Guide
Leasing land in Thailand
What a foreign operator or investor can actually hold, how it is registered, and what we offer. Plainly stated, so you can underwrite it.
Guide
What a foreign operator or investor can actually hold, how it is registered, and what we offer. Plainly stated, so you can underwrite it.
The principle
Foreign nationals and foreign-majority companies cannot own land in Thailand. The established route for an international hotel operator or developer is a long-term lease registered at the provincial Land Office, paired with rights over the buildings it constructs. This is how most foreign-operated resorts in Thailand are held.
A registered lease is a real right: it binds the land if the landlord sells, it can be assigned or sub-let where the lease permits, and it survives changes in the landlord's shareholding. A lease longer than three years that is not registered is enforceable for only three years.
Thirty years is the maximum a registered land lease can run in Thailand, and it is what we offer at Sichon. We do not market anything beyond it. A further lease can be discussed and registered near the end of the term, as a new agreement on terms agreed then. What we offer in the meantime is a landlord that intends to hold the land, and a structure that keeps your buildings yours for the full term.
Yes. A foreign individual or company can be the registered lessee of a land lease of up to 30 years. The lease is written onto the title deed at the Land Office and binds any future owner of the land.
Thirty years under the Civil and Commercial Code. We do not market anything beyond it. A further lease can be discussed and registered near expiry as a new agreement.
Because the plot suits light-touch businesses that pay back within a few seasons, and a shorter first term with a rent-free first year is a fairer structure than a 30-year lease priced for a resort. A further term can be agreed at year ten.
You do, for the term, through a registered right of superficies. We recommend it and register it alongside the lease, with the treatment at expiry agreed in writing.
A registered lease can be assigned or sub-let where the lease permits, and we expect to permit it for a financed project with consent not unreasonably withheld. Lenders in Thailand routinely take security over registered leaseholds.
A Land Office fee of 1% of the total rent over the term plus 0.1% stamp duty, normally shared, plus legal fees. See our page on what leasing costs.
Not for the lease itself. For a business on the land you will normally operate through a Thai limited company that holds the licences and employs staff; hotels can obtain Board of Investment promotion for majority foreign ownership.
At Sichon, yes, with a partner bringing a scheme, an operator and capital.
Rent is quoted to qualified parties after a first conversation, because it depends on term, use and build commitment. At Natai the first year is rent-free against a written build plan.
Usually annually with a fixed step every few years. A larger upfront payment with lower annual rent is possible. Terms are set out in the lease.
A security deposit equivalent to a few months' rent is normal and is agreed in the heads of terms.
The lease normally passes land and building tax for the leased area to the tenant. Rent is exempt from VAT.
Why lease, not buy · What leasing costs · The 30-year lease for foreign nationals · BOI incentives · Living in Thailand