Thai police shut down 21 villas on Koh Samui, foreigners evicted

Police on the picturesque island of Koh Samui swooped and shut down 21 luxury villas that were built illegally on the pristine Khao Ma Ngaen mountain, leaving foreign tenants scrambling to pack their bags.

Municipal, military, and ombudsman officials yesterday, September 17, slapped closure notices on the villas, which were among 46 properties constructed without permits. These villas had brazenly encroached on the mountainside in the Bo Phut subdistrict, a popular tourist hub.

Three of the 21 villas were occupied by foreign tenants, who were left no choice but to vacate. One of them, a Frenchman running a local cleaning business, had signed a one-year lease and was paying 20,000 baht a month for his slice of paradise.

“I had no idea this place was illegal,” he said as he packed his belongings. All tenants cooperated and swiftly vacated the premises.

The remaining villas, though empty, were still being advertised as available for lease, luring potential tenants into the same legal mess.

Colonel Dusit Kesornkaeo, head of environmental protection at the Internal Security Operations Command, confirmed the crackdown, stating that the villas were ordered closed after no appeals were filed against the original ruling.

“These properties had no right to be here.”

The 46 villas, including the 21 already closed, were part of a wider illegal development scheme run by three companies, all of which failed to obtain proper building permits, reported Bangkok Post.

In related news, Koh Samui Municipality has demolished two luxury villas under construction without proper authorisation on a hillside in Koh Samui. The owners failed to comply with the municipality’s order to carry out the demolition themselves. Koh Samui district chief Kampanat Klinsaowakon, alongside Colonel Dusit Kaysornkaew of the Fourth Army Region’s land investigative unit and other officials, spearheaded the operation to demolish the villas.

In other news, Phuket’s villa market has seen a remarkable surge in the first half of 2024, surpassing the total launches for the entirety of 2023.