Thailand remains one of the most affordable destinations both for a holiday and for buying a home. The market returned to normal long ago: pandemic-era restrictions have gone, buyers travel freely for viewings, and part of the transactions are handled remotely. In this article we go into detail about how real estate transactions work in Thailand, what rights and responsibilities are given to foreign homebuyers, and whether it is simple for foreign citizens to purchase apartments or any other type of property.
Content:
- Features of buying Thai housing
- Responsibilities of foreign homeowners in Thailand
- What to check before paying the deposit
- Step-by-step purchase of real estate in Thailand
- New-build or resale: what changes in the procedure
- We will help you purchase real estate in Thailand
Features of buying Thai housing
The popularity of the Kingdom of Thailand is not limited to the tourism sector but is also popular with real estate investors. Houses in Thailand are acquired for personal use, permanent or seasonal residence and as investments for a rental income. Real estate in Thailand has become more attractive after the decline in prices caused by the pandemic and the Kingdom's guaranteed income programmes.
If you are planning to relocate, you should check out the rental options before buying a property in Thailand. Houses, apartments and condominiums are available all over the country. There are many modern condominiums with all the amenities such as swimming pools, fitness rooms and recreation centres.
Monthly rent for all types of buildings, from villas to high-rise buildings, is often considerably lower than in major European cities. Even in the most popular Thai regions and cities, the average rent costs less than half that of similar housing in the USA or Paris. Fees and amenities are either included in the rental price or not – you should consult the lessor beforehand.
How does buying real estate in Thailand work for foreigners?
A non-resident may acquire ownership of any kind of real estate in Thailand, adjusted for limitations on the registration of property rights. The land underneath a villa or detached home is registered as a long-term lease as foreigners are not permitted to own land in the Kingdom.
Forms of Ownership in Thailand
The two main property ownership forms in Thailand are also common globally:
Freehold – If a property is purchased in a freehold zone, it becomes the buyer’s property. This type of housing can serve as a passive source of income and can be inherited or given. As proof of ownership, the buyer receives an official document called a chanote.
A leasehold is a long-term lease with the option to renew it twice. The contract runs for up to 30 years and is registered with the Land Department. Such contracts were often sold as a “30 + 30 + 30” arrangement with automatic renewal to 90 years, but in March 2025 the court held the automatic renewal clauses to be invalid. Renewal is still possible, yet it is not a guarantee: it depends on the landowner's consent when the term expires. Although the actual ownership of the property is time-bound, it can be donated, inherited or sold. The contract is registered and certified by the Thailand Land Department.
Term, renewal and inheritance work less simply than the contract suggests. We explain separately how a 30-year leasehold works in Thailand and what a renewal clause is actually worth.
What types of housing are available to purchase in Thailand?
In freehold zones, a non-resident can purchase an apartment in a condominium – a residential complex, the common area of which jointly belongs to the owners of the apartments.
An important condition: a condominium developer can sell only 49% of the housing to a foreigner. The remaining share is registered in the leasehold.
The remaining foreign quota in a particular building changes as sales progress, so it is worth checking before the deposit leaves your account. We set out separately how to find out the available share in a condominium and what to do when the quota has been taken.
Detached houses, villas and townhouses are held on a leasehold: the land beneath them does not pass into foreign ownership.
Exception: A non-resident can purchase a land plot only if a legal entity makes a transaction, 51% of which must belong to a citizen of the Kingdom of Thailand.
Real estate and residence permits in Thailand
It is not possible to issue a residence permit in Thailand based on purchasing a property. There are, however, visa routes tied to a purchase. The Thailand Elite programme has been called Thailand Privilege since 2023: the entry package costs from 650,000 baht (about $19,600) and runs for five years. Since October 2025 a separate long-term visa has been available to buyers of property worth 3 million baht or more, renewed annually. An investment of $500,000 or more opens the ten-year LTR visa. Thai developers often meet buyers halfway and offer to apply for a visa when buying a housing unit.
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Responsibilities of foreign homeowners in Thailand
A non-resident with property must properly pay utility bills and taxes. When purchasing real estate, one must also pay a one-time registration fee at the Land Department – typically equal to 2-3% of the property’s value.
Tax residents of other countries (living in their home country for more than 183 days in a year) also have tax liabilities in their state, i.e., they are obliged to notify the tax authority that they have opened an account in Thailand or for other financial transactions.
It is worth planning the exit before the purchase: a foreign seller faces restrictions of their own, and marketing periods on the resale market run noticeably longer. We work through separately how to sell property in Thailand and what leaving the deal costs.
What to check before paying the deposit
A deposit is not always refundable, so a few questions are worth settling before the money leaves your account.
- Whether the foreign quota in this particular building is still open. The 49% limit is measured against the floor area of the specific condominium rather than the market as a whole, and in popular projects the share may already be taken.
- What the condominium rules say about letting. A ban on short-stay rentals is common and is usually discovered only after the purchase.
- Whether there are any encumbrances on the land and who the owner actually is — on the resale market this is the key check.
- How the developer holds buyers' money, and what happens to the timeline if construction stalls.
