Land Measurement

1 Talang Wah = 4 square meters

100 Talang Wah = 1 ngan = 400 sqm

400 Talang Wah = 4 ngan = 1 Rai = 1600 sqm

1,000 Talang Wah = 10 ngan = 2.5 Rai = 1 Acre

2,500 Talang Wah = 6.25 Rai = 1 Hectare

 

 

 


  

 
Ownership of Land

  

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Ownership of land in Thailand is governed by the land Code BE 2497 (1954), the Civil and Commercial Code, Land Reform for Agriculture Act BE 2518 (1975) and the regulations set forth by the Ministry of the Interior. Although Thai law stipulates that a foreigner may not own land in Thailand in his name, he has the right of ownership of buildings only. If a foreigner wishes to acquire land in Thailand to build a property, he has 2 options:
  1. Leasing (Description Below)
  2. If a foreigner is going to operate a business in Thailand then he may purchase the freehold of the land through his Thai Limited Company. The land will be owned by the Thai Company, not by the individual.

Lease, leasehold, hire of property in Thailand

Any lease agreement (hire of immovable property) exceeding 3 years must be drawn up in the Thai language and recorded and kept in the registers of the local Land Office. The Land Offices use only the Thai language, even your name in the contract has to be in Thai. The original lease agreement must be registered and attached to the original title deed and held at the Land Department for the lease to be enforceable over three years.
The maximum term of a registered lease is 30 Years. Although some people state that they will extend the lease for a renewable lease of another 30 years, must note that there is no obligation or law to enforce this extra lease term.
The owner of the land can sell the property while being leased but the next owner must recognize the rights of the lease.
There will be a 1% registration fee on the lease amount stated when registered at the Lands Department. There will also be a 12.5% income tax of the yearly rental according to the lease agreement or the annual value assessed by the Land Department, whichever is higher. So careful notation of the contract should be read and understood to see who has been nominated to pay these taxes and fees.

Usufruct

This lease is slightly different in that the Usufruct can be for the life of the leasee (which may mean more than 30 years). A usufructuary has the right to enjoy, use and possess the land. He is acting like the real owner but can not sell or destroy the property as he is NOT the full owner. However, he can transfer his rights on the land/house to a third party. Even if the usufruct will end at the death of the usufructuary, the usufructuary can lease out the land to a third party and this second agreement will NOT end when the usufructuary will die as per the Supreme Court ruling 2297/1998: "the lessor does not have to be the owner of the property".
So the usufructuary can grant a thirty years lease to a third party. By this way, you could pass on your rights to your children or other relatives even after death if the lease was done before the demise. Do not forget that all leases over 3 years must be registered at the land department and taxes have to be paid.
The lease will be terminated when the leasee dies unless the leasee has drawn up another lease agreement that must be registered to become valid over 3 years. This new lease is then in force until the expiration of the term of this lease.
With both a registered lease or a Usufruct a right of Superficies in favor of another person by giving him the right to own, upon or under the land, buildings, structures or plantations. This means that you lease the land but you own the buildings upon that land.
A right of superficies may be created either for a period of time or for life of the owner of the land or the superficiary.
If no period of time has been fixed, the right of superficies may be terminated at any time by any partner giving reasonable notice to the other. But when rent is to be paid, either one year's previous notice must be given or rent for one year paid.
If the superficiary fails to comply with essential conditions specified in the act creating superficies or, when rent is to be paid, he fails to pay it for two consecutive years, his right of superficies may be terminated.
When the right of superficies is extinguished, the superficiary may take away his buildings, structures or plantations, provided he restores the land to its former condition.
If instead of permitting the removal of the buildings, structures or plantations, the owner of the land notifies his intention to buy the buildings, structures or plantations at a market value, the superficiary may not refuse the offer except on reasonable grounds.
There will be a 1.5% registration fee on the lease amount stated when registered at the Lands Department.

Leasing from a Thai spouse

The main drawback of buying land in a Thai spouse's name during marriage is that land becomes sole and personal property of the Thai spouse.
Under Thai law the lease can be terminated by the Thai spouse without reason. A lease or usufruct does not offer security for the foreign spouse paying for the land. Any spouse can cancel a lease at any time within the marriage and within 1 year after a divorce.

Death of the lessor

In the event of death (or bankruptcy) of the lessor the lease will not be terminated, however, options in the lease that are not real rights do not pass on to the heirs or future lessors.
In other words, the lease will be recognized by the heirs, but any options agreed upon or implied will not be recognized.

Death of the lessee

The lessee should ask the lessor to include a clause that in the event of death of the lessee prior to the expiration of the lease term, his or her heirs shall continue to lease the land. Without such a clause in the lease agreement the lease will be terminated.
If you are contemplating building or buying a house then we recommend that you get legal representation. You will then get the latest information regarding your options.

Different Titles

   There are many different types of land titles in Thailand, the majority of which do not allow the legal right to build a house on that land. The only title we recommend is the Chanot:

CHANOT, or the Land Title Deed, a certificate for ownership of land. A person having their name shown on the deed has the right to the land and can use it as evidence to confirm the right to Government authorities. This land has been accurately measured using GPS to set the area and boundaries of the land. The boundaries of the land are indicated by numbered posts. Any legal acts may be done immediately, as per the right of ownership. Land partition of more than 9 plots must be carried out according to the Land Allotment Law, Section 286.

Sor. Kor 1 is a notification form of possessed land. There is a certificate to show the right to the land. This maintains existing rights. Notification of Sor. Kor 1; on December 1954, the government advised all land proprietors to notify such possession to the government as per form Sor. Kor 1. After it was proven that such a proprietor had possessed the land legally and used the benefit of the land, then the government would issue Nor. Sor. 3 or Nor. Sor. 3 Gor as evidence.

Nor. Sor. 3 and Nor. Sor. 3 Gor are legal certificates provided that any name shown on the title is a person who has the right to the land (according to the principle law). This right will be recognized by the law and can be used as evidence in any dispute with an ordinary person or the government.

Por. Bor. Tor 6 is evidence by the issuance of a tax number for the purpose of paying tax for using the benefit of the land. Such land has not yet been assessed as to the person's right to possess such land. In the event that there is not title for the land, then it may be land in a conserved forest, public land or land which existed under Sor. Kor 1, Nor. Sor 3, Nor. Sor. 3 Gor or a title deed. Any of these titles must have a Por. Bor. Tor 6 as tax must be paid, the same as any land without a title. Purchase of such land is possible by handing over the possession of the land to the buyer along with the tax number. The right to the land under Por. Bor. Tor 6 can not be used as evidence in any dispute with authorities.

Sor. Por. Gor 4-01 is an allotment of land from the land reformative committee, and under no circumstances may this land be bought or sold. It may be transferred to heirs only.

Nor. Sor. 3 is an instrument certifying the use of land issued by the government to the proprietor of land not a possession title, i.e. it is confirmed by law that a person holding Nor. Sor. 3 has the legal right to possess the land. This land title can be used as a legal document or to use the benefit of the land as an owner. Nor. Sor. 3 is a floating map with no parcel points. It is issued for a specific plot of land and it is not connected to other land plots. This causes problems in verifying the land area. Any legal acts must be publicized for 30 days.

Nor. Sor. 3 Gor is a legal land title with the same legal basis as Nor. Sor. 3. The difference being that Nor. Sor. 3 Gor has parcel points on the map, and is set by using an aerial survey to set the points and the land area. It is possible to verify a nearby land area. It always uses the same scale of 1:5000. There is no need to publicize any legal acts, and it is possible to partition (divide) the land into smaller plots.

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