Going to Thailand for a holiday? Stay in a hotel

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Police raid Bangkok condo in crackdown on daily rentals

by THE NATION

February 28, 2025

Authorities raided a luxury condominium in Bangkok’s Sathorn district on Thursday following complaints from residents that units were being rented out and foreign guests were smoking cannabis.

Officials from Sathorn district office, Yannawa police station and Department of Provincial Administration inspected the condo for over an hour.

Sathorn district director Thawatchai Paengthai said the condo owner has been instructed to implement strict entry and exit procedures, including document inspection. Signs had also been put up banning daily rentals and the smoking of cannabis.

The owner has also been told to screen monthly renters and regular residents, he said, adding that proper inspection is crucial to tackling the issue of daily condo rentals.

Yannawa Police Station superintendent Pol Colonel Ratthanon Ekthitikulphat said the raid stemmed from numerous complaints that the condo owner had allowed foreigners to rent condo rooms daily, in violation of the Hotel Act. Police are collecting evidence to take legal action, he said

He said cannabis odour was detectable in the condo despite the presence of signs prohibiting marijuana smoking.

The condo operator had promised to cooperate with officials, and police will be dispatched regularly to inspect the premises, he added.

The police action would help raise awareness among tourists that renting condos daily is illegal, he added.

The Hotel Act stipulates that all rented accommodation must be licensed.

As a result, daily condo rentals through platforms like Airbnb are illegal and subject to a 20,000 baht fine, with an additional daily penalty of 10,000 baht until the practice ends.

Regulations of most condos clearly state that daily rental is prohibited to ensure the privacy and safety of residents.

Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul launched a clampdown on daily condo rentals on Wednesday after claims that the practice is widespread in Bangkok.

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/general/40046844
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Foreigners warned over condo rentals

by Mongkol Bangprapa

March 1, 2025

The government has issued a warning to foreigners who buy condominium units and rent them out as hotels that they are violating Thai law, deputy government spokesman Anukul Prueksanusak said on Friday.

The warning comes after the authorities learned about many cases of Chinese nationals renting out their condominium rooms to tourists via Airbnb.

The move stems from complaints by residents at some condominiums, mainly in the Sukhumvit area, about constant annoyance, including loud noise, cannabis smoking and damage to common property caused by short-term occupants and visitors.

According to their complaints, which were shared online, these short-term occupants were tourists who rented rooms via online platforms. The rooms were owned by Chinese nationals and rented out as Airbnb accommodations.

Keycards to access the condo and the room were provided in lock boxes with digital codes for the tourists, which jeopardised the safety of the residents, according to the complaints.

Some said their condominium juristic offices resolved the problems by prohibiting unit owners from installing public lockboxes within the property. However, the Chinese investors resolved this by installing lockboxes in public areas near the property, including on trees, light poles or street-side food carts.

Mr Anukul said that foreign investors' acquisition of condominium units and their attempts to offer rooms for daily rentals via Airbnb without legal permits violated the Hotel Act 2004.

Violators will face a fine of up to 20,000 baht plus an additional 10,000 baht fine per day until such activities cease. Most condominium regulations also clearly prohibit daily rentals.

Mr Anukul said the Ministry of Interior also instructed the Department of Provincial Administration to closely monitor the situation and conduct inspection visits to suspicious condos. He said that all violators, whether they are Thai or foreign nationals, will face legal action.

Meanwhile, Aekvarunyoo Amrapala, spokesman for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), confirmed reports of Chinese investors buying condos in key tourist areas and renting them out daily, causing a disturbance to other residents.

The BMA inspected condos around Sathon, Charoen Rat, Chan and Sukhumvit 42 roads. One lockbox was found at the latter location, prompting the BMA to request the Phra Khanong district office to investigate further.

Mr Aekvarunyoo said condominium juristic offices are required to monitor and report any suspicious behaviour and strictly enforce regulations prohibiting daily rentals.

He said public awareness must be raised about the legal regulations and the negative impact of illegal rentals. The public is also encouraged to alert the authorities to any wrongdoing, he added.

Online rental platforms like Airbnb must also be regulated, he noted.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... do-rentals

[Jun]

Daily rental is illegal, so rent monthly....

[Gaybutton]

Daily rental is illegal, so rent monthly....

That can work, but make sure the owner is operating legally. Otherwise, if the police show up, the renter can suddenly find himself without a place to stay - a place he probably paid for, or at least paid a deposit, in advance.

Don't forget Murphy's Law: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong - at the worst possible time."

[Jun]

That can work, but make sure the owner is operating legally. Otherwise, if the police show up, the renter can suddenly find himself without a place to stay - a place he probably paid for, or at least paid a deposit, in advance

Great in theory, but has any board member, including yourself, ever checked the documents to confirm a hotel or apartment is operating legally?

For a start, they would need to read Thai well.

[Gaybutton]

Great in theory, but has any board member, including yourself, ever checked the documents to confirm a hotel or apartment is operating legally?

I have no need to check documents. I stay only at established hotels, usually for three or four days at most.

Ok, what do you suggest - just booking something without even trying to check and just hope everything will be ok? That's not good enough for me. Unless it is an established hotel, I would be making no deposits and paying only at the end of my stay. For sure I would not be stay at an Airbnb in Thailand. Those who want to take their chances, if something goes wrong, that's their problem.

Google Translate does an adequate job for those who neither read nor speak Thai. If nothing else, in your home country you can ask for translation help at a Thai restaurant. Long before I moved to Thailand, that's what I did and they were always happy to help. Can't hurt to try.

[Jun]

Unless it is an established hotel, I would be making no deposits and paying only at the end of my stay.

I probably stay at over 20 hotels per year. It's been several years since one accepted payment at the end of the stay. That practice is disappearing.

As for dubious operators, I was amused to see a rental unit in one of the View Talays get a score of 2.6 on Booking.com. Their grades are so inflated that even bad hotels score about 6. So it follows that 2.6 must be dismal.
The review text mentioned dirt, sheets not changed and various recent customers saying they paid and no one showed up to let them in the room.

My normal due diligence works so far.

[Gaybutton]

I probably stay at over 20 hotels per year. It's been several years since one accepted payment at the end of the stay.

If that is the case, I suppose I would just have to take my chances.