Start with a list they cannot misread
Developers rarely refuse outright. More often a list is acknowledged and then quietly closed out with a fraction of the work done. The defence is a list that cannot be misread: every item numbered, located by room and elevation, photographed, graded by severity and given a specific remedy. “Re-bed hollow tiles, bedroom two, six of forty-four” leaves nothing to interpret. “Some tiles loose” leaves everything.
Use the leverage while you have it
Before handover, the developer needs your signature and your final payment. That is the most leverage a buyer ever has, and it is why the inspection should happen a few days before the handover appointment, not after it.
Many contracts allow handover to be deferred until listed defects are fixed, or a sum to be retained against them. Whether yours does — and how to use it without putting yourself in breach — is a question for a Thai property lawyer before handover day, not after. Do not simply stop paying without advice.
Put everything in writing, with dates
WhatsApp is fine for arranging access, but every agreement that matters should be confirmed by email: the defect list, the developer’s acknowledgement, the date the work will be finished and the date you will check it. A dated written record is what makes a later complaint or claim straightforward.
Re-inspect rather than take their word
When the developer says the work is done, check every reference number individually and record each as fixed, fixed badly or not done. A list issued once is a request; a list checked against a returning inspector is an obligation. That updated record is what you sign against, or what you escalate with.
For condos: involve the juristic person
Defects in common property — the roof, risers, lifts, shared waterproofing — are not yours alone to pursue. Report them to the juristic person that manages the building as well as to the developer, so the building’s own records show when the problem was raised.
If it still is not fixed
Escalate in steps, keeping your written record at each one:
- A formal letter setting out the outstanding items, their reference numbers and a reasonable deadline
- The same letter sent by a Thai property lawyer, which developers tend to take more seriously
- A complaint to the Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB), which handles complaints about property developers
- Court proceedings, as a last resort and only on legal advice
A note on advice
This guide is practical experience from site, not legal advice. Contracts differ and so do developers. For anything involving withheld payments or a formal claim, speak to a Thai property lawyer. What we provide is the evidence: an independent, dated, photographic report that a lawyer, a developer or the OCPB can work from. See how our reports are laid out, or read about defects-liability periods.