How to Buy Property in Thailand: 12-Point Checklist

What you need to know in 30 seconds

Pattaya’s current planning document — the EEC land use plan — contains no FAR, no OSR and no height limits, and no public map of its zones exists. The regulatory status of a plot has to be checked with the DPT or the municipality by request, not from a picture found online.
The most expensive mistakes aren’t about price — they’re about three things: distance from the coastline, the slope of the plot, and the form of ownership.
A 99-year lease has not been introduced. The maximum is 30 years, and “30+30+30” schemes were ruled void beyond the first 30 years by the Supreme Court (ruling of 18 March 2025).
On 6 July 2026 the Prime Minister ordered a nationwide review of nominee land ownership specifically because of the situation in the EEC.
Every item on this checklist is verified by a document — not by the seller’s word.

Data verified as of 29 July 2026.

What usually surfaces only after the deal is done

An extension built in the banned twenty-metre coastal strip. A house on a slope that can’t be rebuilt. A plot in a chronic flood spot that the whole street knows about except the buyer. A leasehold with a promised renewal that will never happen.

These aren’t rare stories — they’re typical ones. And they share one thing in common: every single one could have been spotted before signing, for a few days and a modest checking fee.

Below are the twelve points we go through ourselves before every deal. Each is verified by a document, not by the seller’s word. The order isn’t arbitrary: the first six cover the most expensive mistakes — the right to the land, the distance to the sea, and the slope of the plot.

Section 1. Land and title documents

1. Type and authenticity of the title document

Ask for a photo of the document and verify it at the local land office — not from a copy.

What matters:
– what kind of document it is — a full title (Chanote, Nor Sor 4 Jor) or a restricted one (Nor Sor 3, Nor Sor 3 Gor, Sor Por Kor);
– whether the area and boundaries on the document match reality;
– whether there are any encumbrances, mortgages, or easements;
– whether the owner named in the document matches the seller.

A separate note on land reform zones (ALRO). The EEC land use plan includes a category — ปก. — for agrarian reform land. Its use is restricted, and legally, private land within such a zone operates under rural community rules. If a plot falls into this category, it needs a dedicated legal review.

2. The plot’s legal regime under the current plan

Here’s something you’re unlikely to be told: Pattaya’s 2015 master plan has been repealed. It stopped applying at the turn of 2019–2020, when the EEC land use plan took effect. All those yellow and orange zones with FAR ratios come from the repealed document. Full breakdown.

What to do:
– request a zoning statement for the plot from the local DPT office or the municipality, using the land document number;
– do not accept screenshots of “zoning maps” from the internet as proof — no public GIS layer of EEC zones exists;
– keep in mind that the district plans for Banglamung (stage 4 of 8) and Sattahip (stage 3 of 8) have not been adopted yet, and the rules will change once they are.

3. Building permit and compliance of the built structure with the approved project

For a finished house or a unit in a finished building, check:
– whether a building permit exists and to whom it was issued;
– whether what was actually built matches the approved project — number of floors, building footprint, setbacks;
– whether any extensions were made, and if so, whether they were legalized.

This is critical in the coastal strip, where violations are most common. They surface on resale and crush the price.

Section 2. Geography and natural constraints

4. Distance to the coastline — in metres

Three thresholds, each with its own regime:

Distance	Regime
0–20 m from the coastline	Construction and reconstruction fully prohibited. Exceptions — utility structures no higher than 4 m and no larger than 24 m²
up to 50 m	Condominiums and hotels require a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) regardless of size
up to 100 m from mean sea level	Buildings no taller than 14 m, at least 75% of the plot left open, and at least 50% of that open area green space

Legal basis — the 2020 (2563) environmental notification, Royal Gazette เล่ม 137 ตอนพิเศษ 170 ง of 24.07.2020. It applies to all of Banglamung and all of Sattahip. Full breakdown of the rules.

There’s also a separate layer for the Banglamung, Nong Pla Lai, Naklua and Nong Prue tambons: ministerial regulation No. 8 of 1976 — within a 200 m strip from the boundary of a controlled zone, buildings may not exceed 14 m above road level.

