Property
No foreign land ownership, but strata title above the ground floor
The Constitution reserves land ownership to Cambodian natural and legal persons. The 2010 Law on Foreign Ownership permits foreigners to own strata-title units from the first floor upwards, not the ground floor. The other structural issue is that a large share of land is held on possessory rights rather than hard title, following the destruction of records under the Khmer Rouge.
Governing law
- Land Law, 2001 — Ownership, possession and concessions.
- Law on Providing Foreigners with Ownership Rights in Private Units of Co-owned Buildings, 2010 — Strata ownership above ground floor.
In practice
Foreigners cannot own land; they may own co-owned building units above the ground floor. Long-term leases up to 50 years, renewable, are the standard foreign structure. Hard title (registered) and soft title (commune-level possession) coexist, with very different security. Economic Land Concessions allow long-term state land use for agro-industrial projects. Soft title is common and cheaper but is not registered at the national cadastre — conversion to hard title before purchase is the standard recommendation. Cambodian-majority landholding companies are widely used by foreign investors, but the structure carries real control risk.