How MPS Screens the Villas We Manage — Our 2026 Ownership Due Diligence

The short version. If you have not already read our companion piece, start there: The 2026 Samui Nominee Crackdown — A Straight-Talking Guide for Villa Owners. It explains what is happening at the DBD and Land Department, and why 2026 is genuinely different. This post explains what MPS is doing about it — practically, at onboarding, in our management agreement, and inside the software we use to run our operations.

We share this openly for three reasons:

1. So current owners know what we do and why. You should not have to guess.
2. So new owners can decide if we are the right manager for them. Some managers will not ask these questions. We do. If that is a dealbreaker for a potential owner, we would rather find out on the first call than after the contract is signed.
3. So the wider Samui community sees a working example of what responsible villa management looks like under the 2026 framework.

What we are — and what we are not

MPS is a villa management company. We handle marketing, bookings, guest communication, housekeeping, maintenance coordination, dynamic pricing, owner reporting and everything in between. We are a services business. Our revenue comes from management fees on real bookings.

We do not:

• Hold title to any villa or land on your behalf
• Sell or broker real estate
• Provide legal, tax or immigration advice
• Set up companies or nominee structures for owners

That distinction matters. The 2026 crackdown targets Thai companies used to hold Thai land for foreign beneficiaries. Property management services are not the target. But we still care deeply about the ownership status of every villa we take on — because a title problem is an operational problem the day it happens, and because we take our own compliance obligations seriously.

What we ask at onboarding

When a new owner comes to us, our onboarding process now includes ownership due diligence as a first-class step, alongside the contract, banking, photos, listing and house manual.

At a high level, we ask every owner:

• Under what structure is the villa held? Personal name, condominium freehold, Thai spouse ownership, Thai limited company, registered long-term lease, BOI investor route, Treaty of Amity, or something else.
• Who is on title? The name(s) on the chanote (title deed) or condo unit title.
• Documentary evidence — we ask to see the relevant title document, and where applicable the company affidavit, shareholder list (บอจ.5), lease registration, or BOI certificate.
• Owner representations — the owner represents in writing that the villa is held lawfully under Thai law.

We do not publish the exact wording of our screening form or the internal risk-scoring rubric we apply. The reason is straightforward: a public template is a template for evasion. Our screening is designed to be useful, not to be gamed.

How our management agreement handles it

Our standard villa management agreement includes clauses covering:

• Ownership representation — the owner represents that the villa is held in compliance with Thai law and warrants the accuracy of the ownership documentation provided at onboarding.
• Indemnity — the owner indemnifies MPS against any loss, cost or liability arising from a challenge to the villa's title or ownership structure.
• Right to decline or terminate — MPS reserves the right to decline onboarding, or to terminate management, where ownership documentation cannot be provided or where the arrangement is credibly challenged by a competent authority.
• Confidentiality — everything an owner shares with us at onboarding is treated as confidential and used solely for the operation of the villa and the fulfilment of our own compliance obligations.

These clauses are drafted so that responsible owners feel supported, not interrogated. Owners are always free to have their own Thai lawyer review our agreement — we welcome it.

What happens when something looks off

Occasionally, ownership documentation raises questions during onboarding. Our approach in those cases is not to lecture, and not to walk away without a conversation. It is:

1. Ask. Sometimes what looks like a gap is just a missing document that exists in a drawer somewhere.
2. Suggest professional advice. We refer owners to Thai counsel (we listed several firms at the end of the companion post). We do not act as their lawyer.
3. Decide together. In some cases the owner regularises the structure with counsel and comes back. In others, they conclude the villa is not a fit for our management standards, and we part on friendly terms. Both outcomes are acceptable.

We have declined to onboard villas in 2026. We will decline more in 2026 and 2027 if the substance test cannot be met. That is a considered choice, and we believe it is the right one for owners who are on the right side of the line — because it protects the reputation of the portfolio they sit inside.

Where this lives in our software

In 2026 we have added a Compliance Snapshot to every villa record in our Operations Hub. It stores:

• Declared ownership type
• Documents on file, with expiry dates where relevant (leases in particular)
• Date of the most recent owner representation
• Internal risk tier and last-reviewed date
• A change log of any updates

The purpose is not surveillance. It is so that if any question ever arises — from an authority, from an insurer, from a prospective owner comparing us to other managers — we have contemporaneous evidence that we asked, the owner represented, and we relied in good faith. That is the operator's version of the substance test.

About MPS itself

A fair question we sometimes get is: "You are asking us about our structure — what about yours?"

Mr Property Siam was founded in 2021. It is a service company that started with a small founding capital and grew from real operations — real bookings, real fees, real reinvestment. It owns no land and no villa freeholds. Its majority Thai shareholder is a working co-founder of the business, not a passive name on a certificate.

We think this matters because the DBD's own guidance is that the modern test is one of substance — who paid, who controls, who benefits and whether the arrangement is plausible. MPS was built to answer all four of those questions with a straight face, and we hold ourselves to the same standard we now ask of the villas we manage. We have also engaged Thai counsel to periodically stress-test our structure. If you would like a written summary of MPS's compliance profile before signing with us, we will provide one on request.

Talk to us

If you own a villa on Samui and you are trying to work out where you stand, or if you are looking for a manager who will not pretend the 2026 changes are not happening — we are here.

Disclaimer: this article describes Mr Property Siam's internal onboarding and management practices as of August 2026, and does not constitute legal, tax or investment advice. Mr Property Siam is a villa management company, not a law firm. Our processes may evolve as Thai regulatory guidance develops. For advice on your specific situation, please consult a licensed Thai lawyer.

For advice on your specific situation, please consult a licensed Thai lawyer.