A dispute with a condo's juristic person usually starts over one of a few things: a fee increase, a meeting resolution, or a letter saying you have no outstanding debt. A resolution passed in breach of the rules can be challenged in court, as a rule within one month of the resolution (Civil and Commercial Code s. 1195, applied by analogy to co-owners' resolutions). A written claim and negotiation may help resolve disputes about fees, accounts or the debt-free letter before court proceedings become necessary. Our lawyers review the bylaws, the minutes and the accounts, draft the claim, and represent you in talks with the juristic person and, if it comes to that, in court.
What is included
If you live outside Thailand, we discuss how you can take part and what authority we need to act for you. What we do: read the bylaws, the minutes of past meetings and the accounts to see whether a resolution or a fee was adopted correctly; draft a written claim to the juristic person; negotiate with the manager or the committee; help you prepare for a meeting, or request an extraordinary one if you hold enough votes; and represent you in court if the dispute reaches that stage.
If you are not yet sure whether you have a dispute worth pursuing, start with a 45-minute consultation: we look at the documents you send and give you a written summary of what we see and what the next step would be.
If you let the unit while living abroad, our page on renting out a condo in Phuket legally covers the rules that apply to you as landlord, separately from this kind of dispute.
In short
- Under Condominium Act s. 45, votes follow the unit's registered ownership ratio in the common property, not one vote per unit.
- A meeting needs a quarter of all votes for quorum; if the first meeting lacks quorum, a meeting re-called within 15 days needs none (s. 43).
- A resolution passed in breach of the rules can, as a rule, be challenged in court within one month of the resolution.
- The Land Department registers and supervises condominiums; it does not rule on your dispute.
What owners and juristic persons argue about
Fees and arrears. Owners dispute how a fee increase was approved, or whether a change affecting common property followed a proper vote. Bylaw changes on common property and other matters under section 48 of the Condominium Act need half of all votes, or one third at a re-called meeting. In a typical situation, a meeting raises the common fee without reaching quorum while the owner lives abroad and only learns about the increase from the next invoice. Our lawyers check the vote count against the minutes before advising whether the increase stands. Unpaid common fees can rank ahead of a mortgage on the unit under Condominium Act s. 41; whether that depends on the manager having filed the debt list with the land official needs assessment in the particular case.
Appointing or removing the manager. This needs at least a quarter of all co-owners' votes. We check whether that threshold was met and whether the meeting itself was properly called.
Repairs and work on common property. Under Condominium Act s. 48(3), work that affects the common property or the building's outward appearance needs a resolution of the general meeting. If the committee or manager orders such work, or refuses work the owners asked for, we check the minutes for that resolution before advising on your options.
Building insurance. In practice the juristic person insures the building and common property and charges the premium as a common expense, though the Condominium Act itself does not say insurance is compulsory. We check whether a disputed premium was approved as a common expense before we challenge it.
The debt-free letter. Before a resale can be registered, the juristic person issues a certificate confirming the unit has no outstanding expenses under Condominium Act s. 18, required for resale registration under s. 29. Under s. 29(3) the manager must issue it within 15 days of the request, once those expenses are paid; if a seller faces a refusal beyond that, we send a written claim so the sale is not held up. Checking a juristic person's debts is also part of buying in the first place — see our buyer's checklist for a condo in Phuket.
Owner rights: meetings, accounts, voting
| Right | Threshold | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Require an extraordinary meeting | at least 20% of all votes | Condominium Act s. 42/2 |
| Quorum for an ordinary meeting | a quarter of all votes | s. 43 |
| Quorum at a meeting re-called within 15 days after the first lacked quorum | none required | s. 43 |
| Vote on a matter listed in s. 48 (common-property rules, use, or the ratio of common expenses) | at least half of all votes; if those attending the first meeting hold less than half of all votes, a new meeting must be called within 15 days, where at least one third of all votes is required | s. 48 |
| Appoint or remove the manager | a quarter of all co-owners' votes | s. 49 |
| Vote through a proxy | one proxy represents at most 3 units | s. 47 |
We ask the juristic person for the minutes and the accounts on your behalf. Under Condominium Act s. 38/3, an owner may inspect the annual report, the balance sheet and the condominium's bylaws at the juristic person's office; for other material, such as bank statements, contracts or meeting recordings, how much we can obtain without a court order depends on the manager's cooperation.
Claim, negotiation, court: the order of steps
- Check the court deadline. If you are challenging a resolution, the one-month period runs from the resolution itself, not from the end of negotiations, so we check it before anything else.
- Collect the documents. The bylaws, the minutes of the meeting in question, the accounts and any correspondence with the manager.
- Send a written claim. We state what you want and why, with the vote count or the figures behind it.
- Negotiate, without letting it delay a timely court filing. With the manager or the committee, or at the next general meeting if the issue needs a vote; if the one-month period is close to running out, we file the court claim regardless of where negotiations stand.
What we say plainly
We cannot promise the outcome of a claim or a court case. The Land Department registers and inspects condominiums, but it is not a tribunal for this kind of dispute and will not settle it for you. The one-month challenge period is short, and missing it can close off the court route entirely. A manager's silence or delay is a reason for a formal claim, not for withholding fees or acting on your own. Breaches of the Condominium Act carry fines, but we describe them only as the small criminal fines Thai practitioners report, without quoting a figure we cannot confirm from an official source.
How we work
Send us the minutes, the bylaws, or the juristic person's letter, and we answer within 24 hours with what the situation allows and what it would cost. We fix the cost before work starts, with no hidden fees. We prepare the claim in Thai and English, and explain it to you in Russian or English. As the dispute moves, we tell you what is done and what comes next. Our lawyers are licensed by the Lawyers Council of Thailand, and we see clients at our office in Cherngtalay, Phuket.
If you have not bought yet and want to avoid this kind of dispute later, our condo purchase support in Phuket includes a check of the juristic person's debts before you pay. For questions outside an existing dispute, see our page for a property lawyer in Phuket.
Send us the minutes, the bylaws, or the juristic person's letter. We will answer within 24 hours and tell you what can be done.
