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SAMUIFORSALE.com provides legal information relevant to foreigners principally in the area of property law and related corporate law in Thailand. We explain the restrictions on foreign land ownership, types of ownership, the concept of leasehold and the procedures and responsibilities of real estate ownership via Thai incorporated companies. Our aim is to make available legal information and law resources in English to enable you to understand the procedures and risks which you will be taking on when investing in real estate property or businesses in Thailand. We have endeavored to ensure that the legal information in this website is independent, complete, correct and based on present law. The legal information is supplied and verified by a foreign legal consultant (LL.M.) and two independent qualified Thai Attorneys at law (LL.M. LL.B.). The legal information in this website is valid for the whole of Thailand, the news items and practice examples relate specifically to Koh Samui. The same problems exist in other tourist resort areas in Thailand and are not isolated in Samui. Property laws are straightforward in Thailand, meaning foreigners cannot own land. As explained in this website there is no safe way around the law for the foreigner. Of course those who want you to give them your money will tell you that a Thai company can own land on your behalf or that a lease can exceed 30 years or can be perpetual. That doesn't mean that they tell the truth. Property magazines are publishing basic information about foreign real estate ownership in Thailand, but they get their legal information ONLY from the local property dealers who advertise in their magazines and skip the legal problems. One of the basic rules when buying property in a foreign country is get yourself a reliable lawyer. As some words of warning, the numerous law offices active in tourist areas of Thailand are as a rule unreliable because of their dependency and commercial interest in the property market and cooperation with local real estate agents and developers. To verify any legal information supplied in this website one should consult a reputable law firm outside the local property market ( Copyright © 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 All rights reserved
May 17 2008 - Condo Act to protect consumers. Aims to weed out shady developers (read article) May 15 2008 - Government considers longer leasehold terms. Opinion: Unlikely to expect changes in the near future (read article). May 2 2008 - Right of Usufruct in Thailand. The right of usufruct is a specific right with specified elements and should be used in specific situations (read article). March 29 2008 - Tax breaks for property buyers will become effective today with the official publication in the Royal Gazette (read article) March 28 2008 - Specific Business Tax cut from 3% to 0.1% on commercial or profitable sale of immovable property (read article) February 14 2008 - Condo projects facing oversupply. Customers who bought units worth Bt30,000 per square metre or less last year could lose their down payments, because the developers cannot continue with the high construction costs (read article). December 19 2007 - FBA and retail law won't pass. 'Efforts to move the legislation forward had been undermined by various special interests' (read article). August 9 2007 - Tighter curbs on foreign business. NLA member Pattara Khumphitak: 'That foreigners can come and control Thai land is due to weaknesses in the law. Thais sell their land and buy cars, but in the end, we are only employees to others in our own country' (read article). July 15 2007 - Long-term leases for foreigners. Lease structures beyond thirty years are generally set up to generate sales, rather than offering sound guarantees (read article). April 12 2007 - Samui real estate market in dire straits. Foreign property developers suspend work. New height restrictions and uncertainty in amended act blamed. Sales in Pattaya, Phuket also slow (read article). February 23 2007 - The DSI said it would wage a crackdown on the practice of several law-consultancy agencies. The Department of Special Investigation is continuing with its investigations into 'Five Samui Nominee' who illegally registered hundreds of companies for foreigners to trade with and buy land on Koh Samui. (read article). February 15 2007 - More documents sought in nominee hunt. Nominee structures are commonly used to bypass the law, particularly in tourist areas such as Phuket and Pattaya. SamuiForSale's opinion (read opinion). February 9 2007 - New land scam stopped in time. Land encroachment, allegedly with the backing of some public officials (read article). February 4 2007 - Foreigners Warned on Land. Commerce Minister Krirk-krai Jirapaet: 'Foreigners using shell companies to buy housing across the country are violating two laws'. Comments and opinion (read opinion). January 14 2007 - Companies holding land in fact foreign. The nominee problem is closely related to how a company incorporated under Thai law is deemed foreign. (read opinion). December 27 2006 - Voting rights to determine foreign firms. Even if their direct shareholdings are in a minority. The objective is to give a clearer definition of 'nominees' and their voting rights. Those who breach the law should now confirm to it (read article). November 3 2006 - Land grabbing probes to go on, says new chief. More encroachment complaints filed. Still many villagers send complaints of land encroachment in different areas (read article). November 3 2006 - The Thailand Long Stay Property Management Company limited 'Vacation Investment Program' or 'Thailand Second Home Membership Program' not a new government-backed solution for foreigners to invest in Real Estate. Perpetual leasehold legally meaningless (read article). October 15 2006 - Land seizures begin. 