Freehold vs leasehold in Thailand: what a foreign buyer actually gets

A foreigner gets freehold only on a condo unit, and only while foreigners hold no more than 49% of the building's saleable area. A foreigner cannot own land (Land Code s. 86; a narrow exception in s. 96 bis is rarely used), so a villa means a lease of up to 30 years on the plot and a separate registered right to the house. A renewal of "another 30 and another 30" cannot be agreed in advance: the Supreme Court voided such clauses (judgment No. 4655/2566). Rules are as of 6 October 2026.

In short

• Freehold for a foreigner means a condo unit, while foreigners together hold no more than 49% of the building's area.
• The land belongs to a Thai owner. A foreigner gets a lease of up to 30 years, a superficies or a usufruct, all recorded on the back of the Thai owner's Chanote.
• The lease maximum is 30 years (Civil and Commercial Code s. 540), and a renewal is a new agreement. Pre-agreed 30+30+30 clauses are void.
• A "99-year lease" is not law: the proposal has been dormant since the change of government.
• Fees: 2% to transfer a condo, about 1.1% of the total rent to register a lease.
• A "freehold" villa through a Thai company with nominee shareholders is an offence, not an option.

What is freehold for a foreign buyer in Thailand?

Freehold for a foreigner is full ownership of a condo unit: a right with no end date that you can sell, mortgage and leave to heirs. One condition applies: all foreigners together hold no more than 49% of the building's saleable area, and your money must arrive from abroad in foreign currency (ThaiLawOnline, 6 October 2026; terms.law, February 2026).

The Land Office issues a separate title deed for each unit (the Or Chor 2) showing its area and your share of the common property. Once the quota is full, the remaining units can be sold only to Thai buyers or offered as leasehold of up to 30 years (Thaiger, 31 July 2026). How to check the quota and the bank document is in The 49% foreign quota in Thai condos. A 75% quota is talk only: by mid-2026 no bill had passed, and 49% stands as written (Thaiger, 3 July 2026).

What is leasehold and what rights does it give?

Leasehold is a registered right to use property for no more than 30 years (Civil and Commercial Code s. 540). A longer term is cut to 30 years, and every renewal is capped at 30. For its term it is a real, enforceable right (Thaiger, 3 July 2026). A lease over three years must be registered (ThaiLawOnline, 5 October 2026).

Registration costs about 1.1% of the total rent over the term: a 1% fee and 0.1% stamp duty (ThaiLawOnline, 5 October 2026). Transfer and inheritance depend on the contract, and sources disagree. ThaiLawOnline says a lease can be transferred only if the contract allows it and does not pass to heirs by default, while another page on the site calls leasehold inheritable. Write the right to transfer and your heirs' names into the lease.

A lease loses value with every year of its term. If 30 years of rent are paid up front, each year is worth one thirtieth, and a later buyer pays only for the years that remain.

The Sap Ing Sith right under the 2019 Act can be transferred, inherited and mortgaged, but it is also capped at 30 years (ThaiLawOnline, September 2026).

Does a 30+30+30 renewal still work after the Supreme Court ruling?

No, an automatic renewal agreed in advance does not work. The Supreme Court (judgment No. 4655/2566, which became known to the market in March 2025) voided clauses that pre-agreed two more 30-year renewals, because they get round the cap in s. 540. A renewal is a new agreement made when the term runs out (Addleshaw Goddard, 10 March 2025).

The case concerned a Phuket lease. The tenant had prepaid rent for the full 90 years, the court ordered the tenant to leave and set damages at THB 30,000 a month, about USD 900 (Thaiger, 31 July 2026). Still allowed are an option for a new term instead of an automatic renewal, and a renewal on adjusted terms, for example with indexed rent (Addleshaw Goddard). An option is not a guarantee, because the terms of the new period are negotiated afresh. Most early Phuket leaseholds reach the renewal point only in years, so the risk is deferred.

How do freehold, leasehold, usufruct and superficies compare?

