Things you should never do in front of your condo room

Another problem that many condominium dwellers may face is the ‘decorations’ in front of the rooms. This would not be a problem if every occupant in the property agreed to such decorations. This is however often not the case. Many condominiums and apartments have rules that prohibit owners from leaving objects that may obstruct public walk ways in front of their rooms or decorating their front doors.

Before we dive into our main topic, we will first explain some basic rights to your front door. Many people, particularly those that have bought a condo unit, may wonder whether their room’s front door is their property or does it belong to the building’s management? In most cases, the building’s management would inform occupants that their front doors and the area outside their rooms are the common property and they cannot decorate or leave objects that may obstruct or produce an ungainly sight in front of their rooms.

Legally, the term “common property” refers to all areas in the building, communal areas and the land that the property is located on, excluding the room units.

Now coming to our front door, we would think that our front door is not a communal property since we are the only ones to use the door to access our room. However, in Thailand’s Condominium Acts state that the floor and the walls that divide the units are considered the rights of every occupant in that building, the usage of such areas have to be in accordance with governing regulations.

Although your front door is not directly considered public property, however the outside of your door and walls that divide your room from other units may be considered central property and the estate’s central management may issue regulations to manage the area.

Many projects with good central management may issue regulations to manage the area outside each unit such as:
– Objects/ decorations may not be placed or done in front or on the door as the unit’s door and area outside is a shared space. Items such as religious/ sacred objects, mirrors etc. are prohibited from being placed on the door.
– Alterations and decorations to the room number are prohibited.
– Changing the door due to deterioration has to be in accordance with the building’s plan.
– Occupants are not allowed to place objects such as shoe rack, shoes, plant pot or large water cooler in front of their units.

There are many prohibitions that occupants may deem minor or even trivial. However, these regulations are issued for the well- being and harmony of everyone living in that building therefore should be obliged by everyone.

The rules issued by central management may vary from property to property, in some projects with strict management, placing a large water cooler in front of the room is prohibited. This is mainly because management does not want the delivery man to enter the building for security reasons, nor does the water containers left in front of the rooms produce an undesirable sight and may also obstruct the walk way. However, in some projects, placing water coolers and/or water containers in front of the rooms are permitted for occupant’s own convenience.

Many people may feel that they should have the right to decorate their front doors as they wish. This may be deemed inappropriate by some central management as they may feel that if occupants are left each to their own it would lead to disorder and ungainly sight for the project.