Glossary, ownership

Leasehold in Thai property

สิทธิการเช่า

Leasehold is the right to occupy and use property for a fixed term under a lease. In Thailand the longest term that can be registered is 30 years, and a lease of more than three years is enforceable beyond three years only if registered at the land office.

The limits come from sections 538 and 540 of the Civil and Commercial Code. Registration costs 1% of the total rent over the term plus 0.1% stamp duty. The lease is then noted on the title deed, which protects the tenant if the land is sold.

Developers often market "30+30+30" structures. Only the first 30 years is a registered right. The renewals are contractual promises by the current landowner: they may not bind a later owner or the owner's heirs, and Thai courts have not enforced them reliably. Price a leasehold on its registered term.

A lease is also a personal right. By default it ends when the tenant dies, so succession clauses need careful drafting. A foreigner can own the villa itself separately from the land, often supported by a superficies.

Proposals to allow 99-year leases have been discussed since 2024 but had not been enacted when we reviewed this entry in November 2026. Take independent legal advice. See freehold vs leasehold and buying a villa in Thailand.

General guidance, not legal or tax advice. Take independent legal advice before you commit to a purchase.

Terms related to leasehold

Freehold: Freehold is outright ownership of property with no time limit, registered in the owner's name at the land office. In Thailand a foreigner can own a condominium unit freehold within the building's foreign quota, but cannot own land.
Superficies: Superficies is a registered right to own buildings or structures on land that belongs to someone else, under sections 1410 to 1416 of the Civil and Commercial Code. It separates ownership of a house from ownership of the plot beneath it.
Usufruct: A usufruct is a registered right to possess, use and take the income from property owned by someone else, under sections 1417 to 1428 of the Civil and Commercial Code. It lasts for a fixed term of up to 30 years or for the holder's lifetime.
Thai quota: The Thai quota is the 51% or more of a condominium's unit floor area that must remain in the hands of Thai nationals or Thai companies. A foreigner cannot take freehold title to a unit if the transfer would reduce that share.