Unpaid condo fees: what a resale buyer inherits

In a normal resale, unpaid condo fees do not quietly pass to you. The Land Office registers a transfer only with the juristic person's certificate that no common fees are unpaid (Condominium Act, section 29). So the seller's arrears, surcharges included, are settled before or at the transfer, and your contract decides whose money pays them. An auction sale works differently.

In short

• The Land Office needs the juristic person's debt-free certificate before it will register a unit transfer (Condominium Act, s. 29).
• The seller's arrears, including surcharges, are cleared before the registration appointment or right on the day.
• Your contract, not the law, decides whose money settles the debt.
• Court auctions follow a different rule: the juristic person is paid out of the sale price after the sale.
• Ask for the debt figure before you pay a deposit, and tie the deposit to the certificate being issued.

Why fee arrears surface before closing

A condominium's juristic person — the body the owners set up to run the building — collects common-expense fees to pay for upkeep, staff and shared facilities. Under section 29 of the Condominium Act, the Land Office will not register a change of ownership unless the juristic person certifies that the fees on that specific unit are paid in full. The debt is the seller's obligation to the juristic person for the period of their ownership. What happens if a debt is missed from the certificate and only comes to light after the transfer is registered is not settled in the sources we found.

That rule is why we recommend raising the question of arrears before you pay a deposit, rather than waiting for the paperwork for the transfer. The certificate is only required at the registration step, not before, so nothing in the process forces an early answer — your lawyer or agent needs to ask for it.

The debt-free letter: who issues it and what it shows

The juristic person's manager issues the certificate, and it states whether the common-expense fees recorded against that unit are paid up to date. We advise asking for it early in the process, because a letter obtained too far ahead of the closing date may no longer reflect the balance by the time you register. We could not confirm an official validity period for the certificate, so check with the juristic person — and, if in doubt, the Land Office — how recent a certificate they expect to see at registration.

If you're buying off an agent's summary rather than seeing the letter yourself, ask to see the document, not just a figure someone repeated to you. The certificate is what the Land Office officer will check, so it is also what you should check.

Who pays: seller, buyer or out of the price

Thai law leaves this to the contract. The contract can allocate the debt in a few ways, including these three.

Option	How it works	What the contract should say
Seller clears the debt before the transfer	The seller pays the juristic person directly and gets the certificate before the deposit or the closing date	A deadline for presenting the certificate, and what happens if the seller misses it
Debt comes out of the sale price at registration	Payment to the juristic person is arranged with them before the registration appointment; once the certificate is issued, the transfer can be registered	The exact amount to be withheld and who confirms the figure in advance
Buyer takes on the debt for a lower price	The purchase price is reduced to reflect the arrears, but the debt is still cleared and the certificate issued before registration	The size of the debt assumed and the matching price reduction, both in writing

None of these is wrong on its own, but in every case the debt still has to be cleared and the certificate issued before the Land Office will register the transfer. What matters is that the choice — who pays, and when — is written down, not left as something to sort out later. Our lawyers look at how a draft contract allocates this before you sign, because clear written terms hold up better than a verbal promise to "deal with it at closing."

Late-payment penalties

Surcharges for late payment add to the amount the juristic person records against the unit, and the debt-free certificate reflects the balance including those surcharges — they are settled together with the principal debt, not separately. Under Condominium Act section 18/1, the surcharge is capped at 12% a year without compounding, rising to up to 20% a year once a payment is six months or more overdue; the exact rate within those limits is set by the building's own rules. We recommend asking the juristic person for a written breakdown before you agree on who pays. The total arrears figure on a listing can be smaller than the amount that actually has to be cleared once surcharges are added.

Water, electricity and access

The debt-free certificate is about common-expense fees under section 18; whether it also covers specific water or electricity charges billed by the juristic person is something we could not confirm either way, so do not assume they are included or excluded. If a previous owner left a balance with the utility provider, or a water meter or access cards were cut off for non-payment, find out who the account holder is, what the debt is for, and what restoring access requires — this can involve the juristic person as well as the provider. Ask the juristic person and the utility provider directly before you commit to the purchase. It's a point to clarify, not a technicality to skip.

Buying at auction: a different rule

Buying a unit that an enforcement officer sells at a court auction works differently from an ordinary resale. Since 16 November 2015, the transfer goes ahead without the juristic person's debt-free certificate. Instead, the enforcement officer notifies the juristic person before the sale, the juristic person reports the outstanding common-expense debt within 30 days of receiving that notice, and the amount is paid out of the sale proceeds ahead of the mortgage holder (Civil Procedure Code, section 335). Older court decisions held the auction buyer responsible for the debt where the auction notice said so.

This auction rule applies to court-ordered enforcement sales. We would not assume it also covers a bank selling a unit it repossessed on its own account; check with the Land Office what the registration will require before you pay, rather than assuming either path applies. If you're bidding at a court auction, we read the auction notice with you before you bid and check how the enforcement officer has calculated and will settle the debt under section 335, because the usual certificate does not apply here.

What the contract and deposit terms should say

• Ask the seller for a statement of any common-expense debt from the juristic person before you pay a deposit.
• Tie the deposit, and its return, to the juristic person actually issuing the debt-free certificate.
• Write down, in the contract, who pays the debt and out of which money.
• Add a clause letting you walk away with your deposit if the certificate is not issued.
• Have the exact figure checked again on the day of registration at the Land Office, alongside the other taxes and fees due on a condo purchase, since the amount can move between the offer and the signing.

Our team checks these points when we review a purchase or reservation contract, and we sit with you — or your agent — on the registration day to confirm the certificate and the final figures match what the contract says.

What is not settled

What to do next

If fee arrears have come up in your negotiation, or you simply want to be sure before you pay a deposit, send us the contract. Our lawyers review a purchase or reservation contract free of charge within 48 hours and tell you what to ask the developer or the juristic person before you sign. For the wider purchase process, see checking a property before you pay and the Phuket condo buying checklist. If you're still choosing a unit, our team can also walk you through buying a condo in Phuket with legal support from the first offer to the registration day.