⚠️ Mandatory caveat. The 2020 (2563) notification formally expired on 24 July 2025. The ASA registry states it was extended to 24 July 2027, but the ONEP page does not reflect this extension, and we were unable to locate the primary act. Verify the status as of the date of your transaction.

5. Plot slope — from a topographic survey, not by eye

Slope	What is allowed
over 35%	Construction and reconstruction fully prohibited
20–35%	Only detached houses up to 12 m tall (9 m on islands); building footprint no more than 90 m² on plots of 100 sq. wah or more, no more than 70 m² on smaller plots; permeable open area of at least 70% or 50%

The difference between 34% and 36% is the difference between “you can build a house” and “you can build nothing.” You can’t tell them apart by eye.

Important: check the topographic survey not just of your own plot but of the neighbouring ones too. That’s what shows what could be built across from you. For hillside locations like Pratumnak, this is the most reliable forecast of your view.

Separately: construction is prohibited within 6 metres of riverbanks, canals, and public water bodies.

6. Environmental assessment: is it required, and has it been done

Situation	Requirement
Condominium or hotel within 50 m of the coast	EIA required regardless of size
Same types of buildings beyond 50 m, with 30–79 rooms or 1,500–4,000 m²	IEE required
Buildings with 10–29 rooms or houses	Compliance with attached mitigation measures
Land subdivisions: 30–499 plots or 1.8–100 rai	IEE required

Missing an assessment where one is required puts the legality of the entire project in question — including units already sold.

Section 3. Water, drainage and utilities

7. Flood risk at the specific address

Officially recognized chronic flood spots in Pattaya: Khao Talo, South Pattaya/Sukhumvit, Pattaya 3 – Mum Aroi, Thepprasit Soi 9, Jomtien Beach Road.

What’s worth doing:
– check the address against this list;
– ask neighbours and the management company about the rainy season — not the seller;
– check whether a drainage project is under way nearby. For example, drainage along Railway Road (phase 2, ฿269.9 million, due 2 January 2027) is meant to relieve the Khao Talo hotspot;
– keep in mind that the main South Pattaya drainage project (the “crab claw”) hasn’t started, and sources describe its funding inconsistently.

The outgoing administration’s claim that flood-prone spots were cut from 24 to 3 major and 9 minor ones is the city’s own self-assessment, not an independent audit.

8. Water quality and sewage

Three documented wastewater discharge incidents into the sea in 2026:

February 2026 — the sea off Jomtien turned black; the Pollution Control Department traced the source to a beach-improvement contractor discharging settled wastewater into the sea instead of pumping it to treatment facilities, and a case was opened;
18 February 2026 — a drainage pipe discharging black wastewater onto Na-Jomtien beach;
4 July 2026 — a repeat discharge off Jomtien after heavy rain.

Expansion of the Nong Yai treatment plant from 80,000 to 130,000 m³/day is stalled: the last public hearing was held in 2022.

What to check for a specific property: where the wastewater goes — into the city system, the project’s own treatment facility, or a septic tank; who maintains it; whether there’s a contract with the provincial waterworks (PWA), or the water comes from a well.

9. Water supply

Banglamung and Pattaya’s raw water base is five reservoirs (Nong Klang Dong, Huai Khun Chit, Huai Saphan, Mabprachan, Chak Nok) with a combined volume of about 13 million m³, covering roughly 30% of demand; the rest is imported. We found no evidence of a major new waterworks investment programme for Banglamung and Sattahip for 2024–2026.

For a house outside the city centre, this means: ask about the water source, dry-season pressure, and whether there’s a storage tank.

Section 4. Form of ownership and who’s actually selling to you

10. Form of ownership

Condominium. Foreign quota — 49% of the building’s floor area. Check whether free quota remains at the time of the deal, and require confirmation from the condominium’s juristic person, not from the seller.

House and land. A foreigner cannot own land in Thailand. The real options are a long-term land lease with freehold on the structure, or a structure through a Thai juristic entity.

On leases, three facts you need to know:

A 99-year lease has not been introduced. A draft law was pushed in 2024–2025 and, as of mid-2026, remains unpassed. The maximum is still 30 years.
Under the Supreme Court ruling of 18 March 2025 (คำพิพากษาฎีกา 4655/2566), “30+30+30” schemes and automatic renewal were ruled void beyond the first 30 years — even when registered with the Land Department and fully prepaid.
No EEC-specific concessions for foreign property purchases have been introduced. More on the EEC.

