Foreign Ownership in Thailand: Freehold, Leasehold and Company Structures
The three legal routes foreigners use to own Thai property, what each one means at resale, and the paperwork that has to be right on transfer day.
Almost every question we get from first-time buyers reduces to one thing: can I actually own it? The short answer is yes for condominiums, and yes with structure for houses and villas. Here is the detail.
Route 1: Condominium freehold
A foreign individual can own a condominium unit outright, in their own name, on a freehold basis — provided the building''s foreign ownership does not exceed 49% of total saleable floor area. The remaining 51% is reserved for Thai nationals and Thai-majority entities.
Two practical consequences:
- Always confirm the remaining quota in writing before you reserve. Popular buildings run out, and a unit sold to you as freehold can only be transferred as leasehold once the quota is full.
- The purchase funds must arrive from overseas in foreign currency and be converted in Thailand, so the bank can issue the Foreign Exchange Transaction certificate. Without it, the Land Office will not register foreign freehold. This trips up buyers who transfer from an existing Thai account.
Route 2: Leasehold
Land in Thailand cannot be owned by foreigners, so villas are commonly sold on a registered 30-year lease, frequently with contractual renewal options. A registered lease is recorded on the title deed at the Land Office and survives a sale of the underlying land.
What to check: that the lease is registered rather than merely contractual, what the renewal mechanism actually says, whether you can assign the lease to a future buyer, and what happens to the building — which you can often own separately from the land.
Route 3: Thai company
A Thai limited company with majority Thai shareholding can own land, and the structure is widely used for villas. It is legitimate when the company has genuine substance and commercial purpose, and problematic when it is a shell created purely as a nominee arrangement, which is not lawful. If you go this route, take proper legal advice and keep the accounting current — the ongoing compliance is part of the cost.
Which route survives resale best
This is the question buyers underweight. Condominium freehold has the widest possible buyer pool. A registered lease with 24 years remaining has a narrower one. A company-owned villa narrows it further and adds due diligence for the next buyer. Choose the route with your exit in mind, not just your entry.
Transfer-day paperwork
- Title deed check and encumbrance search
- Sale and purchase agreement reviewed before deposit
- FET certificate or bank credit advice for the incoming funds
- Debt-free letter from the juristic person
- Transfer fee, withholding tax, specific business tax or stamp duty allocation agreed in the contract
- Power of attorney if you are not attending in person
How we handle it
Our team runs contract review, title and encumbrance searches, the FET documentation, escrow-style payment handling and Land Office registration through a licensed brokerage operation. We are buyer-side and paid by the developer or seller, so the legal work does not come with a separate advisory fee.
If you want a specific unit or villa checked before you commit, send us the details and we will tell you what route it can be bought under — and whether we would buy it.
