Foreign buyers in Thailand meet two forms of condominium tenure: freehold within the foreign quota, and leasehold. They are sometimes presented as near-equivalents. They are not — the differences in security, resale and financing are structural, and they should shape both your choice and your price.
What does freehold ownership give a foreign buyer?
Registered ownership of the unit itself, with no expiry date. You may sell at any time to any buyer the quota accommodates, lease the unit out, renovate within the building's rules, and leave it to your heirs. Your name is on the title deed at the Land Department, and your consent is required for anything that affects your unit.
Its one constraint for foreigners is the 49% quota under §19 bis of the Condominium Act B.E. 2522 (1979) — freehold is only available to you where the project has room.
What is a Thai leasehold condominium, really?
A registered lease, not ownership. A leasehold 'purchase' is a long lease registered against the unit's title for a maximum of 30 years — §540 of the Civil and Commercial Code caps the registrable term there. Offers of '30 + 30 + 30' years rest on renewal promises in the contract. A renewal promise binds the party who made it, but it is not a registered property right: if the freeholder sells, becomes insolvent or simply refuses, enforcing a renewal decades later is a litigation question, not a formality.
Registering the lease costs 1.1% of the total rent for the term (1% registration fee plus 0.1% stamp duty), typically far less than freehold transfer costs. But a lease is a wasting asset: with 12 years left it is worth much less than with 28, and banks rarely finance leasehold resales. Subletting and assignment depend on what the lease says, so those clauses deserve careful review.
When will a foreign buyer be offered leasehold?
In three situations: projects whose foreign quota is full, where leasehold is the remaining route for foreign buyers; projects built on leased land — often prime central sites owned by institutions that do not sell — where every buyer, Thai or foreign, holds leasehold; and some resort-market developments. None of these is inherently a problem, but each prices differently, and a leasehold offered at a freehold price is mispriced.
Should I buy freehold or leasehold?
Freehold wherever the quota allows it, and leasehold only at a price that reflects what it is. Freehold suits buyers who want an asset — resale flexibility, inheritance, no clock running. Leasehold can suit a long personal stay at a lower entry price, or access to a location freehold cannot reach, provided you value it as what it is: the right to use a unit for a defined period.
Before committing to leasehold, ask who the freeholder is, what happens on renewal in the contract's exact words, whether the lease can be assigned or sublet, and how the remaining term will look when you expect to exit. These are precisely the questions a legal review is designed to answer — available under a separate engagement.
This guide is general information for foreign buyers, not legal advice. Rules, rates and procedures change and individual situations differ. Legal review available through Suwanvara Law Firm under a separate engagement.