Condo reservation agreement in Thailand: what the 2025 rules change for buyers

Short answer

A condo reservation agreement in Thailand is a short contract in which you pay a reservation fee, the developer holds a unit for you, and you both agree to sign a sale and purchase agreement later. Since early 2025, developers must use a standard Thai-language form set by the Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB), and that form spells out when the full fee comes back to you.

The rules come from a notification of the OCPB Contract Committee published in the Royal Gazette on 3 October 2024. It took effect 120 days after publication, which law firms date to 31 January 2025. Many buyer guides online predate this change and still call reservation fees non-refundable. Under the standard form, that is no longer the default.

Legal status as of 24 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. The summary below is based on the notification as reported by a Thai newspaper and a Thai law firm, so your lawyer should read the Thai text in the Royal Gazette before you sign.

Reservation agreement and purchase agreement

Buying a new condo in Thailand usually involves two contracts.

The reservation agreement comes first. You pay a reservation fee, the developer takes the unit off the market, and you commit to sign the main contract within an agreed period. Under the new rules, the reservation fee is its own payment: it is not a deposit and not a down payment.

The sale and purchase agreement (often shortened to SPA) comes second. It sets the price, the payment schedule, the specification of the unit, the completion date and the date ownership is transferred to you at the Land Office. On a new development you sign it with the developer, and your payments follow the construction stages.

The two contracts are regulated by different laws. The reservation agreement falls under the Consumer Protection Act B.E. 2522 and the OCPB notification. The SPA for a condominium unit falls under the Condominium Act B.E. 2522.

The 2025 rules for condo reservations

The notification makes selling condominium units through reservations a “contract-controlled business”. That means the state decides what the contract must say and what it must not say.

What the reservation contract must contain

According to the notification as reported, the contract must:

• be written in Thai, in clearly legible print (the Thai text sets a minimum letter size), and follow the standard form attached to the notification;
• describe the project and the unit, any extras promised with it, the price, the reservation fee, any discount and how you pay;
• give the key dates, including when the SPA will be signed and when the developer will apply for and obtain the construction permit;
• be made in two identical copies, one of which you receive when you sign.

Clauses that are not allowed

The developer may not include terms that:

• exclude or limit its liability for its own breach of contract;
• let it change the terms or add new burdens on you;
• let it cancel without written notice, or when you have not breached a material term;
• let it keep your money, unless you are the party in breach;
• treat the reservation fee as a deposit or down payment;
• charge you a fee for transferring your reservation to someone else;
• give it rights to use the common property of the condominium;
• allow your personal data to be handled in breach of Thai data protection law.

Online reservations

The rules also cover units reserved through electronic channels, such as a developer’s website or a property platform acting as an intermediary. In that case the contract must also comply with Thai electronic transactions law. A developer that does not follow the notification commits an offence under the Consumer Protection Act, with a fine, a prison term or both, according to the law firm summary.

When you get your reservation money back

Your right to cancel

According to the Tilleke & Gibbins summary of the standard form, you may cancel the reservation if the developer:

• does not obtain approval of the environmental impact assessment (EIA), where one is required;
• does not enter into the SPA with you within the period set in the reservation contract;
• does not apply for or obtain the condominium construction permit, or the receipt for a construction notification;
• changes the project details or construction materials without your consent;
• does not use the materials and equipment specified in the contract;
• does not comply with the notification or the reservation contract.

If you cancel on one of these grounds, the developer must return the whole reservation fee within 15 days when it refunds in cash or by bank transfer, or within 45 days when it refunds to a credit card.

When the developer can keep the fee

The developer may cancel and keep the fee in one situation only: you do not sign the SPA within the agreed period. Before cancelling for your breach, it must give you written notice with at least 7 days to put it right.

There is also a rule for buyers who need a loan. According to the law firm summary, if the developer knows you are applying for a mortgage and the bank does not approve it in the agreed time, either side may cancel, and the developer must then return the whole reservation fee within the same 15 or 45 days. Ask your lawyer to check how your contract defines the loan deadline. If you are paying from your own funds, it matters less.

