If a developer is late handing over your Phuket condo, getting your money back is possible, but the outcome turns on your contract: what it says about delay, penalties, the right to terminate, and where your payments actually sit. Until the unit is registered in your name at the Land Department, you are not the owner — under the Civil and Commercial Code (s. 456), what you've paid is a claim against the developer, not a right to the flat. That's why our lawyers start by reading the contract and the payment schedule, then prepare a written demand letter. If you're still at the buying stage, read about our condo purchase support in Phuket first — it covers how to avoid this situation from the outset.
What is included
We start with the contract and the payment schedule: what they say about the handover date, penalties, the right to terminate, and whether the developer took your money directly or through an escrow account. From that review we draft a written demand letter and negotiate with the developer; if talks go nowhere, we take the dispute further. What your case needs, and what it will cost, is something we confirm once we've seen your documents.
In short
- The outcome depends on your contract, on how the developer broke it, and on the consumer-protection rules that apply regardless — a missing clause doesn't close the door on its own.
- Until the unit is registered at the Land Department, you aren't the owner: what you paid is a claim against the developer.
- A clause letting the developer walk away from late-delivery liability can be void.
- A written demand letter is the first step, even though the developer won't always answer it.
- The outcome also depends on whether the developer has any assets to pay from.
What your contract says: delay, penalty, termination
A condo sale is valid only in writing and only once the transfer is registered at the Land Department (Civil and Commercial Code, s. 456). Until then, your contract with the developer is a promise, not a title to the flat. What you can claim from it depends on the contract's own terms, on how the developer broke it, and on the consumer-protection rules that apply either way: a missing clause doesn't rule out protection by itself.
The Condominium Act (s. 6/2) requires the developer to use a standard contract form set by the Ministry of Interior and makes void any clause that departs from it to the buyer's disadvantage — that's how Thai legal sources describe the rule; we haven't separately verified the notification's own text. So we check your contract against that standard form and look at whether the developer tried to exclude its own liability for delay, or to keep your reservation money when you weren't at fault.
| What's in your contract | What you can claim |
|---|---|
| A delay penalty clause | We check whether it applies, how the penalty is calculated, and the procedure the contract sets for claiming it |
| No delay penalty | We check the grounds and procedure for termination and a refund separately; a missing penalty clause doesn't answer the question on its own |
| An explicit right to terminate for delay | We check whether the conditions are met, how to give notice, and which payments can be claimed back |
| Your money sits in escrow | We check the escrow agreement's terms, the grounds for release, and what documents the agent will ask for |
| Your reservation was kept though you weren't at fault | We check the basis for keeping it and the OCPB rules that apply to your reservation contract; whether a refund is possible depends on the documents |
An escrow account (Escrow Act B.E. 2551, 2008) protects a buyer's payments better, but neither side has to use one: the agent must be a bank or a Ministry of Finance-licensed institution, and most developers on Phuket take payments directly. If your contract says nothing about escrow, that isn't a breach by itself — it just means your money is less protected before the transfer is registered.
For a reservation contract, we also check whether the OCPB's rules on condo reservations apply to your case and what they say about keeping your deposit or excluding liability for delay. The exact deposit limits and refund mechanics still need checking against the official text, so we don't quote a general figure here — we read your own contract's terms.
The demand letter and response deadlines
We determine the response deadline after checking your contract and the applicable rules, then state it in the demand letter and explain why it is reasonable for your case. To prepare it, we need:
- the reservation agreement and the sale and purchase contract — the Thai version and the English version;
- payment receipts and bank transfer records;
- the payment schedule as written in the contract;
- correspondence with the developer about the handover date;
- marketing materials that named a handover date;
- escrow documents, if payments went through one.
We draft the letter in Thai and in English. For a general document list before you even reach a dispute, see our checklist for buying a condo in Phuket.
Construction stopped: court, the OCPB, insolvency
If there's no answer, we assess the grounds for a claim, the developer's assets, and whether a settlement is realistic. A buyer's dispute with a developer is a consumer case: under the Consumer Case Procedure Act you can file without a court fee, including an oral complaint, and the burden of proving facts about the construction and the service that only the developer knows falls on the developer (s. 29). Under s. 14 of the same Act, the limitation period is suspended while the parties negotiate a settlement — until one side ends the talks — so correspondence with the developer about compensation can keep your right to sue alive longer, though sending a demand letter alone doesn't guarantee that.
Before a case is even filed, a court can appoint a mediator if the developer agrees: since 7 November 2020 the Civil Procedure Code allows this ahead of any lawsuit, with no court fee, and a settlement can become a court judgment. Out-of-court mediation is also possible if both sides agree; we check separately whether it fits your dispute. Under s. 229 of the Civil Procedure Code, an appeal against a judgment is filed within one month of the judgment or order being read out.
The OCPB notification applies mainly to condo reservation sales; whether its rules cover your contract and your refund claim is something we check case by case. If the developer has no assets, a judgment in your favour may not turn into money. So before filing, we look at what the judgment could be enforced against — land, bank accounts, other property the developer holds — and we say so plainly, before you spend time on a lawsuit.
The typical case a developer a year late: how the deposit came back shows how a demand letter and negotiation sometimes bring the deposit back without going to court.
What we say plainly
We don't guarantee a result: the outcome depends on what your own contract says and on whether the developer has anything to pay with. Some clauses can work against a buyer, and our job is to show them to you before you decide, not after.
A foreign court judgment has no direct force in Thailand: Thai courts don't enforce it automatically, so you'd need a fresh case in a Thai court, where the foreign judgment can be used only as evidence — even if you live abroad and never set foot in Thailand again.
Before escalating, it's worth checking the developer itself again: how to do that is covered on our page on developer due diligence in Phuket.
Signing and paying from abroad
Most of this review runs on copies you send us, so you don't need to be in Thailand for it. If the dispute later needs a power of attorney so our lawyers can act on your behalf, a POA signed outside Thailand is usually certified through a chain Thai embassies describe: a notary, then your own country's foreign affairs ministry, then the Thai embassy or consulate where you live. The Apostille Convention enters into force for Thailand on 28 February 2027, so for now this longer chain, not an apostille, is the route to plan for. Once a refund comes through, ask your own bank what it needs to receive the transfer, and keep every document the Thai side gives you for the payment — you may need them on your end too.
How we work
Write to us on Telegram, WhatsApp or through the website, and send the contract with the payment schedule. We'll answer within 24 hours and explain what can be done, how long it will take and what it will cost. We fix the price for the demand letter and the dispute before work starts, with no hidden fees. Documents come in two languages — Thai and English — and as the work goes on, we tell you what's been done and what's next.
A property lawyer in Phuket can matter at any stage of a condo purchase, not only once a dispute has started — we cover that on our page on a property lawyer in Phuket.
