Legal service for foreign clients
Land & Real-Estate Lawyer — Title, Lease, Usufruct in Thailand
Title due diligence, sale, lease, usufruct, superficies — and closing at Land Office.
Quick answer
Thai property purchase requires (1) title verification (only Chanote / NS-4 gives full title), (2) encumbrance check (mortgage, servitude), (3) zoning + access. Foreigners may own condos up to 49% per building but not land — use leasehold (30 yr max) or lifetime usufruct. Transfer fee 2%, withholding tax, and 0.5% stamp duty apply. Fees from THB 25,000.
From THB 25,000 — Condo transfer 25k / land transfer 35k / litigation 55k+ · DD 3–7 days / closing 1–2 days
Who this is for
- Buyers/sellers of land, condos, houses
- Foreigners buying condos / long-term leases
- Real-estate investors
- Land disputes / trespass / adverse possession
What you receive
- Title + encumbrance due diligence
- Draft SPA / lease / usufruct
- Registration at Land Office
- Assess transfer taxes and fees
- Land litigation — eviction, adverse possession
Documents to prepare
- Title deed (Chanote / NS-3K) / condo cert
- Sale-and-purchase agreement
- IDs / passport / FET for foreigners
How it works
5-step process
- 1
Due diligence 3–7 days
Verify title, cadastral map, zoning, pending cases.
- 2
Draft contract
SPA / lease / usufruct that hedges risk.
- 3
Deposit
Handle deposit via escrow.
- 4
Land Office closing
Compute taxes, prepare cashier's cheques.
- 5
Register transfer
Receive new title, verify post-closing encumbrance.
In depth
Land & Real-Estate Lawyer — Title, Lease, Usufruct: what foreign clients need to know
Property transactions in Thailand fail for the same handful of reasons: a title document that is not the class the buyer assumed, encumbrances absent from the deed but present in the land office records, access that no legal right supports, and deposit terms that leave the buyer exposed if transfer never happens. Our job is to close those four gaps before the first payment leaves the client's hands.
Checking title class and encumbrances before any deposit
Thai land documents come in tiers that confer unequal rights. A full title deed gives ownership; utilisation certificates and lesser instruments give only possessory or use rights, with limits on transfer and on using the land as security. Many buyers see documents that look similar and assume full ownership, when the substance differs considerably.
A useful check pulls the record from the local land office rather than reading the seller's copy of the deed, because mortgages, usufructs, servitudes, holds and conditional transfer bans live mainly in those records. We trace back through prior registered owners and the date of each entry, looking for the breaks in continuity that later become title disputes.
A sale-and-purchase agreement that actually protects the buyer
A seller's standard form usually makes the deposit easy to forfeit and gives the seller generous grace periods. The first thing we fix is the conditions precedent to transfer: if the land office record reveals an undisclosed encumbrance, the buyer must be entitled to rescind and recover the full amount, not merely to a claim they have to sue for.
The second is allocating taxes and transfer costs as itemised figures, not as a bare fifty-fifty split, because several charges land on transfer day: the registration fee, withholding tax, stamp duty and — in some cases only — specific business tax. An incomplete clause produces a renegotiation on the land office floor.
Holding structures for foreign buyers
Foreign buyers may own a condominium unit within the statutory foreign quota of that building, and must evidence the inbound funds in the prescribed form. Land ownership is restricted far more tightly, so the workable options are usually a registered long lease, a superficies right over the structure, or holding through a company whose structure genuinely complies with Thai law.
We decline structures that use Thai shareholders as nominees, since that exposes both the property interest and the people involved. Instead we draft the lease with renewal rights, assignability, and protection if the landowner sells to a third party — making what the client holds durable within what the law permits.
Cost structure: government fees vs professional fees
| Item | Official fee | Professional fee | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land office record search and written report | Land office copying and certification fees at the set rates | THB 12,000–35,000 per plot | Includes travel to the local office and checking boundaries against the plan |
| Drafting or revising the sale-and-purchase agreement | No government fee at this stage | THB 20,000–60,000 | Includes conditions precedent and the deposit-refund mechanism |
| Attending transfer day at the land office | Registration fee on the appraised value, plus withholding tax and stamp duty or specific business tax as applicable | THB 15,000–40,000 per transfer | We calculate the full amount to bring as a figure before the appointment |
| Registering a long lease or superficies right | Registration fee on total rent over the term, plus stamp duty at the set rate | THB 35,000–90,000 | A term over three years takes effect for the agreed period only once registration is done |
A servitude found before the large payment
Situation: A client was buying land for a warehouse and was told it was free of all encumbrances.
What we did: The record search revealed a right-of-way servitude registered fourteen years earlier, crossing the intended building line.
