Living and buying in Thailand: no land in your own name, but a flat is possible

No and yes. As a foreigner you cannot own land in Thailand, so no house with a garden in your own name. But you can own a flat in a condominium (a block of flats), as long as no more than 49 per cent of the building is in foreign hands.

Three things to know up front:

• At the transfer come transfer costs and levies, and on the property rests an annual land and building tax. This article names no fixed percentage of purchase costs.
• In popular complexes that 49 per cent is sometimes full. Then you cannot buy in your own name, however much the seller wants to.
• The constructions that get around the land ban, such as a Thai company or land in a partner's name, are common and legally vulnerable.

In your first year you don't buy. The differences between Bangkok, Chiang Mai, the coast and the countryside are large, and a year of renting is considerably cheaper than a wrong purchase in a country where you can't yet read the language; why that order is fixed. But the question always comes, so here is what is legally possible.

Can I buy land?

As a foreigner you cannot own land in your own name in Thailand. That means: no house with a garden, no villa with a piece of land, no building plot.

There is one narrow exception, from a 1999 amendment to the Land Code (the Thai code on land). Whoever invests 40 million baht can, with permission from the Ministry of the Interior, acquire up to 1,600 square metres (1 rai, a Thai unit of area) of land for their own residence. For virtually everyone reading this page that is not relevant. It is moreover a discretionary permission (the government may choose) and not a right.

Can I buy a flat?

What is possible is a flat in a condominium in your own name. The limit is in the Condominium Act: no more than 49 percent of the total floor area of a building may be in foreign hands. The other 51 percent is for Thai owners.

That has a practical consequence that surprises people: in popular complexes that foreign quota is sometimes full. Then you cannot buy the home in your own name, however much the seller would like to. Always ask beforehand for confirmation from the building management that there is room in the quota, before you pay a deposit.

On transfer there are transfer costs and levies, and on the ownership itself rests an annual land and building tax. Count that in your annual budget.

What	Limit or time limit
Land in your own name	not permitted
Exception in the Land Code (1999)	invest 40 million baht, at most 1,600 m² (1 rai), with permission from the Interior Ministry
Flat in a condominium	up to 49% of the building's total floor area in foreign hands
Deposit when renting	as a rule 2 months, plus the first month in advance
TM30 report by the landlord	within 24 hours