your condo on a daily basis, as per the other post. So there would not be any marketing, advertising, cleaning etc, for monthly rental.

Daily rental, illegal as you are not a hotel.

Monthly rental legal and no work permit required.

[NamKangMan]

So, if they are not going to use Thai labor law to stop condo owners renting out their condo's to tourists, what law will they use?

If its under a month, The "you are not a Hotel" law.

Over a month, No law, as its legal.

That would probably be their next step. That said, the over 1 month law is fairly easy to get around. At its worse, condo owners can still get 12 short term tenants per year, allowing some income.

One thing that has not been mentioned, the possibility of AirBnB legally backing the first foreigner, or Thai for that matter, who is fined and / or charged for the hotel license offence.

They may not win, but would possibly give the company global publicity, which can be worth the cost of legal fees alone.

[NamKangMan]

So, if they are not going to use Thai labor law to stop condo owners renting out their condo's to tourists, what law will they use?

Accept defeat NamKangMan. The dozens of fear mongering posts of yours on that other phuket thread have all been proven wrong and quite frankly your looking desperate clutching at straws here now

I stand by everything I have posted.

For me, a condo owner who lives in Thailand and is actively marketing, advertising, taking bookings, handing out keys, receiving money, inspecting, cleaning, repairing, banking etc - is working here.

The condo owner doing exactly the same, but from abroad, over the internet / phone, but using Thai's for the hands on work, is not working in Thailand.

I don't think this issue will go away after this announcement.

I think some wealthy Thai hotel owners, who are losing money to foreigners with small condo's, during tough times, have complained.

These "digital disruptors" are hard to police, but the Thai's have a lot of laws at their disposal to use.

Yaaaaaawn

They already had their win by banning <30 day rentals . They could care less about 6 month or 12 month rentals , it has zero effect.

Seriously dude continue to humour us if you wish but its just being silly now

Seriously dude, how about you try to consider a scenario other than your own.

You keep using your own personal circumstances as a blanket cover for this issue for everyone else.

Open your mind.

[Peterw42]

Good that the labour office has clarified after the panic caused by the previous news report.

Thats how the problem started, It never was a "news" report.

Just some rubbish someone put up on a condo noticeboard.

Didn't stop people quoting it as fact and packing there bags.

[Peterw42]

Of course. No relevance whatsoever between employment and owning property for investment.

"No relevance whatsoever between employment and owning property for investment." - so, the foreigner who lives on Phuket, and owns one or more condo's, and continuously rent's it / them out to tourists, by actively marketing, advertising, taking bookings, making inspections, receiving money, cleaning, repairing, banking etc etc - IS NOT working here.

Really?

You do realize there is an official statement at the top of this thread right?

The real estate agent does all of the above for me. Unless of course you think that withdrawing rent money from an ATM should require a work permit? That could get tricky

"The real estate agent does all of the above for me." - you do realize there are a lot of foreigners here doing it all themselves.

So, are they "working" or not?

According to the Phuket Labor chief, they are not working.

[NamKangMan]

Of course. No relevance whatsoever between employment and owning property for investment.

"No relevance whatsoever between employment and owning property for investment." - so, the foreigner who lives on Phuket, and owns one or more condo's, and continuously rent's it / them out to tourists, by actively marketing, advertising, taking bookings, making inspections, receiving money, cleaning, repairing, banking etc etc - IS NOT working here.

Really?

You still cannot rent your condo on a daily basis, as per the other post. So there would not be any marketing, advertising, cleaning etc, for monthly rental.

Daily rental, illegal as you are not a hotel.

Monthly rental legal and no work permit required.

I have read the same material as you have, and yes, this is what it states.

I am questioning the enforcement of such.

If the condo owner is living abroad, and continues to rent out short term, what action can be taken against them?

Also, once again, there are many distressed condo owners, who have long since moved on from Phuket, if they can not receive some modest income, so the condo pays its way, whilst on the market for sale, how many of these will walk away from the condo, simply unable to pay the fees?

This surely can not be good for ALL owners in the block, as management income now decreases.

Edited July 15, 2016 by NamKangMan

[mcfish]

@NamKamgMan

"Seriously dude, how about you try to consider a scenario other than your own.

You keep using your own personal circumstances as a blanket cover for this issue for everyone else.

Open your mind"

Their are no other scenarios.

< 30 days you are arrested

>30 days your fine

[NamKangMan]

Good that the labour office has clarified after the panic caused by the previous news report.

Thats how the problem started, It never was a "news" report.

Just some rubbish someone put up on a condo noticeboard.

Didn't stop people quoting it as fact and packing there bags.

Everyone knew it was only a notice on a condo noticeboard, but with the authorities focusing on the issue, the question was / is which law they were going to use to achieve their objective.

They could have used labor laws, and they could have used hotel license laws, or they could have used both, or a range other other laws.

This announcement states labor laws will not be used, but I don't think we have heard the last of this issue.