Demolished at the Owner's Expense: Why Phuket Villas Are Being Torn Down

In 2018, Thailand's Supreme Court closed a case that lawyers in Bangkok still cite today: part of the grounds of the luxury Anantara Si Kao resort in Trang province was ruled to be encroaching on state land, and the structures were ordered demolished. The owner was Minor Group, one of the country's largest hospitality operators. International branding, an operating hotel, occupancy revenue, provincial tax contributions. None of it mattered.

Phuket has its own monument to the same principle: a nearly finished five-star complex sitting inside Sirinat National Park. Rooms with private pools, plans for a rooftop restaurant and pool deck. Construction was halted at the final stage because the plot physically sits within park boundaries, where large-scale commercial building can almost never be legalized after the fact.

Negotiation did not help.

The old 'build first, sort out the paperwork later' approach worked in Thailand through the 1990s and into the early 2000s. Since the mid-2020s it has become a near-guaranteed way to lose money: the land reverts to the state, structures are demolished at the builder's own cost, and permits issued at the local level get overturned retroactively by administrative courts.

In 2026, Phuket authorities are demonstrating exactly how far this enforcement now reaches. On July 20, 2026, around 400 local officials, led by Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchat Chomklin, launched a crackdown on illegal beachfront structures at Hat Nui, removing an initial 50 buildings occupying public and protected land, with patrols continuing afterward.

Quick Answer

• The National Park Act B.E. 2504 and forestry legislation ban private construction inside national parks and forest reserves. There is no budget-based exception; the size of the investment does not influence a court's ruling.

• Foreigners cannot own land directly in Thailand. The legal routes are: a lease registered with the Land Department for up to 30 years, a Thai company where foreign shareholding stays under 49% under the Foreign Business Act, or a condominium unit within the foreign freehold quota (up to 49% of a building's saleable area under the Condominium Act).

• Nominee Thai shareholders are a criminal offense, not a legal gray zone. Section 96 bis of the Land Code allows forced sale of land held through nominee structures.

• A chanote (Nor Sor 4 Jor) title does not offer absolute protection. If it was issued in error over forest land, the Land Department can cancel it, and courts can uphold that cancellation.

• Phuket has been running high-profile enforcement since 2024, with the province publicly declaring zero tolerance for unauthorized construction on hillsides and in protected zones, including projects tied to influential owners. In one recent sweep at the Khao Nakkerd forest reserve, nine people were detained and eight houses along with outbuildings and animal enclosures were found illegally built in Karon subdistrict; separately, a pilot demolition campaign targeted 39 illegal structures at Nui Beach inside the Nakkerd Hill national park, with owners given until July 9 to self-demolish before forced removal at their own expense.

• A full legal due diligence check on a plot costs an estimated 40,000 to 150,000 THB and takes two to six weeks. That is a fraction of a percent of a villa's value and the only real insurance available.

Main Risks and Mistakes

The biggest mistake buyers make is assuming demolition risk only applies to large hotels. It applies just as much to private homes. The list of houses caught up in inspections on the slopes of Kamala, Naithon, and Patong over the past two years is dominated by properties of 300 to 600 sqm, bought by foreigners through Thai companies.

• A plot inside a national park or forest reserve. There is no way to legalize this. Mitigation: before placing a deposit, request a boundary map overlay against the title from the Land Office and separately verify the land's status with the relevant department.

• A Sor Por Kor 4-01 or Nor Sor 3 title. The former is issued to Thai farmers for agricultural use and is legally non-transferable and non-buildable for commercial purposes. Mitigation: build and buy only on chanote land, and accept Nor Sor 3 Gor only after checking its full survey history.

• Treating a local construction permit as proof of legality. This is the most dangerous misconception: administrative courts routinely invalidate such permits if the underlying land was never legally buildable. Mitigation: verify the legal status of the land itself, not just the paperwork for the build.

• Slopes and elevation. On Phuket, construction above 80 meters above sea level is prohibited, and building on slopes steeper than 35% is heavily restricted; exact parameters depend on the zone and current ministerial regulations. Mitigation: commission an actual topographic survey with elevation markers instead of trusting a developer's rendering.

• Nominee ownership structures. A Thai company where local shareholders have neither capital nor a real business, while the foreign partner holds preferential voting rights, collapses under the first DBD (Department of Business Development) audit. Mitigation: either bring in genuine partners with verifiable capital, or use a leasehold or condominium structure instead.

• Being frozen rather than demolished. The worst outcome is not always a bulldozer. A property can sit under court injunction for years: unable to be finished, sold, or rented out. Mitigation: include a refund clause in the developer contract in case authorities halt construction, and tie payments to inspection-verified milestones.

One argument that carries no legal weight at all: 'this developer has been building here for fifteen years, nothing has happened.' The statute of limitations on reclaiming state land in Thailand effectively never expires, and in forest reserve cases, courts rule based on the land's status at the time the title was issued, not on how long a structure has stood.

Our position: if this is your first purchase in Thailand and your budget is under 10 to 12 million THB, avoid land and hillside villas entirely. Choose a unit in a registered condominium within the freehold foreign quota instead, where a single document needs checking and the risk of land seizure is spread across a hundred owners and rests with the project's juristic entity. This advice does not apply to buyers who already have a Thai partner running a genuine business and the willingness to retain lawyers on an ongoing basis, not just once.

One more practical point: no remote check replaces an on-site visit. Park boundaries, actual slope gradient, access roads, and neighboring construction can only be properly assessed in person. When planning a three to four day inspection trip, it makes sense to book flights early and combine site visits with a stop at the Land Office, which operates on weekdays only.

FAQ

Can a private home be demolished, not just a hotel?

Yes. Precedent from Phuket and Trang shows demolition orders are issued for single-family villas too, if the plot falls within park boundaries, a forest reserve, or a height-restricted zone. The owner pays for the demolition.

Does a chanote title protect against land seizure?

Not completely. A chanote is the strongest title type in the country, but it can be cancelled if it was issued over land that was, at the time, classified as forest reserve or public land. That is why the issuance history of a title matters more than its current form.

What happens to the money if construction gets halted?

By default, nothing good: payments to the developer are non-refundable unless the contract explicitly provides for a refund if authorities halt the project. This clause needs to be negotiated and added before signing, and payments should be tied to verified construction stages.

Can a foreigner own land through a Thai company?

Technically, a company with up to 49% foreign ownership can buy land, but only if it conducts genuine business activity. A structure created solely to hold a house falls under the nominee ownership ban and carries the risk of forced sale of the land.

How long do land disputes take to resolve in court in Thailand?

Market estimates put it at three to seven years, including appeals up to the Supreme Court. During that entire period, the property typically cannot be finished or resold.

What does a proper title and land due diligence check include?

Title history from Land Department records, overlay of plot boundaries against national park and forest reserve maps, zoning under the city plan, height and slope restrictions, liens and encumbrances, verification of the seller and corporate structure, and, where relevant, the question of a Foreign Business License.

Is a condominium safer than a villa?

Substantially safer, provided the building is registered under the Condominium Act, the underlying land holds a chanote title, and the unit is sold within the 49% foreign quota. The main risks there are different: delivery delays and management quality, not bulldozers.

Who is liable if a construction permit turns out to be illegal?

Almost always the property owner. Compensation from the administration that issued the permit is not realistic in protected-zone cases, and having a permit does not exempt an owner from a demolition order.

One concrete action to take this week: order an independent title and boundary check on any plot you are considering, before placing any deposit, even a refundable one. A lawyer recommended by the seller is, by definition, not the right person for this job.

Source: Pattaya People

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