You are using an outdated browser and your browsing experience will not be optimal. Please update to the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Install Microsoft Edge

February 22, 2013

New Approach to Commercial Building Rules in Bangkok

Subscribe to Updates
Bangkok Post, Corporate Counsellor Column

Location, location, location—the old adage about the three things that matter in real estate continues to be true today, especially for retailers. Commercial real estate developers and retailers face a fiercely competitive market and shifting consumer patterns as Bangkok continues to expand geographically. To reach the city’s expanding consumer base, it is essential for retailers to understand local zoning requirements, especially with a new city plan set to come into effect in May.

BMA Ordinance

The key regulation dealing with zoning issues is officially known as the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) Ordinance re: Determination of Areas Restricted from Construction, Modification or Change of Usage of Certain Constructions in Bangkok Metropolis 2005. It states that a commercial building for retail and wholesale (CBRW) is a building used for commerce with a total area of 300 square meters or more, whether under one or more roofs.

Under this ordinance, there are specific zoning limitations that differ across the city. CBRWs are not allowed in some areas in Bang Bon and Klong Sam Wa districts, while they are allowed in Prawet, Bang Kapi, Saphan Sung, and Suan Luang if they have a total area not greater than 2,000 sq m. In Dusit, the maximum area allowed is 1,000 sq m, while in some communities on Phahon Yothin Road, the figure is up to 4,000 sq m.

Each area has specific criteria for construction, including distance from the public road, buffer area adjacent to other land plots, and free space for landscaping. The one common requirement for each permitted area is a CBRW must be located at least 500 meters away from a religious place, archaeological site, school, and/or hospital.

New City Plan

While the BMA ordinance sets the regulatory environment for construction of retail space, developers and retailers also need to be aware of the overall direction of city planning, as this too can affect their operations.

The current city plan, which has been in place since 2006, will soon expire, and a new plan will come into effect on May 15. While the previous plan did not determine space area and location of commercial buildings, the new one provides explicit provisions for commercial building zones.

Based on the current draft, the 2013 plan appears set to offer some modest new opportunities for retail zoning. One major change is that “commercial activities” will be more broadly defined to include all trading and service activities but excluding hotels, entertainment places, offices, markets, petrol stations, and scrapyards.

According to the new city plan, most areas in Phra Nakhon district will be reserved for art/cultural preservation, strictly prohibiting commercial buildings or offices with utility area greater than 1,000 sq m. In addition, most areas in Bang Bon, from about Kanchanaphisek Road to Samut Prakan province, will be classified as an agricultural/rural zone and no commercial buildings exceeding 100 sq m will be allowed. Exceptions will be made on public roads with a width of at least 16 meters, in which case a commercial building of up to 300 sq m will be allowed. On a road with a width of 30 meters, the limit will be 500 sq m.

Also under the new plan, all of Saphan Sung and more than half of Lat Phrao, Wang Thonglang, and Bung Kum districts will be classified as minimum-density residential zones. Commercial buildings with usable area exceeding 1,000 sq m will not be allowed, but the limit is 2,000 sq m on roads at least 16 meters wide or sites within 500 meters of a rail mass-transit station. However, construction of commercial buildings with a maximum of 300 sq m may be allowed in some areas in these four districts.

Within a commercial zone, a commercial building—whether mall or shop, retail or wholesale—could be constructed with a maximum usable area of up to 5,000 sq m. This could be extended to 10,000 sq m if the building is located on a public road with a width of at least 16 meters or 500 meters from a rail mass-transit station.

Compared with the 2006 city plan, the new scheme seems to expand a few commercial areas on Prasert-Manukitch, Ram Intra, and Krung Thon Buri roads, where the SkyTrain extension has begun, and on Ramkhamhaeng Road around Khlong Song Ton Nun to Soi Min Buri Square. The new city plan may also result in new malls on the extended subway Blue Line and the new Orange Line.

Following public hearings last August, the BMA’s City Planning Department revised the city plan in response to comments by the Town and Country Planning Board, and it is now being reviewed by a legal draft committee set up by the Interior Ministry. Next, it will go to the Cabinet and the Council of State before being enacted.

Commercial real estate developers and retailers will be closely following the implementation of the plan in May. But before making new investments, businesses need to ensure they fully understand both the new city plan and the existing BMA ordinance, which will continue to be in effect. By carefully understanding this regulatory environment, retailers can take full advantage of the new zoning opportunities and position themselves for success in Bangkok’s competitive real estate market.

