Buying property in Thailand as a foreigner?

The biggest and most important question foreign buyers ask us is “Can I buy property in Thailand?” 

Can a foreigner buy a condominium?

Freehold

Yes. Foreigners can purchase a freehold condominium under their own name and legally be the owner with your name on the title deed and recognised under Thai law. The only limiting factor for a foreigner to purchase a condominium in Thailand is to make sure there is foreign quota available in the project.

Leasehold

Yes. Leasehold projects can be wholly owned by foreign buyers but they will be passed to the original Thai freehold owner once the lease has ended.

Leasehold in Thailand is for a 30 year period with an extra two 30 year extensions at the end of each period, for a total of 90 years.

What is foreign quota and how does it work:

As a rule, foreigners can only own up to 49% of the available area within a project, with the other 51% having to be owned under a Thai name or through a Thai company.

For example, if there is 100 residential units in a condominium project, all the same size at 100 sqm, the maximum that can be owned by foreigners is 49 units or 49%. The other 51 units must be owned under a Thai name or in a Thai company. The amount of ownership in a building can be different, for example 80% Thai owned and 20% foreign owned, but it could never be 50% Thai & 50% foreign owned, or 80% foreign owned and 20% Thai owned. The ownership of a condominium project must always have a Thai owned majority.

For another example, if we take a new build development with a large penthouse at 1000 sqm and ten 100 sqm units. If the building is almost at the max quota for foreign ownership the developer might have to be careful as to who they sell to. Selling the ten smaller 100sqm units to foreign buyers might push the foreign quota to the max meaning they will be unable sell the penthouse to a foreign buyer, whereas if they sell the penthouse to a foreign buyer pushing the quota to the max they are than unable to sell the ten smaller units to foreign buyers.

It is worth nothing that as a foreign owner you will still have and keep all the same legal and communal rights as a Thai owner, nothing is different in this respect.

Your agent will ask in advance if you are purchasing under a Thai or foreign name, this way they can inform you of whats available. If you do decide to purchase a condominium the agent will check again that foreign ownership is available in the project before the signing of any contracts and before any form of payment or booking is made.

Can foreigners buy a house or land?

The short answer is no. Foreigners cannot purchase land directly in their own name, there are legal exceptions to this law but they are so rarely used that it can be expensive and hard to find someone able to arrange it for you.

If you are looking to purchase a house or land in Thailand there are two popular options used:

Legally a foreigner can own the building and construction on the land but not the land itself. An option for some people is to lease the land for 30 years and build their own house on top, giving you total control of the property. The property construction and land lease would both be registered and signed off at the local government office making it official. This option does depend on being able to find a landowner willing to lease out their land for 30 years so it is not an option for everyone. Most housing developments or single houses in Bangkok, for example, are unable to cater for this as they are selling the property and land as one, there are a few options in other areas such as Phuket but it is usually reserved for higher end luxury developments.

The second and probably most popular option for foreigners is to purchase a house or land through a majority Thai owned company you are a shareholder of, this will give the company full ownership of the property, again this is only worth it for the higher end luxury properties as it can involve extra monthly costs and most likely won’t be worth it for cheaper property.

To find out more and see what options are available for you speak to one of our agents today!

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