Phuket Governor warns illegal hotels ‘to be demolished’

[snoop1130]

Phuket Governor warns illegal hotels ‘to be demolished’

Yutthawat Lekmak

 

Phuket Governor Chockchai Dejamornthan today warned operators who illegally rent out properties for periods of less than 30 days that their properties 'would be demolished' if they continued to ignore the order to register as hotels.

 

PHUKET:-- In a stunning development today, Phuket Governor Chockchai Dejamornthan warned operators who illegally rent out properties for periods of less than 30 days that their properties “would be demolished” if they continued to ignore the order to register as hotels.

 

Speaking at his Meet The Press conference at Provincial Hall this morning (Jan 24), Gov Chockchai confirmed that an investigative provincial committee had identified 860 venues across the island that were currently operating illegally as hotels.

 

“Officials found 1,367 venues actually operating as hotels in Phuket. Of those, only 507 had registered themselves as hotels,” he said.

 

Of the 297 hotels officials found in Muang District, which includes in Phuket Town, Kata-Karon, Wichit, Chalong, Rawai and Nai Harn, only 177 were registered.

 

Likewise, in Kathu District, which includes Patong, only 236 of the 833 hotels officials found were registered, and in Thalang only 94 of the 237 hotels officials found had registered, Gov Chockchai explained.

 

The stern warning today follows Gov Chockchai repeating his warning for all operators providing short-term rentals to register within the Jan 31 amnesty.

 

Full Story: http://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-governor-warns-illegal-hotels-to-be-demolished-60757.php#wxTpJ8XVmoQuVv2M.97

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2017-1-24

[khwaibah]

Talk is cheap.

[Chicog]

21 minutes ago, khwaibah said:

Talk is cheap.

Cake tins aren't.

[ChrisY1]

What he means is that some may be demolished....but of course it does depend on who owns them.....then again....it's just bs!

[NamKangMan]

So, one owner in a condo block rents out his condo like a "hotel" and they are going to demolish the whole condo block 

 

 

[LivinginKata]

12 hours ago, NamKangMan said:

So, one owner in a condo block rents out his condo like a "hotel" and they are going to demolish the whole condo block 

 

 

 

Exactly, completely impractical statement by the Gov.  Far too many legal implications, would never happen.

[PaoloR]

The numbers quoted are for hotels or housing units operating as hotels. There is no reference here to individuals renting out condos etc. as they have no figures and no idea how many are doing this.

As a hotelier with a licence, who has undergone all the necessary costs of being legal and has fire safety measures etc. in place as mandated by law, I heartily approve of this move. Most unlicenced hotels have not conformed to fire safety regs., toilet requirements, structural requirements etc. and some are death traps in the event of an accident.

Since, despite warnings they are not bothering to comply with the law - as they have never had to in the past, then they must be forced.

Do you check a hotel is licenced when you are at the front desk? Do tourists even know how to?

(There should be framed, up-to-date, licences in Thai with the official Phra Khrut Pha or Garuda header and a government stamp)

 

So it is necessary and is already being enforced in some areas.

 

Condo rental is a different problem and is much harder to both find and enforce.

 

[chub]

The Hotel Act (2008) requires any place that provides accommodation for less than one month in exchange for payment is defined as a “Hotel”, regulated by the Hotel Act, and requires a hotel license, but there are important exceptions.

Regarding short-term lets by condo owners, perhaps the Governor is not aware that (according to advice recently published by a prominent local law firm) a hotel licence is not required for any premises that: 

1) have less than five rooms; and

2) cannot accommodate over twenty guests at a time; and

3) the income being earned for such is merely “additional income”,

In these cases a license is not required but the owner must report to such accommodation activity to the relevant local authorities.

Thus, operators who are providing rentals of less than 5 bedrooms for less than 30 days AND only for “additional income”, could comply with the Hotel Act by simply reporting their activity to the relevant local authorities.

[mcfish]

So, one owner in a condo block rents out his condo like a "hotel" and they are going to demolish the whole condo block  [emoji2]
 
 

Of course not, you can't register a condo as a hotel juristic would never allow it for starters

Great move because if hotels are not registered they are not paying tax

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk

[madmitch]

Demolition??? That's just scaremongering. It will never happen.

 

I reckon there are two main reasons for this licensing crackdown: 

 

1. Big hotels with political clout want to regain their market share but knocking out some of the small players

 

2. The OrBorJor wants more tax income.

 

Safety measures are of secondary or no importance. They're not inspecting premises before issuing licences. 

[Familyaffairs]

He is clearly clueless. It is impossible to demolish a condo where some owners rent, and some don't. Goodluck with his mouthy BS

[Familyaffairs]

26 minutes ago, mcfish said:

Of course not, you can't register a condo as a hotel juristic would never allow it for starters

Great move because if hotels are not registered they are not paying tax

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk
 

Why do you presume that ? There is such a thing as income tax, witholding tax and owners with a Thai Co Ltd pay corporate tax. And why do you presume that hotels really declare the taxable amonts they ought to ? And nor do most pay OrBorTor taxes.

[PaoloR]

13 minutes ago, Familyaffairs said:

He is clearly clueless. It is impossible to demolish a condo where some owners rent, and some don't. Goodluck with his mouthy BS

Read the thread - nobody is threatening to demolish any condos. Just unlicenced hotels.

[overherebc]

1 hour ago, chub said:

The Hotel Act (2008) requires any place that provides accommodation for less than one month in exchange for payment is defined as a “Hotel”, regulated by the Hotel Act, and requires a hotel license, but there are important exceptions.