What older articles get wrong

Guides written before 2025 may say the fee is non-refundable once paid. Under the standard form, you lose the fee only if you are in breach, not because the developer prefers to keep it. A promotion deadline or a sales brochure cannot override the contract, so read the Thai text and your lawyer’s translation rather than the marketing material.

One point for your lawyer: the notification protects “consumers”. Ask them to confirm how it applies to you as a foreign buyer and to the exact contract you are offered.

What the purchase agreement must cover

The Condominium Act requires the SPA between the developer and the buyer of a unit to follow a form prescribed by the Minister of Interior. Under section 6/2, any part of the agreement that departs from that form and is not in the buyer’s favour is invalid. Section 6/1 adds that the developer’s advertising is deemed part of the contract, so keep the brochure and the specification list.

According to a law firm summary of the standard form, the SPA covers, among other things:

• the price and the payment terms, including limits on interest the developer may charge for late payment;
• the construction completion date and the date of transfer of ownership;
• the standard materials and equipment, and building in line with the approved plans;
• the construction permit and the registration of the condominium;
• what happens if the developer cannot transfer the unit on time, including refunding your payments;
• the developer’s liability for defects after handover (the summary gives five years for structure and equipment and two years for other parts).

That summary dates from 2011, so ask your lawyer to check each point against the current form. For foreign freehold, the SPA should also state that the unit sits within the foreign quota of the building. Our guide to the Thailand condo foreign quota explains what to get in writing.

The SPA also decides who pays which transfer costs. Before you sign, compare it with our list of condo buying costs in Thailand.

Thai and English versions

The reservation contract must be in Thai. The Condominium Act standard form for the SPA is also a Thai document. Developers selling to foreign buyers usually provide an English version, often side by side with the Thai text.

Check three things:

1. Which version prevails if they differ. Look for a clause on this, and do not assume it is the English one.
2. Whether the English text is a full translation or a shorter summary.
3. Whether dates, the unit number, the area and the price are identical in both versions.

The simplest protection is an independent Thai lawyer who reads both versions. A translation from the developer or the agent helps, but nobody has checked it on your behalf.

Questions before you sign

• Is this the standard OCPB reservation form, and can I have the full Thai text before I pay?
• What are the dates for the EIA approval, the construction permit and the SPA signing?
• What exactly is refundable, by when, and by which payment method?
• Will my fee count towards the price once I sign the SPA?
• Is the unit within the foreign quota, and will that be confirmed in writing?
• Which language version of the SPA prevails?
• How should the money be sent from abroad so I can register foreign freehold later?

Our how to buy page lists the steps in order, from reservation to transfer.

Documents for The Astra Samui

The Astra Samui is sold off plan, so both contracts apply. According to the developer, the current terms are:

• Reservation fee: THB 100,000 (studio, 1 bedroom or 1 bedroom plus) or THB 150,000 (2 bedrooms), fully refundable until 22 November 2026, 17:00.
• Payments: 30% by 22 December 2026 (less the reservation fee), 30% when the roof structure is complete (planned for February 2028), 40% at handover (planned for December 2028). The developer does not offer financing.
• Environmental approval (EIA) is expected in February 2027. The sale and purchase agreement is signed once it is granted.

Before you pay anything, ask us for the current reservation contract in Thai and English, and have your lawyer compare it with the standard form. That matters most for the refund deadline and for how the fee later counts towards the price, because those are the points the standard form regulates. Apartment prices start from THB 3,687,000 (about €98,000, NBP average rate of 23 October 2026), and the price list shows what we know about each apartment type.

We at Varsovia Estate are the sales agent for The Astra Samui. We can send you the reservation contract and a draft SPA to pass to your own lawyer, and we explain each payment step. We do not give legal advice. For more on this project, read questions to ask before you buy at The Astra Samui, browse the apartments or book a call with us.