Buying Property in Thailand as a Foreigner

Foreigners can buy property in Thailand, though the structure you use depends on the type of property you are buying.

For instance, you can own a condominium outright, with your name on the title deed. However, you cannot own land. Which means a villa or a house is held through a different arrangement. Understanding that difference before you start looking will save you a good deal of time.

This guide covers the essentials of acquiring property in Thailand as a foreigner, including legal options, purchase costs, process, and the checks worth making before you commit.

Can Foreigners Buy Property in Thailand?

Under Section 86 of the Land Code, foreigners cannot own land in Thailand. But that restriction applies to land, not to property in general. The Condominium Act (B.E. 2522, 1979) and the Civil and Commercial Code provide other pathways for foreigners to acquire property.

• The Condominium Act (B.E. 2522) allows you to own a condominium unit freehold, in your own name, with no time limit.
• The Civil and Commercial Code provides for registered rights over land and buildings belonging to someone else, including leases of up to 30 years, superficies, usufruct, and habitation.

A further right, Sap-Ing-Sith, was created by its own act in 2019 and works as a stronger alternative to a lease. But it's not commonly available.

Now which of these available routes you choose entirely depends on whether the property has land attached. A condominium unit does not, so it can be owned outright. On the other hand, a villa, a house, or a plot does, so it needs one of four structures below:

The first three of these rights work the same way. None of them gives you the land, which stays registered to its owner.

A Thai company works differently. The company owns the land outright and the title is issued in its name. What you hold is shares in that company rather than a right over the land.

Let's take a look at these property ownership models in detail.

Buying a Condominium in Thailand as a Foreigner

Condominiums are the only property foreigners can own outright in Thailand, which makes them the most straightforward option. However, there are two conditions for that:

1. The building must have foreign quota available. Under the Condominium Act, foreigners can hold up to 49% of a building's registered floor area on a freehold basis, with the remaining 51% staying in Thai ownership.
2. The purchase money must come from abroad. Funds have to be remitted into Thailand in foreign currency, and your Thai bank issues a Foreign Exchange Transaction form recording the transfer.

One thing to keep in mind is that the quota is calculated by floor area rather than by unit. So a building with a hundred units will not necessarily have forty-nine available to foreign buyers. The confirmation regarding this should come in writing from the developer, the building's juristic person, or from a check at the Land Office, before any deposit changes hands.

Refer to our guide on buying a condo in Thailand for more details. 

Buying a Villa in Thailand as a Foreigner

Villas and houses work differently from condominiums. Because foreigners cannot own land, the purchase generally separates into two rights. You lease the land, and you own the building standing on it.

Section 540 of the Civil and Commercial Code sets a maximum lease term of 30 years. Once you sign a lease, you have to register it at the Land Office.

Keep in mind that without that registration, any lease over three years is unenforceable. Which means a signed contract alone gives you very little.

The building is dealt with separately through a superficies right. Superficies gives you ownership of the structure itself. You can sell it, mortgage it, or leave it to your heirs depending on whether you choose fixed term (max 30 years) or a lifetime superficies (ends when you die).

For a villa you intend to keep in the family, the fixed term is usually the better choice. The lease underneath it is capped at 30 years in any case, so the extra years a lifetime superficies might give you would cover a building sitting on land you no longer have the right to occupy.

The 30+30+30 structure and the 2025 ruling

For many years, developers marketed villas in Thailand on a 30+30+30 basis. You would sign a registered 30-year lease along with two further 30-year renewals agreed in advance, and the arrangement was presented as 90 years of tenure.

That structure no longer holds. On 18 March 2025, the Supreme Court ruled in Judgment No. 4655/2566 that pre-agreed renewals of this kind are void, since they attempt to extend a lease beyond the limit in Section 540. The case concerned a villa in Phuket where the buyer had paid the full ninety years of rent in advance.

Your registered lease is a property right, and it survives even if the land changes hands. A promise to renew is a personal agreement with that particular landowner, and it does not transfer with the land.

In practice, this means treating a 30-year lease as 30 years when you assess what you are buying.

What to negotiate instead

Although the renewal promise no longer carries weight, several other terms remain enforceable and are often left out of standard contracts:

• A right of first refusal if the landowner decides to sell
• The right to assign or sell the lease without the landlord's consent
• The right to sub-let
• A formula for calculating rent on any future renewal
• Rights to build on and alter the property

Alternatives to a Leasing Property in Thai

Where a lease does not suit, two other registered rights can take its place, each with a particular use.

A. Usufruct

A usufruct gives you the right to use a property and take its income. Its advantage over a lease is duration, since it can be registered for your lifetime rather than capped at 30 years.

The trade-off is that it ends with you. Section 1418 terminates a usufruct on the death of the holder, with no exceptions, so your heirs receive nothing. You also cannot sell or transfer it.

This makes it a poor fit for an arm's length purchase, and a reasonable one where a Thai spouse owns the land and the foreign spouse wants secure occupation for life.

