The 99-year lease and 75% quota proposals: where they stand

Thailand has not introduced 99-year leases, and it has not raised the foreign condominium quota to 75%. Both ideas were put forward by the government in 2024, both drew opposition, and neither has reached Parliament as a bill. The law a buyer deals with today is the law that has applied for decades: a lease of up to 30 years, and a foreign quota of 49% in each condominium.

The law as it stands

Section 540 of the Civil and Commercial Code limits a lease of immovable property to 30 years. A lease may be renewed when it expires, but the renewed term cannot exceed 30 years from the date of renewal.

Section 19 bis of the Condominium Act caps foreign ownership at 49% of the total floor area of the units in a registered condominium. The Land Office will register a transfer to a foreigner only if the building stays within the cap.

How the proposals arose

June 2024. The government of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin tasked the Ministry of Interior with amending the law to extend foreign leases to 99 years and to raise the condominium quota to 75%. The Ministry of Finance had proposed the measures as economic stimulus. Foreign voting rights in a building would have stayed at 49%, leaving Thai owners in control. The Prime Minister said the extension was "a lease, not a sale".

July 2024. The policies had yet to be approved. Property associations backed them with conditions: limits on voting rights, limits on plot size, Thai-only management of the juristic person. Critics warned of market distortion and of nominee structures, and few projects had filled their existing 49% quota.

June 2025. The Pheu Thai party revived a 99-year leasehold bill, in a form under which land would be transferred to the Treasury Department in exchange for long-term rights of use.

September 2025. After a change of government, Siripong Angkhasakulkiat, deputy leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, said on 16 September 2025 that the plan would not be pursued. His reasoning was that the government had a limited mandate and too little time to push legislation that was still being studied. The government turned to short-term measures instead, including cuts in transfer and mortgage fees.

2026. Both measures have remained under study since 2024. Some drafts are understood to have narrowed them to certain provinces or minimum prices, and no bill had been submitted to Parliament by November 2026. Official attention during the year went the other way: Department of Lands circulars in May 2026 tightened scrutiny of land held for foreigners through Thai nominees.

The courts have moved in the opposite direction

While the politics stalled, the Supreme Court addressed the device developers use to imitate a long lease. In decision 4655/2566 the Court held that two pre-agreed 30-year renewals, for which the tenant had already paid, were void because they circumvented Section 540. The tenant was evicted.

The decision applies the 30-year limit strictly. A renewal negotiated on fresh terms at the end of the first term may still be upheld. For a buyer the lesson is plain. A "30 plus 30 plus 30" structure gives one registered term and two promises.

What a buyer should assume today

Thirty years is the term. Value a leasehold villa on its registered 30 years. Treat any renewal as an uncertain bonus. See freehold vs leasehold.
Forty-nine per cent is the quota. Check the foreign quota of a building before you reserve. See condominium foreign quota.
Do not pay for reform. If a price is justified by a 99-year term or a 75% quota "coming soon", it is a price for something that does not exist.
Draft for change at no cost. A new lease can give the tenant an option to register a new term, and a right to request a longer lease if the law later allows one. Those clauses cost nothing today.
Avoid shortcuts. Holding land through a Thai company with nominee shareholders is illegal, and enforcement tightened in 2026. See Thai company ownership risks.

Reform could return if a bill is tabled. Until then, plan on the law as it is and take independent legal advice on any lease. See buying a villa in Thailand for the structure that works under current law.

The 99-year lease and 75% quota proposals: questions buyers ask

Can I sign a 99-year lease in Thailand today?

No. A lease of immovable property cannot be registered for more than 30 years. It may be renewed when it ends, for up to a further 30 years from the renewal date, but a renewal agreed in advance is a contractual promise and not a registered right. Marketing that describes 90 years of tenure is describing three separate terms, only one of which is secured.

Has the 75% condominium quota been approved?

No. The cap remains 49% of the total unit floor area in each registered condominium. The 2024 proposal would have allowed up to 75% while keeping foreign voting rights at 49%, but it was sent for study and has not been tabled as a bill. Buildings where the foreign quota is full cannot register a new foreign freehold owner.

Should I wait for the law to change before buying?

We would not plan around it. The proposal has been raised, opposed and shelved more than once, and it is politically sensitive. If a 30-year lease or a unit within the 49% quota works for you at today's price, the reform is irrelevant. If the purchase only makes sense with a longer term, it does not make sense yet.