Pattaya crackdown on short-term condo rentals

[Narivana0]

Hello,

Pattaya authorities -- Banglamung District Office -- are cracking down on short-term condo rentals, and the condo has kindly sent us a warning. Since there are about 2,000 Pattaya condos on AirBnB alone I can't see it lasting very long, it's just a new revenue stream the police have discovered, but has anyone had any experience with this? Should we cancel shorter bookings for the time being?

Thai laws are so comprehensive, vague and contradictory that EVERYTHING is basically illegal, that's in a way their purpose, so everything is about negotiating privileges. There is probably not a single legal business in downtown Pattaya, and even the legal ones are being harassed. But what to do? Sit it out?

[Robin4]

@Narivana0

Hi Narivana, contrary to what you are saying there is a serious side to this!

Insurance risks and undertakings are the same around the world and universally general insurers will not insure for short term rentals. There are insurers in that field but where you short term rent in a condo/strata/ community developement you do not just void the insurance for your unit/condo, you void the insurance for the whole complex because you alter the risk that the insurnace company accepted when they issued a policy. With long term rentals the tennant is known to the insurer and has been accepted as a risk.

With short term rentals the insurer has no idea who is in their insured space at any given time, and will as soon as they discover short term renting is taking place they will cancel existing cover, not just for your condo but the entire developement.

So Narivana, it's not just the Pattaya authorities that are driving this. If you approach your condo management authority they would tell you point blank to stop doing what you are doing because you are jeapodising the whole complex. 

This what happens around the world, not just in Pattaya.

Cheers....Rob

[Nina75]

I was looking into buying a condo there good to know.