Thai law stipulates that a foreigner may
not own land in his own name, but he does have the right
of ownership of buildings. In order for the desired end-result
to be achieved he does however have the following options:
»
The right to own a unit in a
registered Condominium.
»
If 49% of the building is already
owned by foreigners then unless certain conditions
are met no further purchases by non-Thais will
be allowed.
»
The right to own a building (as
distinct from its land).
»
The right to own a registered
leasehold of up to 30 years for all types of
titled land (and/or buildings).
»
The land is purchased on a 30
year leasehold, with an option to extend the
lease for further 30 year periods. Possession
of the land is assured by virtue of the fact
that the property occupies the land. The lessor
cannot seize the property upon expiration of
the lease, as the property is separate from
the land.
»
If a foreigner is going to operate
a business in Thailand then he may purchase
the freehold of the land through his Limited
Company. Details on forming a Thai Limited Company
can be found in the Business Sub-section. The
land will be owned by the Company, not the individual
and so further safeguards are put in place by
the PBRL Legal Team to ensure that our clients
best interests are always protected.
»
The right to own 1 Rai of land
if they invest 40m baht in Thailand.
Land Titles
There are many different types of land titles in
Thailand, the majority of which do not allow for
the legal right to build on that land. At PBRL we
only recommend considering the following 3 land
titles for land transfer purposes:
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NOR SOR 3: This is the lowest
land title which allows for legally building
a property, but is not ideal as the land is
measured approximately. There are no markers
to indicate the boundaries of the land.
»
NOR SOR 3 GOR: This land has
been measured using aerial survey to set the
points and land area. This land can be sub-divided
into separate plots.
»
CHANOT ( land title deed ): This
land has been accurately measured using GPS
to set the area and boundaries of the land.
The boundaries of the land are indicated by
numbered posts. In nearly all circumstances
we deal with this option, the Chanot.
