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SUWANVARA LAWFIRM
Suwanvara Law Firm Co., Ltd.
SUWANVARA LAWFIRM
SUWANVARA LAWFIRM
Suwanvara Law Firm Co., Ltd.
Real Estate Law

Buying an Off-Plan Condo From a Developer in Thailand: The Contract, Delays and Getting Your Money Back

Buying a condo before it is built means signing the developer's contract and paying instalments for years. What the reservation and sale contracts should say, why the brochure is part of the deal, what happens when completion is late, and what foreign buyers must get right before transfer.

Suwanvara Law Firm— Property TeamSeptember 19, 202610 min read

Buying something that does not exist yet

An off-plan condo is bought from a floor plan, a brochure and a show unit. The buyer signs a reservation, then a contract to buy, and pays instalments for one to three years while the building goes up. Title passes only at the end.

That long gap is where the problems sit: completion is late, the unit is not what was shown, the developer wants a fee to release documents, or the buyer's circumstances change. What happens in each case is decided by the contract signed at the start.

1. The documents you will sign

StageDocumentWhat to check
ReservationBooking form and depositWhether the deposit is refundable, and for how long the unit is held
ContractContract to sell and buy (condominium unit)Unit details, price, payment schedule, completion date, remedies
TransferSale registered at the land officeFinal price, fees, quota certificate, foreign-currency evidence

Read the reservation form as carefully as the contract. Buyers often sign it on the day of a sales event without realising what they agreed to.

2. The brochure is part of the contract

Under the Condominium Act, the developer's advertising and sales material form part of the sale contract. If the unit, the common areas or the facilities delivered do not match what was advertised, that can be a breach.

Keep, from the time you buy:

  • The brochure and floor plans
  • Photos of the show unit
  • The online listing and any sales emails
  • The specification list attached to the contract

3. The contract form is prescribed

A condominium sale contract between developer and buyer must follow the form prescribed by the Minister. Developers still produce their own drafts, often with extra clauses. A review compares the draft with the prescribed form and flags terms that shift risk onto the buyer.

4. Terms that matter most

  • Unit description — floor, number, area, and what happens if the final area differs
  • Payment schedule — tied to construction progress, not only to dates
  • Completion date and any grace period
  • Delay remedies — compensation, or the right to terminate and recover payments
  • Specification changes — what the developer may substitute, and on what standard
  • Defects — inspection before transfer, and the developer's obligation to fix
  • Transfer costs — who pays which fees and taxes at the land office
  • Common fees and sinking fund — the amounts and when they start
  • Assignment — whether you can sell your contract before completion. See buying or selling a condo contract before completion
  • Default — what the developer may keep if the buyer cannot complete

5. When completion is late

  1. Check the contract for the completion date, grace period and remedies
  2. Keep paying scheduled instalments until you have advice — stopping first can put you in breach
  3. Write to the developer asking for the revised date and the reason
  4. Decide whether to wait with compensation, or terminate and recover payments
  5. Act in writing, and keep the chain of correspondence

6. When the buyer cannot complete

Contracts usually let the developer keep payments if the buyer defaults. But forfeiture that is disproportionate can be challenged, and the developer's own performance matters. If you cannot complete because the developer has not provided what it must — documents, a quota certificate, a unit that matches the contract — the position is very different.

7. Foreign buyers: two things to arrange from day one

Money from abroad. To register a condo in a foreigner's name, the land office needs evidence that the purchase money was brought into Thailand in foreign currency, in the buyer's name — normally an FET form or a bank credit advice. Transfer each instalment accordingly, with the unit stated as the purpose.

Foreign quota. The building's foreign ownership has a quota. At transfer, the condominium must certify that the quota allows the sale to you. Ask the developer to confirm at contract stage that the unit is being sold under the foreign quota.

See also buying property in Thailand as a foreigner and, for resale units, buying a resale condo from a private Thai owner.

8. Inspection and handover

Before transfer, inspect the unit against the contract and specification list. Record defects in writing and agree how they will be fixed. Defects found later can still be claimed, but claims against a seller for defects have a time limit counted from when the defect is discovered — act promptly.

9. After transfer

  • Register with the juristic person of the condominium
  • Keep the transfer documents, FET or credit advice and the quota certificate together — they matter again when you sell
  • If you will rent the unit out, check the building's rules and the law on short-term letting. See hotel and accommodation licences

Before you sign

  1. Reservation terms read and deposit terms understood
  2. Contract compared with the prescribed form
  3. Brochure, plans and listing saved
  4. Completion date, grace period and delay remedies clear
  5. Foreign-quota confirmation and payment route agreed
  6. Transfer costs allocated
  7. Assignment and default terms understood

Read next

Frequently asked questions

Is the developer's brochure or advertising legally binding?+

Yes. Under the Condominium Act, advertising and sales material for a condominium form part of the sale contract. If the unit, common areas or facilities delivered do not match what was advertised, that can be a breach of contract. Keep copies of the brochure, floor plans, show-unit photos and any online listing from the time you bought.

Can the developer use any contract form it likes?+

No. A contract to sell or a sale contract for a condominium unit between the developer and a buyer must follow the form prescribed by the Minister. Terms that depart from the prescribed form in a way that disadvantages the buyer are a point to raise before signing, and a lawyer's review should compare the developer's draft against it.

What happens if completion is late?+

It depends on the contract and on how late. Well-drafted contracts set a completion date, a grace period and the buyer's remedies — compensation for delay, or the right to terminate and recover payments. If the developer is in breach, the buyer's options include insisting on performance, claiming damages, or terminating and claiming back what was paid. Keep paying instalments until you have advice, because stopping first can put you in breach.

Can the developer keep my deposits if I cannot complete?+

The contract usually lets the developer keep payments if the buyer defaults, but forfeiture that is disproportionate can be challenged, and the developer must itself have performed properly. If the reason you cannot complete is the developer's own failure — such as not providing transfer documents — the analysis is very different.

What must a foreign buyer prepare before transfer?+

Two things above all: evidence that the purchase money came into Thailand from abroad in foreign currency, in the buyer's name — normally an FET form or a bank credit advice — and a certificate from the condominium confirming that the building's foreign-ownership quota allows the transfer. Both should be arranged from the first instalment, not at the end.

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