# Usufruct (สิทธิเก็บกิน)

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

**Definition:** 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.

A usufruct is registered on the title deed and stays in place if the land is sold. The holder can live in the property, manage it and let it out, keeping the rent. The owner keeps bare title.

Its limits matter more than its strengths. A usufruct cannot be inherited: it ends on the holder's death, even if a fixed term has years left to run. It gives ownership of nothing, so there is no asset to sell on. It is most often used by the foreign spouse of a Thai landowner as protection for their lifetime, and under section 1469 of the Code an agreement between spouses can be cancelled by either of them during the marriage or within a year of its end.

Land offices also vary in how readily they register a usufruct for a foreigner with no family tie to the owner. Treat it as a way to secure occupation, not as an investment structure, and take independent legal advice. See [buying a villa in Thailand](https://www.thailandpropertyinvestor.com/guides/buying-a-villa-in-thailand) and [inheritance and wills](https://www.thailandpropertyinvestor.com/guides/inheritance-and-wills).