You find the perfect condo listing online. The photos show a gorgeous panoramic city view from the 15th floor. Rent is 18,000 THB near BTS Phra Khanong. You sign the lease, move in, and three months later a 30 story tower starts going up right across Sukhumvit Soi 50. Within a year, your sunset view is a concrete wall. This happens in Bangkok more than you think, and it is almost always avoidable if you know what to look for.

Why Blocked Views Are So Common in Bangkok

Bangkok is a city that never stops building. Unlike cities with strict height restrictions or view corridor protections, Bangkok's zoning laws allow tall buildings to go up on almost any plot along a major road. A quiet low rise neighborhood near BTS Udom Suk today could become a cluster of 40 story towers in two years.

The pattern is predictable. Developers buy land near new or extended BTS and MRT lines, wait for prices to rise, then build. If you rented a condo at The Base Sukhumvit 50 five years ago, you had solid views toward the river. Now there are multiple new projects in the immediate area that have changed the skyline completely.

The same thing happened around BTS Wutthakat after the Silom Line extension opened. What used to be a low density area along the river is now filling up with high rises. If your lease is only 12 months, you might be fine. But if you plan to stay two or three years, that empty lot next door is a serious risk to your quality of life.

How to Check for Upcoming Construction Near Your Condo

Before you sign anything, take 30 minutes to do some homework. Start with Google Maps satellite view. Look at the land immediately surrounding your building. Empty lots, parking lots, old shophouses on large plots. These are all potential construction sites. If the lot is big enough for a tower and sits near a train station, assume something will be built there eventually.

Next, search for EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) reports. Thai developers are required to submit these before construction. You can find them on the ONEP website. Search by district or road name. If there is an approved EIA for a 35 story condo on Soi Thonglor 25, that project is definitely coming.

Walk the neighborhood in person. Construction site fencing, piling rigs, and "coming soon" billboards are obvious signs. Around MRT Phetchaburi, for example, several large plots have recently been fenced off. Anyone renting a mid floor unit at a nearby condo like Life Asoke Hype should check what is planned for those sites before committing.

Red Flags in the Listing Photos

Agents and landlords know that views sell units. So pay close attention to how photos are presented. If the listing shows interior shots but zero balcony or window views, ask yourself why. A 25th floor unit with no view photos is suspicious.

Watch out for photos taken at extreme angles. A photo shot from the far corner of a balcony, pointing sideways rather than straight out, usually means the direct view is already partially blocked. I once visited a unit at Ideo Mobi Sukhumvit near BTS On Nut where the listing photos made it look open and airy. In person, a neighboring building was less than 15 meters away, completely blocking the east side.

Also check the floor plan orientation. A "city view" unit facing north on Ratchadaphisek Road might look straight into the next tower. Ask the agent exactly which direction the windows face and what is currently visible. Better yet, visit the unit between 10am and 2pm when you can see natural light conditions clearly.

Which Bangkok Areas Carry the Highest Risk

Any area with active BTS or MRT expansion is high risk for view changes. Right now, that includes the Yellow Line corridor through Lat Phrao and the Orange Line route through Din Daeng and Huai Khwang. Land prices along these routes are still relatively low, which means developers are buying plots aggressively.

Sukhumvit between Ekkamai and Bearing is another hotspot. Condos like Ideo Sukhumvit 93 or Knightsbridge Prime Onnut have seen significant construction activity nearby in recent years. Rents in this stretch run from 12,000 to 22,000 THB for a one bedroom, and view quality can vary wildly between units in the same building.

Older established areas like Sathorn Soi 1 or Langsuan have less available land, so the risk is lower. But you will pay for that stability. Expect rents of 30,000 THB and up for a one bedroom with a view that is unlikely to change.

Protect Yourself in the Lease Agreement

You cannot legally prevent a building from going up next door. But you can protect yourself financially. If you are paying a premium for a view unit, negotiate a clause that allows early termination if major construction begins within a certain radius. Not every landlord will agree, but it is worth asking, especially for leases longer than 12 months.

You can also negotiate a rent reduction clause tied to construction disruption. Noise, dust, and blocked light are legitimate quality of life issues. Some landlords near the Rama 9 MRT area have agreed to 10 to 15 percent rent reductions when neighboring construction made units significantly less livable.

The smartest move is simply choosing your floor wisely. If the building has 35 floors and you rent on the 28th, you are much safer than on the 12th. Higher floors cost more, but the view protection can be worth the extra 3,000 to 5,000 THB per month.

Finding a condo with a lasting view takes more than scrolling through pretty photos. It takes local knowledge, real neighborhood research, and a careful eye for what is coming next. If you want help filtering Bangkok condos by verified view quality and construction risk, try searching on superagent.co. The platform pulls real data so you can rent with your eyes wide open.