Buying Land in Thailand

Note: I am not an attorney and all that follows is opinion. I strongly urge anyone who is planning any substantial purchase in Thailand to seek @ competent legal advice.

When expats, and future expats planning on moving to Thailand ask about the cost of buying land, I quote them a simple rule. You Can Buy Land in Thailand, But You Can't Own ¹ it. Some expats try to beat the system. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Common methods include:

For many years, foreigners have been forming Thai companies to buy land. The scheme involves using 51% proxy Thai shareholders who don't know each other. An attorney holds an undated and pre-signed agreement to transfer shares. That keeps the proxy shareholders from taking pre-emptive action.

That approach has always been fundamentally illegal, since the purpose of the company was to violate a law .. the Alien Property Act. The Thai government and land offices just "looked the other direction"

Recently, some rules have changed. A Thai company must now have 60% or more Thai ownership and land departments are reluctant to transfer the "chanod" (land title deed).

Then there are a few more problems with Thai companies.

While this document is a translation, long, difficult to read and tedious, you owe it to yourself to begin to understand the complexity of real property ownership in Thailand

¹ The definition of legal ownership that we are referencing.

"The right and interest which a man has in lands and chattels to the exclusion of others. It is the right to enjoy and to dispose of certain things in the most absolute manner as he pleases, provided he makes no use of them prohibited by law."

• Buying Land Through a Thai Company
• Thai Wife or Friend As a Proxy for Buying Land
• Thai B.O.I. Promoted Project