Download Full Article
Related Professionals

Practices

Real Estate

Location

RELATED INSIGHTS​ 

November 13, 2025
The Land Department in Thailand’s Ministry of the Interior (MOI) plays a central role in ensuring the stability and legality of real estate transactions in the country. Its core responsibilities include issuing land title deeds, registering transactions (e.g., sales, mortgages, leases), conducting surveys for subdivision or consolidation of land, and providing information and guidance on land and property development laws. These administrative functions secure investor confidence and support transparency in the Thai property market, so any delay can have a significant impact. This is especially true for investors who depend on timely registration to secure or transfer property rights. Delays can create liquidity risks, postpone project timelines, and even reduce Thailand’s attractiveness as a real estate investment destination. This article explores the nature of these challenges, the legal framework governing the timelines for administrative actions, and remedies available under Thai law. Sources of Delay Procedural delays at land offices can arise for a variety of structural and operational reasons. These include approval processes that require several levels of internal review, heavy staff workloads, and occasional communication gaps within the bureaucratic chain. Many processes still rely upon manual documentation, which can prolong administrative steps and increase the likelihood of bottlenecks. Some delays stem from ongoing investigations into the legality of land titles. For example, a land title deed may have an annotation indicating that the title deed is under investigation to verify its legality. Even though this annotation does not legally prohibit the sale or transfer of the land, in practice, most prospective purchasers are reluctant to proceed with a transaction until the annotation is removed. As a result, the land can become effectively illiquid during the investigation period, leading to significant investment delays. While such investigations are essential to maintaining the integrity of Thailand’s land registration system, prolonged inquiries
Read More
September 19, 2025
Over the past two years—particularly since Thailand announced incentives for EVs, including tax exemptions and reductions—there has been a clear trend of manufacturers relocating their facilities to Thailand. This shift is reshaping the country’s industrial landscape and creating significant opportunities in the real estate sector for companies looking to establish or expand EV manufacturing operations in Southeast Asia. Incentive-Driven Market Transformation The government’s tax exemptions and reductions have proven effective in attracting foreign investment, with Chinese manufacturers currently dominating the market. Most EV parts and car manufacturers operating in Thailand are from China, reflecting the prominence of Chinese EV brands that have already established a presence in the country. The sector encompasses manufacturers of electrical equipment as well as companies seeking to establish facilities for producing electric vehicle components, parts, and accessories. The surge in activity is evident across Thailand’s EV manufacturing sector, with legal practices handling these transactions experiencing unprecedented demand. Industrial Real Estate Framework and Market Dynamics Thailand’s industrial real estate framework provides compelling advantages for foreign manufacturers, who typically face restrictions on foreign land ownership under the Land Code. However, foreign investors can benefit from exemptions to these restrictions if the land is located within industrial real estate zones designated by the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) or they obtain investment promotion from the Board of Investment (BOI) if the land is located outside an industrial estate area governed by the IEAT. Both the IEAT and BOI provide special tax and nontax incentives, including foreign land ownership, with even greater incentives available for land situated within the country’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). This regulatory advantage has sparked a parallel trend in land development. Industrial real estate developers in the EEC are actively consolidating land into large plots to develop new industrial estate projects, recognizing that
Read More
August 26, 2025
Thailand’s consumer protection authorities have strengthened oversight of residential leasing businesses following numerous complaints about unfair lease terms, including unjustified deposit forfeitures and excessive utility charges. The Contract Committee of Thailand’s Office of the Consumer Protection Board issued the Notification of the Contract Committee Re: The Stipulation of Residential Property Leasing as a Contract-Controlled Business B.E. 2568 (2025), published in the Government Gazette on June 6, 2025. The notification becomes effective on September 4, 2025, and repeals the prior notification issued in 2019. The notification prescribes two types of standard residential lease contracts: short-term residential lease contracts (for leases of not more than three years) and long-term residential lease contracts (for leases of more than three years up to 30 years or for the lessee’s lifetime). However, use of these standard contract forms is not compulsory, and parties may use any form as long as the terms do not contradict the notification’s requirements. Expanded Scope The notification expands the scope of enforcement to include any lessor with at least three residential units, while the 2019 notification applies only to businesses leasing five or more residential units. Hotels and dormitory operators are excluded, as they are regulated under other specific laws. Residential lease contracts entered into under the 2019 notification will remain valid and enforceable until the expiration of the contract. Any residential lease contract executed from September 4, 2025, onward must comply with the new notification. The notification also expressly extends its applicability to lease contracts made through online platforms. Electronically executed lease contracts must comply with the required and prohibited terms specified in the notification as well as applicable laws governing electronic transactions in Thailand. Mandatory Terms and Conditions Residential lease contracts must contain clearly legible Thai text no smaller than two millimeters in size and no more
Read More
August 22, 2025
On August 12, 2025, Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment submitted a draft law amending several provisions of the Land Law 2024 (“Draft Amended Land Law” or “Draft”) for government consultation and public comment. The Draft primarily aims to address three controversial issues in Vietnam’s land regime concerning (i) land pricing, (ii) land clearance, and (iii) the allocation of land outside auctions, following policy set out by Resolution 18-NQ/TW and the newly adopted Resolution 69-NQ/TW on land governance modernization. Land pricing is potentially one of the most important areas among the proposed reforms. The Draft, however, has notably not addressed a major concern recently raised by the public: When a project has been allocated or leased land, but the relevant authority has not yet issued the land-price decision, a “supplemental charge” continues to accrue for the entire waiting period. Under current rules, this charge is calculated at 5.4% per year on the ultimately determined land-use fee or land rent, materially shifting project economics and pricing risks to developers or end-buyers. Core Reforms on Land Pricing The Draft Amended Land Law sets out a number of reforms on land pricing, including the following: Land price tables: The Draft maintains provincial land price tables but clarifies the scope of application: They are used to determine land-related financial obligations of land users and compensation when the state recovers land; the government will detail the adjustment coefficient regime, ratios for land-use fee calculation by land type/user/form, and deductible infrastructure costs. Provincial people’s committees will continue to issue land price tables every five years, effective from January 1 of the first year in the cycle, with authority to supplement within the cycle as necessary. In provinces with cadastral maps and digital land price databases, the tables may be established down to the land-parcel level,
Read More