October 15, 2024
The Contract Committee of Thailand’s Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB) has issued the Notification Prescribing the Business of Selling Condominium Units Through Reservations as a Contract-Controlled Business B.E. 2567 (2024). The notification was published in the Government Gazette on October 3, 2024, and is expected to come into effect 120 days after the publication date (i.e., January 31, 2025). This notification aims to prevent condominium project business operators/developers from exploiting consumers. Under the notification, the business of selling condominium units through reservations refers to a business in which a consumer enters into a reservation contract with a business operator to reserve a condominium unit in a condominium building, by paying a reservation fee (or other benefit similar to a reservation fee) that is not a security deposit or down payment, and committing the consumer to enter into a subsequent sales contract to buy the unit. This also extends to the sale of condominium units reserved through electronic channels. The reservation contract must be written in Thai and must include material terms and conditions as specified in the prescribed reservation contract form attached to the Notification (“Standard Reservation Contract”). In addition, the reservation contract must not contain any of the following terms and conditions: Exemption or limitation of the business operator’s liability arising from its breach of contract. The business operator’s right to change the contract or various conditions imposing an additional burden on the consumer, exceeding what was agreed upon at the time the contract was made. The business operator’s right to terminate the contract with the consumer without written notice, or without the material breach of contract by the consumer. The business operator’s right to confiscate all or part of the payment unless the consumer is in breach of the contract. The business operator’s right to
