Property zoning restrictions?

[bladerunner2120]

Hi all looking for feed back on zoning laws for the hua hin and surrounding areas, if any one has experienced or has knowledge it would be most helpful.
What i want to know can i pretty much do what i want with a parcel of land or do the local authorities have restrictions on what and how big/how many can be built on said piece of land, can i put 10 cows on it, can i build 10 townhouses on it, can i turn it into a theme park..etc
So far i haven't come across anything along these lines in here, any feed back is welcome.

[splitlid]

yep, pretty much do what you want,
however, no matter what you plan to do, goto the local govt office and find out for sure as some will have different opinions on what you will require.

if its a development, then try and keep it to a low number of houses being built, under 9 i believe is ok as the land can be split up by that amount in one go.

any more and then it becomes more difficult, some govt offices will require a village permit, others may require an EIA (environment impact assessment), which costs alot of money and time.

just make sure all your ducks are in order.
and find out any info for yourself, dont rely on big jon down the 'local' to know anything.

[hhfarang]

The only restriction I've ever heard here is the law passed a few years ago about how high something can be built in relation with how close it is to the beach.

That's when the high rise condos on the beach skyrocketed in value as no more like that could ever be built.

[bladerunner2120]

yes well of course i would talk to local council to make sure before purchase that i could do what i planned, another question....does the electric company charge a service charge for each connection per billing cycle?
My idea is something along the lines of building several townhouses for holiday/weekend rentals if that proves ok then ok other wise sell them off independently.

[splitlid]

are you asking if the electric company will come and read the meter when you request, so you can charge the renters?

then i think this would be a problem, organising things to happen at a set time usually is too difficult.

so charge the user per unit used during their stay, read the meter when they arrive and when they leave. you can get the rate from the elec company.

[Big Boy]

From experience, that is exactly what happens when we rent houses for our holiday.

[bladerunner2120]

the service charge i was referring to, over here in AU we get stung a service charge with all our energy bills at each billing cycle, these cover for breakdowns and upgrades etc, so u get a service charge of say 35$ and usage of $100, so over there if they charged a service charge and u had say 6 units..it could get expensive.

[Super Joe]

Hi all looking for feed back on zoning laws for the hua hin and surrounding areas, if any one has experienced or has knowledge it would be most helpful.
What i want to know can i pretty much do what i want with a parcel of land or do the local authorities have restrictions on what and how big/how many can be built on said piece of land, can i put 10 cows on it, can i build 10 townhouses on it, can i turn it into a theme park..etc
So far i haven't come across anything along these lines in here, any feed back is welcome.

Hi bladerunner,
Splitlid's practical advice about how to go forward is right imo. Regarding regulations governing construction, the following would apply from my understanding:
1) National: The 'Building Control Act 1979' and it's subsequent ammendments in 1992, 2000 & 2007.
2) Local: 'Town and City Planning Act' - It was reported in local press that the very old 'Hua Hin Planning Law' was revised in 2008, in line with the construction boom. Last report said it was being considered for law, Tessabaan will give you current version.


One thing to take into consideration is property tax (you'll be a lot more 'visible' as a business), currently the 'Building and Land Tax' applies to all properties excl. The one you live in as a home. Rate is 12.5% of assessed/actual yearly rental, whichever higher. As name suggests it's a property tax, not an income tax (due also), so it's applicable with or without tenants.

It's supposed to be replaced this year by a new, already approved, property tax which has a max. rate of 0.5% of the appraised value of building and land. All owners, even occupiers will have to pay this. Good thing about government appraisal values is that they're often staggeringly low as based on pre-boom Thai prices for land and wooden shack houses, sometimes 5th/6th of actual value. They don't come out and increase the value in line with what farangs live in, but don't tell the 'farang dual-pricing' brigade

SJ

[hhfarang]

the service charge i was referring to, over here in AU we get stung a service charge with all our energy bills at each billing cycle, these cover for breakdowns and upgrades etc, so u get a service charge of say 35$ and usage of $100, so over there if they charged a service charge and u had say 6 units..it could get expensive.

We always have a service charge on our bill. We have three charges, the actual charge for units used, a service charge that is a percentage (I guess) of what we used that month as it goes up and down along with our usage, and then the 7% tax. The service charge appears to be 32.5% of our usage charge.

The bill is in Thai so I don't know what the service charge is for and I don't think my wife knows for sure either as it is vague but she thinks it's for anyone who doesn't use the normal (Thai house) single phase. I admit I don't know anything about electricity, so this is just what I was told, but in a western style house you need 3 phase electricity instead of single phase due to the additional demands of the appliances and air conditioning we require. I was told that a TV, fans, and lighting (as in a Thai house) can run on single phase. We did have to pay for a new transformer to be installed by the electric company when we built the house as they told us that the one used by the nearest village (Nong Khae) would not handle the additional load our house would require. That cost us 250k baht during construction.

I've heard that it also could be a surcharge that is applied once you go over a certain number of units used per month so that it is a tax, so to speak, on the richer people who can afford a house and appliances that use that much power, but will not affect the average Thai family.

Anyway the surcharge on our bill is substantial (almost 2k baht this month), whatever it's for.

[PeteC]

I know that Egat adjusts that surcharge up and down sometimes and I believe at least some of it is related to their fuel costs and which fuel they are primarily using during a given period, hydro, coal, natural gas etc. Pete

[Nereus]

The surcharge is directly connected with the fuel costs, as Pete has said. The price per unit depends on the number of units used, but I do not know how they calculate it.

hhfarang: Who ever told you that you need to have a 3 phase supply based on the reasons that you have written, was having a lend of you! Both here and in the West.

[hhfarang]

hhfarang: Who ever told you that you need to have a 3 phase supply based on the reasons that you have written, was having a lend of you!

It was my builder...

[PeteC]

All the separate developments within this country club complex where I am in Rayong were built as 3 Phase. I added a 100 amp meter and cabling because of the pool, aircon, bore pump, house pump, fish pumps etc. Maybe overkill but if I recall correctly what the engineers here said was that if I had everything on at once, I would be at the very limit or over the capacity of a normal meter. Pete

[crazy88]

Splitlid is correct.

You can do pretty much what you want as nobody is bothered in rural areas. There are however regulations that could be enforced such as proximity of buildings to property line. For example your neighbours are cool with your guest suite being only 1m from the wall at the end of their garden. Then you try and sell and the buyers lawyer identifies that the property does not fit regulations ????????? Do your homework.

Also the 3 phase thing? Why do you need a 380-415 volt supply HHF? Workshop? Zoning the property?

Crazy 88

[hhfarang]

Also the 3 phase thing? Why do you need a 380-415 volt supply HHF? Workshop? Zoning the property?

Don't know, the builder said I needed it and the electric company said I needed to buy a transformer. As I said I don't know anything about electricity.

Could it be the eight industrial quality air conditioners, the five water pumps, the appliances including two microwaves, three refrigerators, oven, hob, dishwasher, clothes washer and dryer, water cooler, 3 tvs, multiple sound systems, computer and peripherals, yard and home alarm system, dozen fans, remote controlled entry gate, and about a thousand light fixtures in the house and on the property?