- Where the funds will come from. For freehold the money must arrive from abroad, the bank issues a confirming document, and without it the title will not be registered.
- Who pays the transfer fees. By default they are split equally, but this is a matter of agreement and belongs in the contract.
None of these points calls for a legal background: each is settled by a request to the seller or the developer before signing. It is this list that separates a second purchase from a first.
Step-by-step purchase of real estate in Thailand
To better understand the process of buying Thai housing, we suggest you become acquainted with its key aspects.
No. 1 Property selection and reservation
An important stage of the sale transaction is the reservation of the housing unit and the signing of a contract with the seller. The document provides detailed information about the transaction’s parties and important housing data, as well as the details of both parties and the payment schedule.
The buyer pays the seller a deposit of 1% of the cost and the housing unit is then withdrawn from the market.
Important! If the buyer terminates the transaction, the deposit remains with the homeowner but if the homeowner terminates it, the money will be refunded to the buyer.
What do you need for the reservation?
- A copy of the buyer's passport
- Email address
- Phone number
- Postal address
No. 2 Legal aspects
To observe the legal purity of the transaction, it’s necessary to check the condition of the housing. A lawyer can help in this matter and ensure compliance with mandatory legal norms.
What services do lawyers offer?
- Checking the land plot: Are there debt bonds, who is the real owner?
- Checking the seller's company;
- Checking the contract's correctness, making changes and agreeing with the current owner;
- Registering a transaction with the Land Department.
These aspects are relevant for the secondary market. In the market of new buildings in Thailand, the contract must just be verified and modified.
No. 3 Sales contract
After the deposit has been made, the seller provides the buyer with a sales contract for verification and possible adjustments. This document provides all information about the acquired property, the terms of purchase and the registration method. It also contains the financial costs of the documents and housing maintenance, as well as a fine if the terms and conditions are violated.
The contract includes copies of documents from both the transaction parties, including the documents for the housing unit.
No. 4 Money transfer
There are two main ways to pay for a transaction in Thailand:
- In the primary market – transfer funds to the details of the developer specified in the contract. Payment may be made anywhere in the world as long as the account is in the buyer's name, You can open a bank account in Thailand if you have a sales contract, passport, developer check and a deposit of USD 30 (THB 1,037). Payment may be made from the founder of a legal entity's account ;
- In the secondary market – opening an account in one of the banks of Thailand and transferring money to it from an account in your native or any other country. Once the housing has been registered with the Land Department, the buyer gives the seller a cheque for the amount.
Important: When buying freehold real estate, the money must be transferred from a foreign account. If you are buying a leasehold house, you can pay for the transaction in any convenient way.
Where a condominium unit falls outside the foreign quota, buyers are sometimes offered another route: a Thai company that acquires the property, with the foreigner as a shareholder and director. A Thai company may own land and housing where the majority of the shares belong to Thai nationals. What the law prohibits is shareholders holding their shares on a foreigner's behalf. Since 2025 such arrangements have been investigated across the country, with arrests and the first convictions handed down.
A company is also a continuing commitment. It requires bookkeeping and annual filings, and those costs sit on top of the price of the property. On the way out the structure narrows the pool of buyers: a purchaser and their solicitor will examine the shareholder list, the source of the shareholders' funds and the filings, and those checks add time to the sale. The form makes sense where a genuine business in Thailand stands behind it — a hotel, a restaurant or a serviced apartment operation.
Since 2025 these structures have been under scrutiny across the country: raids are under way and the courts have handed down the first convictions. What counts as a nominee arrangement and the signs by which a Thai company is treated as one, we cover in a separate article.
No. 5 Property title
Real estate transactions in Thailand are subject to mandatory registration with the Land Department. Usually, foreign buyers visit the department accompanied by Thai representatives as the local staff do not speak English well and all property documents are issued in Thai.
How does the registration procedure work?
If the housing is purchased on the primary market, the developer's representative, with a power of attorney from the foreign buyer, registers the transaction.
Legal assistance is provided on the secondary market.
When the transaction is made in the Land Department, the buyer receives a package of documents that may differ from the property registration method. Take the example of an apartment in a freehold zone:
- The standard Thai sales contract with the owner’s details, all the real estate information and the stamps and signatures of the authorized officials;
- Chanote (a document containing the property's layout and the owners' names);
- A house book with information about the unit.
Registration is where transactions most often stall. We show step by step how a transfer of ownership works at the Land Office and why timelines slip.
New-build or resale: what changes in the procedure
About half of the transactions going through the portal are on the primary market and roughly a fifth on the resale market. The procedure differs more than it first appears.
| Stage | New-build | Resale market |
|---|---|---|
| Payment | transfer to the developer under the contract; the buyer's account may be in any country | more often through an account at a Thai bank, with a cheque handed over at registration |
| Legal checks | mainly review and amendment of the contract | full check of the property, the owner and any encumbrances |
| Who registers | the developer's representative under a power of attorney | the buyer together with a lawyer |
| Payment schedule | instalments over the construction period | paid in full at the time of the transaction |
| Main risk | delays to the handover date | hidden encumbrances and unpaid maintenance |
We will help you purchase real estate in Thailand
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