The main differences are the term and what your heirs receive. Freehold on a condo has no end date and is inherited, but the quota limits it. A lease runs up to 30 years with no guaranteed renewal. A superficies passes to heirs by default, while a usufruct ends on the holder's death (s. 1418; ThaiLawOnline, 5 October 2026).

Form	What you get	Term	Heirs	Main risk
Freehold condo	A unit, the Or Chor 2 title, a share of common property	No end date	Inherit; a foreign heir without s. 19 status notifies the Land Office within 60 days and sells within a year	The quota runs out before registration
Leasehold condo	A lease of the unit	Up to 30 years	Set by the contract	The remaining term loses value; renewal is not guaranteed
Villa: lease of the plot	A right to use the land	Up to 30 years	Set by the contract	Pre-agreed 30+30+30 clauses are void
Superficies over the house	Ownership of a building on someone else's land	Up to 30 years or for life	Inherited by default	Registration is mandatory; the contract sets the terms
Usufruct	A right to possess and take the income	Up to 30 years or for life	No; it ends on death (s. 1418)	Heirs receive nothing

What happens to a condo when a foreign heir inherits it is in Inheriting a condo in Thailand as a foreign heir.

What do freehold and leasehold cost?

Buying a condo costs a foreigner a transfer fee of 2% of appraised value. The 0.01% rate applies only to Thai individuals buying at up to THB 7 million (about USD 210,000), and the Cabinet extended it to 30 June 2027 (Nation Thailand, 2 July 2026). Registering a lease costs about 1.1% of the total rent over the term.

Payment	How much
Buying a condo: transfer fee	2% of appraised value
Reselling a condo	Specific Business Tax of 3.3% on a sale within 5 years of purchase (conditions apply) or stamp duty of 0.5%, never both; plus withholding tax
Registering a lease	About 1.1% of the total rent over the term
Land and building tax, every year	For homes the applied rates are 0.02% to 0.10%, against a ceiling of 0.30%

Sources: ThaiLawOnline, 4 October 2026; AngloSiam Law, 30 April 2026. The full condo breakdown is in Taxes and fees when buying a condo in Thailand in 2026.

Which structure fits your goal?

For an apartment, choose freehold while quota remains. For a villa, count the lease as 30 years without renewal and pair it with a superficies over the house. A Thai spouse can grant you a lifetime usufruct over land. Investment and business go through BOI promotion or a Foreign Business Licence.

A property agency describes "lease plus superficies" and a usufruct from a Thai spouse as typical Phuket structures (Anan Property Group, 2026), but that is a practitioner's opinion, and no rule of law backs it. Before you sign, check five things:

• the lease or right is registered at the Land Department and recorded on the back of the Chanote (see Thai land title deeds explained);
• the renewal is an option, not an automatic 30+30+30;
• the contract names who inherits and whether you may transfer the right;
• the house is recorded under your name by a named right, not by a verbal promise;
• the landlord's plot carries no mortgage or seizure.

What if you know leaseholds from the UK, US or Australia?

A UK flat lease often runs for 99 years or more, but a Thai lease tops out at 30, and a renewal is whatever the landlord agrees when the time comes. For US buyers, no treaty gives a foreigner land ownership in Thailand: the Treaty of Amity certificate works for business, not for land.

Your home paperwork also stops at the border. Thailand issues no English-style grant of probate, and a UK grant or US letters testamentary has no force there: the Probate Court issues an order appointing an administrator instead (ThaiLawOnline, 1 October 2026). If you own a Thai condo or lease, a Thai will for Thai assets plus a separate home-country will for the rest is the usual structure.

What next

If you are choosing an apartment, start with Buy a freehold condo in Phuket. For a villa, read Buy a leasehold villa in Phuket and the case A 30+30+30 lease rewritten after the Supreme Court ruling. For the deed behind either, see Thai land title deeds explained. Send us the lease or the reservation through the form below and you get a free written express review of the risky clauses.

Rules checked as of 6 October 2026. USD figures are rounded at about THB 33 per USD, the September 2026 average on x-rates.com; exchange rates move.