Outcome: The client rescinded under the clause we had drafted and recovered the deposit in full.
A lease structure for a foreign buyer
Situation: A foreign client wanted long-term rights to a house and land without an unlawful structure.
What we did: We combined a registered land lease with ownership of the structure and a superficies right.
Outcome: The client holds registered, verifiable rights that can be assigned on the agreed terms.
When to act, and when waiting is fine
Search the land record before any deposit
The search costs a fraction of the deposit and catches most problems.
Settle the holding structure before agreeing a price
Changing structure later affects both tax and transfer fees.
Check access rights where the plot does not front a public road
Land reached only by permission is at risk when the neighbour changes.
Never use nominee Thai shareholders to hold land
It endangers both the property interest and everyone's personal exposure.
Documents in detail
| Document | Issued by | Certification / translation | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land title deed or condominium unit title | The provincial land office where the property sits | Read every page of the reverse register for servitudes, mortgages, and freezes | Re-check on transfer day — entries can change daily |
| Debt-free certificate from the condominium juristic person | The condominium or housing-estate juristic person | Without this paper the land office declines to record the condominium transfer | Typically valid only a few weeks — time it to the transfer date |
| Foreign exchange transaction record (FET) | The commercial bank receiving the funds | Required when a foreign buyer purchases within the foreign quota | The purpose of purchasing property must appear on the record from the day funds arrive |
| Unit floor plan or cadastral map of the plot | The land office | Used to confirm the real area matches the listing and that access truly exists | Obtain the latest version before paying a deposit |
Timeline and who does what
| Stage | Owner | Duration | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Title due diligence before any deposit | Handled by our team | 3–7 working days | We pull the deed at the land office and check encumbrances, zoning, access rights, and any litigation touching the seller. |
| Draft a sale-and-purchase agreement that protects the buyer | Handled by our team | 3–5 working days | We set conditions precedent, the transfer date, who bears each fee, and rescission with refund rights. |
| Assemble buyer funds and documents | You provide | 7–20 working days | With a mortgage, allow for bank approval and appraisal — they dictate the real transfer date. |
| Register the transfer at the land office | Depends on the agency | Usually half a day to a full day | We attend in person and verify the transfer fee, withholding tax, and specific business tax or stamp duty before payment. |
| Post-transfer work | Handled by our team | 5–15 working days | We handle house-registration, utility meters, juristic-person records, and archive the file for your future resale. |
Common pitfalls
Paying a deposit before title checks, then finding a servitude or freeze
Make clean due diligence a condition precedent to any large payment
Holding land through a Thai spouse or a nominee company for a foreign buyer
Use lawful structures: usufruct, superficies, or a registered long lease
Miscomputing transfer-day taxes and negotiating on unreal numbers
Let us model every fee and tax before you agree a net price
Buying a unit with unpaid common fees, blocking transfer on the day
Obtain the debt-free letter early and make the seller liable for arrears in the contract
Doing it yourself vs working with us
| Aspect | On your own | With our team |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-purchase checks | Reading only the front of the deed and trusting the agent's word | We pull the full register and check zoning plus building restrictions |
| Contract | Using the seller's form, drafted entirely in the seller's favour | We redraft or amend clause by clause so you have remedies if the seller defaults |
| Transfer day | Attending alone and signing whatever is handed over | Counsel attends, verifying figures and register wording before every signature |
Official sources
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Foreigner: buy condo vs long lease?
Own a condo if staying 5+ yrs / 30-yr lease works for houses & land.
Usufruct vs superficies?
Usufruct = lifetime use + fruits; superficies = ownership of structures on another's land.
Detecting a fake title?
Order a certified copy at the Land Office and cross-check the cadastral sheet.
Adverse possession period?
10 yrs for titled land / 5 for movables — peaceful, open, continuous.
Housing-estate defects — sue?
Yes under Land Allocation Act 2000 + 5-year structural warranty.
Can a foreigner buy a condominium in their own name?
Yes, within that building's foreign quota, with the prescribed evidence of inbound funds.
Must a lease longer than three years be registered?
Yes. Skip registration and the period exceeding three years cannot be asserted against anyone.
Who customarily bears the transfer costs?
There is no fixed rule; it is agreed, so we itemise the figures in the contract before transfer day.
Can I buy land with a structure that has no building permit?
It is possible but carries demolition-order and retrospective-permit risk; we check the status with the local authority first.
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Written by: Thai Law & Accounting Services — attorneys and licensed accountants
Reviewed by: Reviewed by a Notarial Services Attorney registered with the Lawyers Council of Thailand.
Last updated: 2026-08
Information as of August 2026. Government fees and processing times change — verify with the relevant agency before acting, or let our team verify for you.