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Thailand property law

    

SAMUIFORSALE provides non-commercial legal information relevant to foreigners in the area of real estate and property law and related corporate law in Thailand. We make available property legal information and law resources in easy to understand plain English for people who do not have a legal background but who are interested in real estate law or property investment in Thailand.

Foreigners are often told by real estate agents and legal professionals in Thailand that property laws are complicated, suggesting that foreigners have contractual structures available for freehold ownership of land in Thailand - or hire of immovable property (land lease) structures can exceed the legally allowed period of 30 years. That doesn't mean they tell you the truth. They skip the legal problems and cover up the straightforward principle of Thai property law and real estate investment in Thailand: ownership of land is not open to foreigners and registered lease rights cannot exceed 30 years.

The legal information in this website is valid for the whole of Thailand, some news items and practice examples relate to Koh Samui. The same problems exist in other tourist resort areas in Thailand and are not isolated in Samui.

Copyright 2010 Samui For Sale
 

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February 28 2010 - Thailand property transfer fees and taxes back to normal as national tax breaks to stimultae the real estate and property development business ends March 28 2008 ( read article)

Januari 30 2010 - Thailand property law, overview of available ownership options and property rights for foreigners and introduction to the basic real estate laws in Thailand. Be informed before committing to buying a property ( read article)

January 16 2010 - About 80 % of the Internet users use search engines to find information about Thai law, 60% of the Internet users use google, 40% of them looking for a law firm find a Thai lawyer on the Web ( read article)

January 16 2010 - Update translation of the Condominium Act Thailand including 2008 amendments with easy to use jump menu between the sections ( read the Condominium Act)

January 15 2010 - Updated introduction to condominium ownership and buying a condo unit in Thailand for foreigners ( read article)

November 30 2009 - Preference shares are often used by foreigners to control a majority Thai owned private limited company ( read article)

November 15 2009 - Prenuptial agreements and the division of assets (real estate) upon divorce ( read article)

October 16 2009 - Termination of a real estate lease agreement and assignment of the lease to the heirs upon death of the lessee. ( read article)

August 19 2009 - New bill aimed at foreigners illegally owning farm land through Thai nominees in Thailand ( read article)

April 25 2009 - A company with a foreigner's name on the company formation documents or shareholder's list may be unable to sell or transfer real estate it owns ( read article)

April 09 2009 - Renewal of temporary tax reduction on sale of immovable property ( read article)

February 21 2009 - Prenuptial agreements, marriage in Thailand and protection of real estate or immovable property investments in Thailand by a foreign spouse ( read article)

February 15 2009 - Property (real estate) purchase or land acquisition of land in Thailand by a foreigner in a Thai spouse's name during marriage ( read article)

January 16 2009 - Apartment structures opposite registered Condominiums ( read article)

January 07 2009 - Lease of land and house is the least benefcial structure for foreigners and legally the weakest structure. Transfer and ownership of a house in Thailand ( read article)

January 05 2009 - Land lease in Thailand quick introduction and general legal information ( read article)

November 28 2008 - Foreign investor interest in Thai property weakening. The global financial crisis is affecting the Thai property market (amended condo act article read article)

May 17 2008 - Condo Act to protect consumers. Aims to weed out shady developers. This article includes a link to a translation of the new Act (amended condo act article read article)

May 15 2008 - Government considers longer leasehold terms. Opinion: Unlikely to expect changes in the near future (longer lease terms 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 (usufruct read article).

March 28 2008 - Temporary tax rate reduction. Specific Business Tax cut from 3% to 0.1% on commercial or profitable sale of immovable property (tax rate reduction 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' (foreign business act won't pass 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 (lease read article).

April 12 2007 - Samui real estate market in dire straits. Foreign property developers suspend work. New height restrictions and uncertainty in amended FBA act blamed. Sales in Pattaya, Phuket also slow ( read article).

April 5 2007 - The Peak Project. Land papers to be revoked ( 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 (nominee hunt read opinion).

February 9 2007 - New land scam stopped in time. Land encroachment, allegedly with the backing of some public officials (land scam 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 (warning foreign buyers of land read opinion).

January 14 2007 - Companies holding land foreign. The nominee problem is closely related to how a company incorporated under Thai law is deemed foreign. (foreign firms article 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 (voting rights & foreign firms 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 (land seizures 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 (peak project samui 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 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. 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. (Business registration rules 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 (warning buyers of samui land 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 21th 2006 - Firm to be sued for illegal land deals. Title deed on Samui issued unlawfully ( article)

July 20th 2006 - Findings reveal less than half of land legally bought. 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 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 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 (land ownership checked 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. The new regulation went in to effect on May 25 2006 and is actually an enforcement of Thailand's existing laws (land office guidelines read article).

New pages and updates

Samui For Sale
land companies Real Estate property ownership in Thailand
Land ownership titles in Thailand
Land purchase by a Thai spouse Translation Condominium Act No.4 2008
Ownership house Ownership of a house as distinct from its land
land purchase Land purchase by a Thai national on behalf of a foreigner
property sale structures Real Estate property between husband and wife (Thai)
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