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
Check title class, sale authority, encumbrances, zoning and access. Foreign condominium ownership requires section 19 eligibility and the section 19 bis limit of 49% of total unit floor area, not unit count. Foreign land ownership has restrictions and specific permission routes, not nominee shortcuts. General rates include 2% transfer, 3.3% SBT or 0.5% duty as applicable; verify bases, exemptions and applicable measures. Contact our team for a quotation.
Contact our team for a quotation — Contact our team for a quotation · Review time depends on the documents received; transfer depends on the Land Office
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
- Identity documents, foreign-buyer eligibility and qualifying-funds evidence for the applicable route
How it works
5-step process
- 1
Title and encumbrance review
Review document class, registry, zoning, access and relevant disputes without assuring discovery of every risk.
- 2
Draft contract
SPA / lease / usufruct that hedges risk.
- 3
Deposit
Check the fund holder, release and refund conditions. Any escrow arrangement requires a legally authorized provider and agreement; money held by counsel is not automatically statutory escrow.
- 4
Land Office closing
Compute taxes, prepare cashier's cheques.
- 5
Register transfer
Once registration is accepted, check the transferee and registered entries; a newly issued deed is not assumed for every transaction.
In depth
Land & Real-Estate Lawyer — Title, Lease, Usufruct: what foreign clients need to know
Before committing a deposit, examine title class, sale authority, encumbrances, access and refund terms. Registry checks need factual and agency-specific review; they do not certify the absence of every risk or assure that a transaction will complete.
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
Separate deposit terms, cancellation triggers, notice and refund deadlines. Even a full-refund clause may require a demand or litigation if the seller does not pay. A contract does not automatically recover the deposit; examine who holds the funds and any payment security.
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
Separate section 19 buyer eligibility from the section 19 bis floor-area quota; funds evidence depends on the qualifying route. Foreign land ownership is restricted with specific permission routes, not Thai-spouse or company proxies. Leasehold and superficies need separate assessment and are not land ownership.
We do not arrange nominees. Ordinary fixed-term immovable leases have a 30-year cap under section 540; a renewal clause does not automatically secure additional registered terms from the outset. Section 544 requires checking permission for subletting or assignment. Under section 569, sale does not itself end the lease, but every additional covenant is not assumed to bind a successor without assessment.
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 | Contact our team for a quotation | 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 | Contact our team for a quotation | 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 | Contact our team for a quotation | Estimate from transaction data and applicable rates; confirm assessed amounts with the recipient before payment, rather than guaranteeing every charge in advance |
| Registering a long lease or superficies right | Distinguish lease charges from superficies registration by the entry and consideration; total rent is not the assessment basis for every right | Contact our team for a quotation | A term over three years takes effect for the agreed period only once registration is done |
A servitude found before the large payment
Situation: Suppose a warehouse buyer is told the plot has no encumbrances.
Assessment points: Compare the registered servitude with the building plan and assess the contract's cancellation conditions.
Illustrative example; outcomes depend on the facts and the authority's decision.
A lease structure for a foreign buyer
Situation: Suppose a foreign buyer seeks long-term occupation without nominee arrangements.
Assessment points: Separate lease, building ownership and superficies, checking title, authority and registration conditions.
Illustrative example; outcomes depend on the facts and the authority's decision.
When to act, and when waiting is fine
Search the land record before any deposit
Combine registry, factual and contract checks before committing funds; one search is not an all-risk clearance.
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.
Legal references
- PSU Legal Office — Civil Code through amendment25/2568; lease-text comparison, not subsequent-law certification
- DOL — foreign condominium ownership regulation
- DOL — section96bis residential land permission, not a universal entitlement
- Revenue Department — property transfer tax assessment
- FPO — Escrow Act2008, unofficial English translation; check amendments
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 juristic-person manager under condominium law, not an interchangeable housing-estate certificate | Without this paper the land office declines to record the condominium transfer | Confirm the issue date and debt information required by the Land Office; no universal few-week validity period is assumed |
| Foreign exchange transaction record (FET) | The commercial bank receiving the funds | Check section 19 eligibility and qualifying-funds evidence where applicable; not every foreign buyer uses the same FET route | Confirm form, amount evidence and wording with the bank and Land Office before remittance; one route is not guaranteed for every buyer |
| 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 | Once the documents are complete; the timeframe is stated in the quotation | 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 | Once the documents are complete; the timeframe is stated in the quotation | We set conditions precedent, the transfer date, who bears each fee, and rescission with refund rights. |
| Assemble buyer funds and documents | You provide | Once the documents are complete; the timeframe is stated in the quotation | 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 | Depends on evidence, encumbrances and agency procedures; same-day completion is not guaranteed | Review fee, tax and duty assessments before payment. Attendance depends on the agreed scope rather than automatic counsel presence at every transaction. |
| Post-transfer work | Handled by our team | Once the documents are complete; the timeframe is stated in the quotation | Identify required registry, utility and juristic-person updates and requester authority; transfer does not automatically update every record or include every post-transfer task. |
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
Using a Thai spouse or shareholders as nominees for foreign land ownership
Distinguish a Thai spouse's genuine purchase from proxy ownership. Check funding and intention; leases and other rights are not land-ownership shortcuts and require lawful assessment
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 |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Foreigner: buy condo vs long lease?
It depends on how long you stay and the property: condos can be owned within the quota; houses and land use leases of up to 30 years per term.
Usufruct vs superficies?
Usufruct permits use and enjoyment for a fixed term or life and ends on the holder's death under section 1418. Superficies concerns ownership of structures or plantations on or under another's land, subject to registration terms; it is not land ownership.
Detecting a fake title?
Order a certified copy at the Land Office and cross-check the cadastral sheet.
Adverse possession period?
Section 1382 requires peaceful, open and continuous possession of another's property with intent to own: ten years for immovables, five for movables. Elapsed time alone is insufficient; assess land class, possession basis and exceptions rather than extending this to every public asset.
Housing-estate defects — sue?
Yes, under the Land Allocation Act 2000 with Civil and Commercial Code defect liability, which has its own limitation periods.
Can a foreigner buy a condominium in their own name?
Check section 19 eligibility and the section 19 bis floor-area quota. Qualifying-funds evidence depends on the applicable route, not a universal FET minimum for every foreign buyer; confirm with the bank and Land Office before remittance.
Must a lease longer than three years be registered?
Section 538 requires written evidence signed by the liable party to enforce an immovable lease. A term exceeding three years or lasting the tenant's or landlord's life requires writing and registration; otherwise it is actionable for only three years, not merely restricted against third parties.
Who customarily bears the transfer costs?
Distinguish statutory liability from contractual allocation. Itemise costs and check mandatory rules; an agreement does not change the legally liable taxpayer in every case.
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
Professional review: A lawyer must review the applicable law and facts before use in a real matter. This notice does not establish that this page has been reviewed or certified by a lawyer.
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.