Thailand property law, explained before you sign anything

Buying property in Thailand as a foreigner is straightforward once you understand a small number of rules — and expensive to get wrong when you don’t. Thailand Property Lawyers publishes independent, plain-English guides to how ownership, financing, due diligence, taxes and the purchase process actually work, so you walk into a purchase — and into a lawyer’s office — already informed.

We are an information and referral resource, not a law firm. Every guide here is educational: it explains the general shape of Thai property law so you know what questions to ask and what red flags to watch for. When you are ready for advice on your specific purchase, we recommend our partner firm, Anglo Siam Legal, for hands-on legal representation.

Thai property law is not one big rulebook — it is several distinct areas (land ownership, condominium law, company law, tax law, family law, succession law) that intersect differently depending on what you are buying and how you plan to hold it. The guides below are organised the way a real purchase unfolds: start with what you can legally own, work through the structures and the purchase itself, understand the ongoing costs, and know what protects you if something goes wrong.

A note on how to read these guides: wherever a specific number would normally appear — a tax rate, a fee, a quota percentage, a lease-term limit — we describe the category and the structure of the rule rather than stating a figure that could quietly be out of date by the time you read it. That is a deliberate choice, not an omission. Treat every guide here as the map, and a licensed Thai lawyer as the person who reads the actual terrain for your specific purchase.

Start here

• Can foreigners own property?

  Condos, land, leasehold, usufruct and company structures — the rules in one place.

• Buying a condo

  The 49% foreign quota, funds transfer rules and the juristic person.

• Land & house options

  What’s actually available to a foreign buyer who wants a house, not a condo.

• Due diligence & title checks

  Chanote, Nor Sor 3 Gor and the checks that actually protect you.

The purchase, step by step

• Purchase process & transfer

  From reservation to registration at the Land Office.

• Taxes & fees

  What categories of tax and fee apply, and who usually pays what.

• Off-plan risks

  Buying before construction is finished — what can go wrong.

• Escrow & deposits

  How deposit money can actually be protected during a purchase.

Money, financing & holding costs

• Mortgages & financing

  What financing options genuinely exist for a foreign buyer.

• Capital gains & resale tax

  How a resale is taxed, and the factors that change the calculation.

• Condo fees & the juristic person

  Who runs the building, and what you are actually paying for.

• Leasehold vs freehold

  What a 30-year lease actually gives you, and what it doesn’t.

Structures for land & houses

• Buying through a Thai spouse

  How it works, and the risks that need proper documentation.

• Property through a Thai company

  When a company structure is genuine, and when it is a legal trap.

• Renovating & building

  Permits, contractors and structures on land you don’t own outright.

• Transferring & gifting property

  Moving Thai property to someone else while you are still alive.

Protecting yourself & later in ownership

• Common scams & pitfalls

  The patterns that catch out foreign buyers most often.

• Property disputes & resolution

  What actually happens when a deal or a title goes wrong.

• Inheritance of Thai property

  What happens to a Thai condo or lease when the owner dies.

• Using a lawyer

  What a property lawyer actually does, and how to choose one.

Any other questions?

• FAQ

  Quick answers to the questions we hear most.

• About this site

  Who writes these guides, and how they are kept accurate.