Property
No foreign land ownership; long leases through investment permits
The Transfer of Immovable Property Restriction Act bars foreigners from owning land or taking leases beyond one year. The route for investors is a Myanmar Investment Commission permit allowing leases of up to fifty years plus two ten-year extensions.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Land administration is fragmented across agencies by land classification, including farmland, grants, and town land. Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Land rules add another layer.
Governing law
- Transfer of Immovable Property Restriction Act 1987
- Myanmar Investment Law (2016), land rights provisions
- Condominium Law2016
In practice
The 2016 Condominium Law permits foreign ownership of up to 40 percent of units above the sixth floor of a registered condominium, but registration of qualifying buildings has been slow, so the practical stock is small. Land titling is incomplete and overlapping claims are common, particularly where customary tenure meets statutory classification, and the 2018 amendment to the Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Land Law criminalised unauthorised occupation of land many communities had farmed for generations. Since 2021 land dispute resolution has been unreliable and military-linked expropriation risk is material. Verified title searches are difficult to obtain.