Thai Hotel Associations Push for Crackdown on Illegal Condo Rentals By Overhauling and Strengthening Laws

The issue centers on foreign investors, predominantly from China, snapping up condominium units in tourist hotspots like Bangkok, Phuket, and Pattaya, then listing them on platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com for daily or weekly stays. Dubbed “zero-dollar condos” for their rock-bottom rates, these rentals flout Thailand’s Hotel Act of 2004, which mandates a hotel license for any property rented out for less than 30 days. Penalties exist—up to 20,000 baht ($600 USD) in fines plus 10,000 baht daily—but enforcement has been sporadic, leaving hoteliers fuming.

“We’re losing over 10 billion baht ($300 million USD) in revenue to operators who dodge taxes and regulations,” said THA President Thienprasit Chaiyapatranun in a statement last week. He’s calling for a legal overhaul to allow authorities to act on online rental ads alone, skipping the current requirement of securing a receipt through sting operations—a process he deems “too slow to keep up.” Stricter fines are also on the table, with Thienprasit arguing the current penalties are “a slap on the wrist” for violators raking in steady profits.

In layman’s terms, notes The Pattaya News, this proposal for overhauling the current law means that if it happens law enforcement could simply peruse online ads for daily condo rentals, arrange to meet the agent or seller, and then proceed with legal action without the need for a sting operation.

The problem’s roots run deep. Thailand’s condo market, capped at 49% foreign ownership, has long been a magnet for speculative buying. Yet loopholes—like nominee schemes where Thai proxies front for foreign buyers—let investors skirt restrictions. The rise of digital booking platforms has supercharged the trend, turning residential buildings into de facto hotels. In Bangkok’s Sukhumvit district, residents report lockboxes dangling from trees or tucked near food carts, a workaround to condo bylaws banning short-term lets. “It’s noisy, unsafe, and constant,” one resident told local media. “We didn’t sign up to live in a hostel.”

The THA’s push comes as the government mulls raising the foreign ownership cap to 75%, a move hoteliers fiercely oppose. They fear it would flood the market with more rental units, echoing housing crises in cities like Barcelona, where short-term rentals have priced locals out. “This isn’t about legalizing rentals—it’s about speculation running wild,” Thienprasit warned.

Authorities aren’t sitting idle. Early March saw raids in Bangkok’s Pratunam and Huai Khwang neighborhoods as we reported here, with arrests signaling a tougher stance. The Department of Provincial Administration is now tasked with monitoring online listings more closely, and talks of amending the Hotel Act are gaining traction. Still, the THA estimates that half of Thailand’s 1 million hotel rooms operate illegally—a daunting enforcement gap as tourism, contributing 12% to GDP, roars back.