Buying off-plan on Phuket means buying a promise, and the contract is where that promise is either protected or quietly hollowed out. Handover dates do slip — the question is what you’re owed when they do, and Thai off-plan contracts already answer it. Three clauses decide the outcome. Read them before you sign, not after.
The handover-date clause
Every contract names a specific completion and transfer date. But developers routinely include a clause letting them defer that date by 6 to 12 months without it counting as a breach. That deferral itself isn’t unusual or unfair — construction is construction. What matters is the reason the contract allows for it. Check the permitted grounds: ideally they’re limited to genuine force-majeure events, not open-ended “at the developer’s discretion.” A wide deferral clause with vague triggers is how a firm date becomes a moving one.
The termination remedy
This is the clause that gives the deadline teeth. If the developer defaults on the contract’s terms, a buyer typically has two routes:
- Rescind and get paid back. Cancel the contract for a refund of everything paid, plus interest — commonly around 7% per year on the funds the developer held.
- Wait and penalise. Stay in and take delivery, but claim a contractual penalty calculated on the amount paid, accruing for each day of delay until the unit is actually handed over.
Which one is right depends on whether you still want the unit. Either way, the point is that a default should cost the developer, not you — so confirm both remedies are actually written in, and how the penalty is calculated.
Who pays the annual tax
A common line is that “Thailand has no property tax.” That’s not quite true. There is an annual Housing and Buildings tax that applies in cases such as a unit held on a leasehold contract, and the contract decides who carries it. Watch for a clause that quietly shifts this recurring cost onto you. Treat the rate and how it’s assessed as something to confirm against current Thai tax rules with your own adviser — tax figures change, and this piece is about the clause, not a current rate.
The habit worth keeping
None of this is exotic — it’s standard off-plan contract territory, and it’s exactly what a rushed buyer skips. Read the delay window, the termination remedy, and the tax allocation before signing, and get a Thai-qualified adviser to check them against your actual contract. This explains the mechanics in general terms; it isn’t legal advice on any specific deal. For the ownership side, see our guides to how foreigners hold Thai property and freehold versus leasehold.