At this moment, residents of Ashton Asoke admit to being under significant stress. It has been over a month since the Central Administrative Court revoked the building permit, and residents still lack clarity on the process or the support from the project developer or the government for over 600 families affected.

            This has prompted the group of residents to gather once again to demand justice and inquire about the progress from Ananda, the developer of the luxury condominium project, through a live broadcast on August 30, 2021. This marks the second time the residents have taken their concerns to the media.

            Clearly, the assistance plan submitted to Ananda on August 24 has yet to yield any conclusions. Currently, residents are united in stating that financial institutions that previously provided loans are now refusing to allow retention on the interest of the original loan amounts. Many institutions are also denying requests for refinancing due to the risk associated with the collateral, which is the ownership of the units in the Ashton Asoke project, as a direct consequence of the court's ruling.

            The Ashton Asoke residents claim that their total loan amounts with various financial institutions are approximately 3 billion baht. The refusal to approve retention or refinancing has resulted in an additional interest burden of 2-3%, leading to estimated damages of around 60-90 million baht per year. If the case takes another 5 years to resolve, the total damages could reach approximately 300-450 million baht.

            Moreover, the residents are unable to sell their units to outsiders as no one is willing to purchase units in the Ashton Asoke project, causing severe financial harm.

            In the event that the Supreme Administrative Court upholds the Central Administrative Court's ruling and orders the demolition of the Ashton Asoke building, we will suffer severe damages that may not be compensated by government agencies or the project developer. This situation is even more serious than land expropriation, as land expropriation at least provides compensation for the land, whereas we may receive no compensation at all if the building is ultimately demolished.

            All of us have saved diligently and borrowed money from financial institutions to purchase our units in good faith, hoping to use these units as homes for ourselves and our families forever. Yet, our hopes may be shattered without our involvement in any wrongdoing, and we could become victims of the unreliability of the permits issued by government agencies, which we could not foresee before signing the purchase contracts.

            If our demands are not addressed by the Ashton Asoke project developer within 14 days from today, we, the residents of Ashton Asoke, over 1,000 individuals from more than 600 families, will have no choice but to escalate our demands to government agencies and/or the project developer in the future.

      

 

Statement No. 2
August 30, 2021

Residents of Ashton Asoke Affected by the Ruling of the Central Administrative Court


On July 30, 2021, the Central Administrative Court ruled in case number 53/2559, case number 19/2564, to revoke the notice of intent to construct, modify, demolish, or relocate buildings or change the use of buildings without applying for a permit under Section 39 bis and Section 39 ter of the Building Control Act B.E. 2522 issued to Ananda MF Asia Asoke Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Ananda Development Public Company Limited, retroactively effective from the date of the issuance of the notice, which is subject to appeal within 30 days from the date of the Central Administrative Court's ruling.

We, the residents of Ashton Asoke, understand that the government agencies and Ananda MF Asia Asoke Co., Ltd. have already appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court. However, there has been no indication that any government agency or project developer has implemented measures to mitigate the impact of the Central Administrative Court's ruling in any tangible way, which has led to financial institutions that previously provided loans to residents refusing to allow retention on the interest of the original loan amounts. Many institutions are also denying requests for refinancing.

This is due to the collateral, which is the ownership of the units in the Ashton Asoke project, being in an unacceptable risk situation as a direct result of the Central Administrative Court's ruling.

If the Supreme Administrative Court upholds the Central Administrative Court's ruling and orders the demolition of the Ashton Asoke building, we will suffer severe damages that may not be compensated by government agencies or the project developer. This situation is even more serious than land expropriation, as land expropriation at least provides compensation for the land, whereas we may receive no compensation at all if the building is ultimately demolished.


All of us have saved diligently and borrowed money from financial institutions to purchase our units in good faith, hoping to use these units as homes for ourselves and our families forever. Yet, our hopes may be shattered without our involvement in any wrongdoing, and we could become victims of the unreliability of the permits issued by government agencies, which we could not foresee before signing the purchase contracts.


We, the residents of Ashton Asoke, have a total loan amount with various financial institutions of approximately 3 billion baht, which means we will incur an additional interest burden of 2-3% due to the refusal to approve retention or refinancing, resulting in estimated damages of around 60-90 million baht per year. If the case takes another 5 years to resolve, the total damages could reach approximately 300-450 million baht due to the loss of opportunity for retention or refinancing.

This is without anyone taking responsibility. Additionally, we are unable to sell our units to outsiders as no one is willing to purchase units in the Ashton Asoke project, causing severe financial harm.


On August 24, 2021, more than 300 residents of Ashton Asoke, along with the property management manager, with the approval of the condominium committee, sent a letter to Ananda MF Asia Asoke Co., Ltd. and Ananda Development Public Company Limited requesting a meeting to discuss the issues and provide feedback on potential solutions. However, to date, we have not received any response from the project developer.


If our demands are not addressed by the Ashton Asoke project developer within 14 days from today, we, the residents of Ashton Asoke, over 1,000 individuals from more than 600 families, will have no choice but to escalate our demands to government agencies and/or the project developer in the future.


Group of Ashton Asoke Residents
August 30, 2021