B. Sap-Ing-Sith

Introduced in 2019, Sap-Ing-Sith runs for up to 30 years like a lease, but gives you more. You can transfer it and mortgage it, and it stays attached to the property if the underlying ownership changes.

On paper it is the strongest of the alternatives. In practice, few developers offer it and most landowners are unfamiliar with it, so ask whether it is available rather than assuming it will be.

There is a third right, habitation, which allows you to live in a property rent free. Since you cannot let the property, transfer the right, or pass it to your heirs, it has no real application to a purchase and appears mainly in family arrangements.

Using a Thai Majority Company to Buy Property

A Thai majority company can own land, which is why buyers often ask whether they can set one up and purchase through it.

Legally, it works where the company is real. Which means Thai shareholders hold at least 51%, they put in their own capital, and they take part in running the business. These companies can own land in the ordinary way.

What foreign buyers are usually offered is different. A nominee structure where the Thai shareholders hold their shares on your behalf, contribute nothing, and follow your instructions. That is prohibited under the Land Code.

Since 2025, Thai authorities have been reviewing shareholdings across the property sector. If you are found to be using nominees, the penalties are not limited to fines and imprisonment, you also lose the property.

If you already hold Thai property this way, it is advisable to review the structure now rather than waiting for someone else to review it for you.

How Much Does It Cost to Buy Property in Thailand?

Transaction costs in Thailand are relatively low. How they are divided is a matter of negotiation rather than law, so the split should be settled in the contract.

Buyers typically bear one to two percent of the purchase price in closing costs, subject to what is agreed.

Ongoing costs after purchase include the common area fee and sinking fund contribution for condominiums, building insurance, utilities, and Land and Building Tax.

How the Purchase Process Works

Most transactions complete within 30 to 90 days, and the sequence is broadly the same whichever structure you use.

1. Agree terms and pay the reservation deposit, typically THB 100,000 to 200,000, which takes the property off the market.
2. Carry out due diligence, covering the title search and the checks set out below. This is the stage where problems surface while you can still withdraw.
3. Sign the sale and purchase agreement once the checks are clear.
4. Remit the funds from overseas. Your bank issues the Foreign Exchange Transaction form at this point, which the Land Office will need.
5. Complete the transfer at the Land Office, where the parties attend in person or by attorney, taxes and fees are settled, and the registration is made. A condominium title deed is issued in your name, while a villa's lease and superficies are registered against the land title.

Off-plan purchases run differently, with payments staged against construction milestones and transfer taking place only on completion.

What Documents Do You Need to Buy Property in Thailand?

The Land Office requires the following for a condominium purchase:

• Passport
• Foreign Exchange Transaction form issued by your Thai bank
• Signed sale and purchase agreement
• Written confirmation of foreign quota availability from the juristic person
• The unit's chanote title deed
• Transfer documents executed at the Land Office

A villa purchase additionally involves the registered lease agreement, the superficies registration, the land title deed, the construction permit for the building, and the house registration book (tabien baan).

What to Check Before Buying Property in Thailand

Most difficulties encountered by foreign buyers in Thailand are identifiable before a deposit is paid.

• Title verification: A chanote, formally Nor Sor 4 Jor, is a fully surveyed freehold title and the strongest form of ownership document. Weaker documents such as Nor Sor 3 Gor confer lesser rights. A title search will also reveal mortgages, servitudes, and access rights registered against the land.
• Quota confirmation: For a condominium, obtain written confirmation from the juristic person or the developer that foreign quota remains available for the unit, before the deposit is paid.
• Developer background: This is especially relevant for off-plan purchases. The relevant documents  to check in this case are the construction permits, the environmental impact assessment approval where the project requires one, and the company's registration with the Department of Business Development.
• Independent legal representation: Instructing your own Thai property lawyer, rather than one introduced by the developer or agent, keeps the advice you receive independent of the sale.

Buying Property in Thailand with Emerhub

Buying property in Thailand without local advice carries real risk. Most of the problems foreign buyers run into are avoidable, but only before the deposit is paid.

Emerhub's team in Thailand can help you with:

• Choosing the right structure for the property you are buying
• Due diligence on the property, the title, and the seller
• Reviewing your contracts before you sign
• Setting up and maintaining any company holding the property

If you already own Thai property and are unsure whether the arrangement is sound, we can review it and tell you where you stand. Fill out the form below to talk to one of our experts. 

Official Sources

• Land Code Act B.E. 2497, Sections 86 and 111 to 113 on the prohibition and penalties. Administered by the Department of Lands
• Condominium Act B.E. 2522 (1979), on foreign freehold ownership and the 49% quota. Parliamentary Library record.
• Civil and Commercial Code, Sections 537 to 571 on leases, 1410 to 1416 on superficies, 1417 to 1428 on usufruct, and 1402 to 1409 on habitation
• Sap-Ing-Sith Act B.E. 2562, published in the Royal Gazette Volume 136, Part 56 Kor, page 97 on 30 April 2019 and in force from 26 October 2019. Senate legislative record
• Supreme Court Judgment No. 4655/2566, handed down 18 March 2025
• Department of Lands for title and registration matters