3000 rai without titles (read article). September 22 2006 - Forest-zone demarcation project started. Koh Samui District Office has embarked on a project to demarcate the forest zones. Lands claimed by investors would be subject to strict investigation to make sure that they are not encroached (read article). September 15 2006 - Samui land owner nabbed at Don Muang. A Koh Samui landlord was yesterday arrested at Don Muang airport for alleged illegal occupation of land and forest encroachment on the resort island (read article). September 3 2006 - Peak project holds 179 rai of illegal land. Allegations scare away potential client. April 5 2007 - Land plot papers to be revoked. The Land Department will revoke land papers issued for six plots in the Peak property project (read article). August 25 2006 - Gov't widens land scam investigation. Now there are 170 officials keeping an eye on the land issue on Koh Samui (read article). August 21 2006 - Ministry files charges over land misuse. Inquiry team finds that businessman lied. We will focus on investigations into The Peak project on the nearby Khao Dang mountain, said Mr Thanee, referring to an alleged encroachment onto a 451-rai area of forest land by an owner of The Peak properties development project (read article). August 15 2006 - The limits and boundaries. Over the last month, the Department of Natural Recourses and Environment have begun closely examining land acquisitions on Samui, particularly those involving foreign investors (read article). August 15 2006 - Flooding and Landslides imminent on Samui. Because of continued uncontrolled development, Samui is once again in great danger of flash floods and landslides this year (read article). August 9 2006 - Cabinet approves rehabilitation of forests on Samui Island. Officials will take legal action against encroachers and rehabilitate the deteriorated forests (read article). August 7 2006 - Police believe an Indian-born British property developer is the brains behind criminal gangs on resort island. A police source said the Briton also set up a law firm hiring foreign and local lawyers (read article). August 1st 2006 - Detail sought on sources of foreign funds. Ministry of Commerce - rules tightened. The new policy, which will take effect on Aug 15, is aimed at guarding against the problems of nominee shareholders and increasing transparency in the corporate registration process. Companies violating the rules would face dissolution (read article). July 28th 2006 - Land speculation takes a dive (read article). July 25th 2006 - Warning for buyers of Samui land. People interested in buying property on the resort island of Koh Samui have been warned they could end up with an illegal title, as only 10% of the property developers operating there are licensed (read article). July 24th 2006 - Pha-Ngan official warns not to sell land to foreigners. Damrong Pidej, director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, said the department was preparing to declare Koh Pa-Ngan a new national park (read article). July 21st 2006 - The Peak land scandal. Title deed on Samui issued unlawfully. Extended investigation to look into the issuing of title deeds for ''several hundred rai of land'' on Lamai mountain that had been earmarked for development as a nine-hole golf course (read article). July 20th 2006 - Findings reveal less than half of land legally bought. Preliminary findings of a Koh Samui land probe have concluded that less than half of a disputed tract had been legally purchased. Ruangnam Jaikwang, president of the Surat Thani Tourism Association, said he agreed with efforts to check all Samui land deals as this would prevent long-term problems (read article). July 18th 2006 - No evidence ministers involved in land scam. Irregularities in the issuing of land-right documents because the island had only 150,000 rai of land - and there were land-right documents for about 200,000 rai. Mr Thaksin insisted that the encroachers would be brought to justice, no matter who they were (read article). July 18th 2006 - Samui 'Bandidos gang' busted. Thai police on Tuesday arrested three members of the Bandidos, an international motorcycle gang allegedly engaged in Mafia-type activities, such as the drug trade and money laundering (read article). July 16th 2006 - Two Thai companies named as plot owners. The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) will be called in to examine the land scandal on Koh Samui. Around 34,000 rai out of 150,000 rai of land on Koh Samui is in the process of being declared protected forest. Officials found parts of the land have been encroached on by poachers (read article). July 15th 2006 - Development shock causes re-think. Companies should submit their annual financial report. Crackdown on partly foreign owned companies involved in property development (read article). July 15th 2006 - The Peak land scandal on Koh Samui (read article). July 13th 2006 - Land ownership on Samui being checked. Land ownership on Samui and Pha Ngan islands is to be scrutinized following complaints of encroachment onto forest reserve land and other illegal ownership (read article). May 25th 2006 - New property law may signal boom end. The government has issued guidelines to prevent the illegal use of companies by foreigners to own land. It establishes procedures for land officials to follow when dealing with an acquisition of land by a corporate entity with foreign shareholders or directors. The stated objective is to prevent avoidance of the law. The new regulation (translation) went in to effect on May 25 2006 and is actually an enforcement of Thailand's existing laws. The Land Department stated that new regulations will also affect companies that were set up previously. 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