THAILAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Olaf Duensing, Jerrold Kippen and Weeraya Kippen, Duensing Kippen, Ltd.
Depending on the type of property, the Land Act and the Condominium Act are also crucial areas of law as they determine the validity of title to land and condominiums. Where the investor is a foreigner, laws that pro - vide possible exemptions to Thailand’s restric - tions on foreign ownership of real estate, such as the Investment Promotion Act and the Industrial Estate Authority Act, may also be relevant. 2.7 Soil Pollution or Environmental Contamination Under the Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality Act, the owner or possessor of any property that is a source of contamination that causes physical harm to any person or damage to someone else’s property is liable and must compensate the harmed party or parties. Furthermore, the owner or posses - sor must also compensate the government for all its costs in connection with cleaning up the contamination. The liability standard under the Act is strict – the owner or possessor need not have intended or been negligent with regard to the contamination from their property – and the very limited exemptions from this liability do not include the property having originally been con - taminated by a prior owner or possessor. Thus, where there is any possibility of contamination, buyers typically require the seller to warrant that they have adhered to applicable environ - mental law and to indemnify the buyer against any liability arising from contamination from the property during the buyer’s ownership or pos - session thereof. 2.8 Permitted Uses of Real Estate Under Zoning or Planning Law Thailand has three principal land use laws:
• the Town and City Planning Act, which defines several zones of land use and con - trols what is allowed to be in each; • the Building Control Act (BCA), which con - trols the issuing of construction permits and details what is required to obtain such permits; and • the Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality Act, which limits the use of land, including construction thereon, to varying degrees depending on where the land is located. The Town and City Planning Act is applied by means of ministerial regulations issued under it that apply to specific regions. The BCA is applied by means of the royal decree issued under it which applies to specific geographic regions. The Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality Act is applied by means of the ministerial regulations issued under it which apply to specific geographic regions, or by announcements issued under it that apply to specific geographic regions for specified periods of time. Other Applicable Laws Some other laws may apply to land use in some areas, such as the Marine and Coastal Resourc - es Management Act and the National Reserved Forest Act. Thus, it is important for a buyer to review all such laws applicable to the purchase property at the time. There is no provision for a private party to apply for exemptions from applicable land use law in order to facilitate a development project. How - ever, it is possible for local government offices to issue regulations that would allow for more permissive variations to land use restrictions in a specified location.
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