Regarding short-term lets by condo owners, perhaps the Governor is not aware that (according to advice recently published by a prominent local law firm) a hotel licence is not required for any premises that: 

1) have less than five rooms; and

2) cannot accommodate over twenty guests at a time; and

3) the income being earned for such is merely “additional income”,

In these cases a license is not required but the owner must report to such accommodation activity to the relevant local authorities.

Thus, operators who are providing rentals of less than 5 bedrooms for less than 30 days AND only for “additional income”, could comply with the Hotel Act by simply reporting their activity to the relevant local authorities.

 

This would apply only to Thai owners I would venture. An expat owning his own Condo would not be covered by these laws/rules.

[mcfish]

Why do you presume that ? There is such a thing as income tax, witholding tax and owners with a Thai Co Ltd pay corporate tax. And why do you presume that hotels really declare the taxable amonts they ought to ? And nor do most pay OrBorTor taxes.

Why do you think they are not registered?

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[simon43]

.. and in Thalang only 94 of the 237 hotels officials found had registered

 

About 2 years ago, the Thalang Amphur office told all licenced guesthouses that they had to upgrade their registration to a 'hotel', if they had more than 5 letting rooms.  So I submitted the relevant paperwork to the Amphur and got a receipt, as did many other licensed guesthouses.

 

Since that date, the Amphur office has 'sat' on the paperwork and have not upgraded a single property..... we're all still waiting for the return of our documents and the required licence upgrade.

[KarenBravo]

Poor Phuket. Yet another crap governor who lives in an alternate reality.

[PaoloR]

44 minutes ago, KarenBravo said:

Poor Phuket. Yet another crap governor who lives in an alternate reality.

Here we have a governor trying to sort the situation out for the benefit and safety of tourists and you have to defame him.

What would you rather he do? Let tourists stay in unsafe fire-traps?

If they do nothing, you complain, when they try and uphold the law you complain as well!

[Reigntax]

17 minutes ago, PaoloR said:

Here we have a governor trying to sort the situation out for the benefit and safety of tourists and you have to defame him.

What would you rather he do? Let tourists stay in unsafe fire-traps?

If they do nothing, you complain, when they try and uphold the law you complain as well!

 

Because she knows full well that nothing will happen just like the rhetoric from every previous governor who makes such a nonsense statement to the media. This one like all previous will be moved on through the revolving door with the next coming up with his own wishlist and again no action.

 

Sad but too many have seen and heard it all before.

[LivinginKata]

5 minutes ago, Reigntax said:

 

Because she knows full well that nothing will happen just like the rhetoric from every previous governor who makes such a nonsense statement to the media. This one like all previous will be moved on through the revolving door with the next coming up with his own wishlist and again no action.

 

Sad but too many have seen and heard it all before.

 

The gov is a man ...... and not a she

[Reigntax]

5 minutes ago, LivinginKata said:

 

The gov is a man ...... and not a she

She refers to KarenBravo's comment to which the reply included is referenced

Edited January 25, 2017 by Reigntax

[LivinginKata]

5 minutes ago, Reigntax said:

She refers to KarenBravo's comment to which the reply included is referenced

 

Ok ... but Karen Bravo is also a male ....

[Reigntax]

3 minutes ago, LivinginKata said:

 

Ok ... but Karen Bravo is also a male ....

Well then my mistake. An obvious one and my apologies

[KarenBravo]

 

24 minutes ago, Reigntax said:

 

Because she knows full well that nothing will happen just like the rhetoric from every previous governor who makes such a nonsense statement to the media. This one like all previous will be moved on through the revolving door with the next coming up with his own wishlist and again no action.

 

Sad but too many have seen and heard it all before.

Exactly.

Yes, I have meat and two veg.

[Reigntax]

2 minutes ago, KarenBravo said:

 

Exactly.

Yes, I have meat and two veg.

555555

I shall remember in future.

[DrDave]

As others have pointed out, the Gov is really talking about hotels and guesthouses that are not registered and licensed. While rental condos and houses with less than 5 bedrooms are subject to a 12.5% House & Land tax for their annualized rental value, they are not required to be registered and licensed.

 

Condos that maintain a pool of rental units, all managed by a single entity seems to be a gray area. While in theory, they can't legally be registered as a hotel (I believe the Condominium Act prohibits this), they would have more than 5 rooms and the ability to accommodate more than 20 people, so they would appear to be a hotel as defined by the Hotel Act. Would be interesting to see how the courts interpret this.

 

[Felt 35]

"Identified 860 venues across the island that were currently operating illegally as hotels"

 

So much for the law here...did I hear culture and show some respect as a guest

[LivinginKata]

42 minutes ago, DrDave said:

As others have pointed out, the Gov is really talking about hotels and guesthouses that are not registered and licensed.

<snip>

 

I wonder how many of these smaller +5 bedroom guesthouses are actually owner by the hotel operator. I suspect almost all are rented/leased, so what power would the gov have to demolished - none all.  Listening to the PN video clip they suggested that gov 'wished' that he could  demolish illegal hotels.

[DrDave]

1 hour ago, LivinginKata said:

<snip>

 

I wonder how many of these smaller +5 bedroom guesthouses are actually owner by the hotel operator. I suspect almost all are rented/leased, so what power would the gov have to demolished - none all.  Listening to the PN video clip they suggested that gov 'wished' that he could  demolish illegal hotels.

Good point, LiK! I agree that most are leased by the operators. For those that aren't, it seems it would be wise for the owner to setup two companies - one to own the building, and another to operate the hotel.