Property
Foreigners cannot own land, but may own up to 49 percent of a condominium building
The Land Code prohibits foreign land ownership save for narrow investment exceptions. Foreigners may own condominium units outright, subject to a 49 percent cap on foreign ownership of the total floor area of each building.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Registration is at the provincial or district Land Office where the land sits. Long leases are registrable for up to thirty years and renewable by agreement rather than by right.
Governing law
- Land Code B.E. 24971954
- Condominium Act B.E. 25221979
- Civil and Commercial Code, Book IVProperty
In practice
Common workarounds each have limits: a thirty-year lease is enforceable but renewal promises bind only contractually and have failed in litigation; a Thai company holding land for a foreign beneficiary risks nominee findings; and usufruct or superficies rights give use rather than ownership. Buildings can be owned separately from the land they sit on, which is a genuine and underused route. Condominium purchases require evidence that funds were remitted from abroad in foreign currency. Transfer taxes comprise a 2 percent transfer fee, stamp duty or specific business tax, and withholding tax, usually split by negotiation.