THAILAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Olaf Duensing, Jerrold Kippen and Weeraya Kippen, Duensing Kippen, Ltd.
of previous legal rulings by the Supreme Court and lower courts, and invalidates the prior com - mon understanding and practice regarding pre- agreed long-term lease renewals. This decision has important implications for developers, inves - tors and buyers who have organised their prop - erty holdings and planning around leasehold renewals. New condominium launches in Bangkok declined sharply in 2024. This downturn was pri - marily driven by a high mortgage rejection rate. The office sector continues to face a substantial oversupply. Phuket, however, is undergoing a significant boom in new condominium and villa projects. Two major projects in Bangkok have been par - tially completed or are nearing completion, namely One Bangkok and Dusit Central Park. Interest rates are at their highest level in more than a decade, driving up borrowing costs for developers and homebuyers. Rising inflation is also impacting developers and consumers. Real estate investors, developers and lenders have yet to adapt to recent technological innova - tions such as blockchain, decentralised finance (DeFi) and proptech. No alternatives to tradition - al financing are visible in the market. 1.3 Proposals for Reform In Bangkok, a new city plan has been approved by an advisory committee of the Bangkok Met - ropolitan Administration (BMA). Public hearings will be held, after which the new city plan is expected to be enacted in 2025. Some of the expected changes would be an increase in cer -
tain use areas, for example, more areas that can build high-rise condominiums. Also, there is a draft Announcement of the Min - istry of Natural Resources and Environment Regarding Environmental Protection Areas and Measures in Phuket Province (the “Draft” ) under the National Enhancement and Conservation of Environmental Quality Act (1992), which is expected to be enacted in May this year. One of the major limitations under the current environmental law applicable to Phuket is that land above 80 metres from mean sea level is reserved only for activities related to national security, public utilities and environmental con - servation efforts. However, the Draft would ease such limitations by allowing private sectors to develop land above 80 metres but not exceed - ing 140 metres from mean seal level, subject to certain restrictions prescribed by the said Draft.
2. Sale and Purchase 2.1 Categories of Property Rights
There are five main real estate titles. The cha - note is one of only two true ownership titles in Thailand and is issued for land. The second is the Condominium Unit Title issued for a condo - minium unit. There are also three possessory rights title docu - ments for land. In order of preference they are:
• Nor Sor 3 Gor; • Nor Sor 3; and • Sor Kor 1.
Property rights, including transfer of ownership, can only be registered on the chanote , the Con- dominium Unit Title, Nor Sor 3 Gor and Nor Sor 3
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