# Leasehold (สิทธิการเช่า)

Source: https://www.thailandpropertyinvestor.com/glossary/leasehold

**Definition:** 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](https://www.thailandpropertyinvestor.com/glossary/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](https://www.thailandpropertyinvestor.com/guides/freehold-vs-leasehold) and [buying a villa in Thailand](https://www.thailandpropertyinvestor.com/guides/buying-a-villa-in-thailand).