Koh Larn Land Management Reorganization

The meeting, however, was unable to come to a conclusion on rental increases, as consensus among the various participants was not possible at that time. The strongest opinion was presented by the Pattaya Inspector who said the land rental rates on Koh Larn are currently too lower and need to be raised.

The meeting was observed by the Pattaya Public Asset Commission.

At the meeting, however, Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome referred to the regulations regarding the approval process of renters on Koh Larn. The applicant must be a Thai or Thai juristic person. The rentable land, on Koh Larn is divided into three plot sizes of 81, 31 and 89 rai, respectively. All renters are required to deposit 50,000 baht in key money. The rental period is set under 30 years, and the premises will, technically, become the government’s asset after the contract expires.

Mayor Itthiphol continued that the contract agreement also requires that the premises’ construction be limited to just two story buildings and the rental rates cannot be altered. Pattaya Inspector, Sitthishart Muangkhum, stated his only concern about Koh Larn Land management was that the current rental rate of 50,000 baht per plot was too low and feared that speculators might take advantage of this situation by renting the land and then subletting it to renters who might be unable to fulfill their commitments. If the authorized renters defaulted on their obligations, Koh Larn would, ultimately, be full of speculators looking for subleters instead of operating businesses. Therefore Koh Larn’s rental rates should be increased in order to constraint the speculators.

The results of the meeting were inconclusive. The commissioners instructed and urged Pattaya management to reconsider rental rates on Koh Larn, as well as, the issue of an additional 5% tax on every plot, which appears to be unfair from a business perspective as stated by those at the meeting.