Buying and renting property in Thailand

What a foreigner may own

A foreigner may own a condominium unit freehold, provided the building has room left in its 49% foreign quota. The juristic person of the building issues a letter confirming the quota before transfer.

Land is different. The Land Code prohibits foreign ownership of land except in narrow investment cases that almost never apply to private buyers. A house built on leased land can be owned separately from the land itself, registered through a superficies or usufruct right.

Bringing the money in

For a foreign-quota condo, the purchase funds must be remitted into Thailand from overseas in foreign currency and converted to baht by the receiving Thai bank. The bank issues a Foreign Exchange Transaction form (formerly Tor Tor 3) for amounts at or above USD 50,000, and a credit advice below that. The Land Department requires this paperwork at transfer, and you will need it again to send the proceeds out when you sell.

Leases, companies and nominee risk

A registered lease of up to 30 years is the common route for houses and land. A clause promising two further 30-year renewals is widely used but has repeatedly failed in the Thai courts, so treat it as goodwill, not security.

Buying land through a Thai company where Thai shareholders exist only on paper is a nominee arrangement and is illegal. Enforcement is uneven but the risk sits entirely with the foreign buyer.

Renting

Standard residential leases run twelve months with a two-month deposit and one month advance. Registration at the Land Department is only required for terms over three years, so most leases are private contracts.

Your landlord, or you, must file a TM30 notification of your address with Immigration. Confirm before signing who will do it, because a landlord who refuses creates repeated problems at every visa appointment.

Taxes and fees at transfer

Expect a transfer fee of 2% of the appraised value, plus either specific business tax of 3.3% (if sold within five years) or stamp duty of 0.5%, plus withholding tax calculated on a sliding scale. Who pays what is negotiable and should be written into the sale agreement.