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

The first piece of advice is the easiest, and it is the fixed rule of this site: rent in the first year. 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.

But the question always comes, so here is what is legally possible.

Land: no

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: whoever invests 40 million baht can, with permission from the Ministry of the Interior, acquire up to 1,600 square metres (1 rai) of land for their own residence. For virtually everyone reading this page that is not relevant, and it is moreover a discretionary permission and not a right.

A flat: yes, within the 49 percent

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.

The constructions: common, legally vulnerable

Because the land ban is hard, workarounds exist. The two you come across most:

A Thai company that owns the land, with you as (minority) shareholder and Thai shareholders who on paper hold the majority. If the company has no real business activity, this is a sham construction and therefore contestable.

Land in the name of a Thai partner, with a loan agreement or usufruct for you. Legally the land then belongs to that partner, with everything that means if the relationship ends or on death.

There is also a legitimate intermediate form: a long-term lease on the land, with the house in ownership. That is weaker than ownership but it is not a sham construction.

Get advice on this from an independent lawyer — not from the estate agent, the developer or the lawyer the seller puts forward. This is the point at which Dutch people in Thailand lose the most money, and almost always because they asked the selling party for advice.

Renting, practically

Count on a deposit of two months and the first month in advance. Put the utility connections in your own name where possible. And ask your landlord explicitly about the TM30 report: they have to file it within 24 hours, and you need the receipt at Immigration — see the four clocks.

Two things that determine the budget: the spread is enormous — central Bangkok and the tourist coastal towns ask a multiple of Chiang Mai or the interior — and the air conditioning is the biggest item on your energy bill in the hot season. Ask for last year's bills before you sign.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but applied to your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines monitored. See the whole journey to Thailand.