Thailand House Registration Book or Tabien Bahn is an official document issued by the Local Municipality or District Office to Thai nationals, as well as foreigners, owning a residential property in Thailand, as a proof of a person’s permanent legal address and voting district.
There are two types of Thailand House Registration Book:
The Tabien Bahn may or may not bear the name of the real owner of the house. This document only shows the house number and details of all the people living in a specific property. This document is not valid as a proof of Real Estate ownership. It only proves that the property has a registered address in Thailand. You can verify the ownership of property by its Title Deed or Chanote.
The House Registration Book for a condominium unit is the same as that for house and so is the application procedure. The only difference is that the one for condominium specifies the type of housing as “Condominium”.
No, you can only use title deeds as mortgage collateral. You can simply use the Tabien Bahn as a proof of address of the person in official registration procedures.
Although you can own more than one house or condo unit in Thailand, each with a different Tabien Bahn, you can only have one principal residence. This is the only Tabien Bahn in which you can have your name registered.
Yes, they can issue a Tabien Bahn without the house owner’s name on it. You have the right to change, register another person’s name into it or leave it blank. However, if you need to sell the property and there is no name registered in the Tabien Bahn, you have to pay 3.3% Business Tax on the higher of the selling price and the assessed value. This is unless the owner of the property is a private person (not a company) for over 5 years, in which case you only need to pay 0.5% Stamp Duty and withholding tax, if any. You are not required to pay Business Tax in cases where the owner’s name appears in the Tabien Bahn for over 1 year.
If registered in the Tabien Bahn as the owner, you have to fulfill the following legal obligations:
Birth Notifications – when there is a birth that took place in the house, either of the parents or you must inform the Local Registrar within 15 days.
Death Notifications – when somebody died in the house, you must inform the District Office or the police within 24 hours.
Moving Notification – when someone moves in or out of the house, you must inform the District Office within 15 days.
House Number Application – when you plan to demolish an existing house, you must inform the District Office and apply for a demolition permit. You need to apply for a construction permit before you can build a new structure. You then must request for a new house number from the District Office within 15 days after the construction is complete.
You can register a minor in the Tabien Baan as long as a Thai parent or a Thai guardian also registers along with him or her.
Yes, you just need to apply to the District Office and they will issue a new Tabien Bahn for a minimal fee. You can either go to Police Station to secure a Police Report for lost Tabien Bahn and submit to the District Office or you may go directly to the District Office.
The easiest way to have your name transferred out of your current Tabien Bahn to a new one is to have both done at the District Office that has jurisdiction over the house or condo unit you are moving into. You can do this within a day because today all the district offices have on-line connection.
