# Superficies (สิทธิเหนือพื้นดิน)

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

**Definition:** 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.

Under Thai law a building normally belongs to whoever owns the land it stands on. A superficies breaks that link. It must be in writing and registered on the title deed at the land office, and it can run for a fixed term of up to 30 years or for the lifetime of the landowner or the holder. Unless the agreement says otherwise, the right can be transferred and inherited.

Foreign villa buyers most often meet superficies alongside a 30-year lease: the lease gives the right to occupy the land, and the superficies confirms that the villa on it belongs to the buyer. That matters if the land is sold, and it gives heirs something a bare lease may not.

It is not a route to owning land, and it does not extend beyond its registered term. Any renewal needs a fresh registration, with the landowner's cooperation at the time. Land offices differ in how they handle these registrations, so take independent legal advice. See [buying a villa in Thailand](https://www.thailandpropertyinvestor.com/guides/buying-a-villa-in-thailand) and [freehold vs leasehold](https://www.thailandpropertyinvestor.com/guides/freehold-vs-leasehold).