Practical takeaway: run the leasehold economics on 30 years. Anything promised beyond that is unsecured.

11. Nominee schemes — a live risk right now

On 6 July 2026, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul ordered a nationwide review of nominee land ownership following reports of large-scale land buying in the EEC by foreign capital. The order explicitly cites earlier raids in Phuket and Koh Phangan that resulted in the revocation of illegally structured titles (Nation Thailand, 06.07.2026).

If you’re offered a structure where the Thai shareholders in the company are “our people, they won’t interfere” — that’s a nominee scheme. We don’t support those.

12. The developer and the legal entity

Check the company’s registration number in the DBD registry and match the brand name to the legal entity — they often don’t match.
Look at the financial statements: revenue, profit, capital, trends.
Find out how many projects have been delivered and with what delays.
For an off-plan property — who the land is registered to, and whether it’s mortgaged.

Summary checklist: print it and take it with you

#	What to check	What confirms it
1	Land title document	Land office extract
2	Plot regime under the current plan	DPT or municipality statement
3	Building permit and compliance with the project	Permit + on-site verification
4	Distance to the coastline (20 / 50 / 100 m)	Survey, cadastral reference
5	Slope of the plot and neighbouring plots	Topographic survey
6	EIA or IEE	Assessment report
7	Flood risk at the address	Hotspot list, neighbour interviews, seasonal photos
8	Where wastewater goes	Contract with the city / treatment facility documents
9	Water source and supply reliability	PWA contract or well documents
10	Form of ownership and quota	Condominium juristic person documents / lease agreement
11	No nominee structure	Shareholder composition, source of capital
12	Developer	DBD registry, financial statements, delivery history

What this means for the buyer

Most of the risk in the Pattaya market isn’t “scammers” — it’s a mismatch between expectations and documents. Someone buys a view without checking the slope of the plot next door. Buys a leasehold “for 90 years” that legally runs for 30. Buys a house by the sea planning to add a floor that can’t legally be added.

All of this can be checked before the deal, and doing so costs incomparably less than fixing it afterwards.

We run this kind of check as part of our “Property and Document Check” service, and structure the legal side of the deal as part of our legal support service. If you’re still choosing a property, start with our directory of residential projects, our area map, and our drone footage: terrain, building density, and what’s actually standing around a site read more honestly from above than in any render.

Sources

ประกาศ ทส. บางละมุง–สัตหีบ พ.ศ. 2563 — Royal Gazette เล่ม 137 ตอนพิเศษ 170 ง, 24.07.2020. PDF
กฎกระทรวง ฉบับที่ 8 (พ.ศ. 2519) — เล่ม 93 ตอนที่ 87, 29.06.1976. PDF
ประกาศ กพอ. แผนผังการใช้ประโยชน์ในที่ดิน EEC พ.ศ. 2562 — เล่ม 136 ตอนพิเศษ 301 ง, 09.12.2019. PDF
ASA registry of environmental protection zones. asa.or.th/ma-epz · ONEP: epa.onep.go.th
Siam Legal, analysis of Supreme Court ruling 4655/2566 of 18.03.2025. Link
Formichella & Sritawat, “Thai Supreme Court Shuts Door on Long-Term Lease Loopholes,” 2025. Link
Nation Thailand, “Anutin orders nationwide nominee crackdown amid EEC land concerns,” 06.07.2026. Link
Khaosod English, “Jomtien Sea turns black after wastewater discharge,” 03.02.2026. Link
Khaosod English, “Black wastewater flows into sea at Jomtien Beach after heavy rain,” 04.07.2026. Link
The Pattaya News, on the drainage pipe at Na-Jomtien beach, 18.02.2026. Link
Pattaya Mail, on the flood master plan and hotspots, 27.04.2026. Link
Pattaya Mail, “Pattaya sewage treatment plant expansion gets last public hearing,” 2022. Link

This material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Data verified as of 29 July 2026. We recommend engaging a qualified Thai lawyer before any transaction.

How to Buy Property in Thailand: A 12-Point Due Diligence Checklist