Foreigners can own land in Phuket?

[proton]

This tik tok Tom reckons we can and through a company where you own 49%, how is that owning land, I thought this was dodgy ground in Phuket, but he claims it's doable, he sells real estate, big villas etc. Is this just in Phuket or country wide, or is he talking BS? 

 

https://www.tiktok.com/@tom_in_thailand/video/7270013062604705029

 

[Liverpool Lou]

5 minutes ago, proton said:

This tik tok Tom reckons we can and through a company where you own 49%, how is that owning land, I thought this was dodgy ground in Phuket, but he claims it's doable, he sells real estate, big villas etc. Is this just in Phuket or country wide, or is he talking BS? 

 

https://www.tiktok.com/@tom_in_thailand/video/7270013062604705029

 

Yes, it can be done and has been done for a long time but incorporating a Thai company for the sole purpose of "allowing" a foreigner to own land in Thailand is illegal. 

I know that many people have done it without issues but that does not make it legal, if the companies and the land purchases are investigated (as they were a few months ago involving one particular property agency) there could be consequences including losing the property.

[Liverpool Lou]

13 minutes ago, proton said:

but he claims it's doable, he sells real estate, big villas

Well, he's not going to tell prospective buyers that it isn't legal, is he?

[proton]

17 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Yes, it can be done and has been done for a long time but incorporating a Thai company for the sole purpose of "allowing" a foreigner to own land in Thailand is illegal. 

I know that many people have done it without issues but that does not make it legal, if the companies and the land purchases are investigated (as they were a few months ago involving one particular property agency) there could be consequences including losing the property.

I thought that was the case, seems like he's inviting people onto very thin ice with his sales pitch, not worth the risk.

[Liverpool Lou]

17 minutes ago, proton said:

I thought that was the case, seems like he's inviting people onto very thin ice with his sales pitch, not worth the risk.

I don't know, the video wouldn't play for me unless I registered with TT.

[zzzzz]

In their name   NO!!
in a company name where the farang owns 49% YES 

The Farang Can own the building on said land, ( I owned my house on land that was in a good thai friends name)
 

[Sharp]

It's not without its risks should be his disclaimer. 

[LukKrueng]

8 hours ago, zzzzz said:

In their name   NO!!
in a company name where the farang owns 49% YES 

The Farang Can own the building on said land, ( I owned my house on land that was in a good thai friends name)
 

Did you have a separate chanot for the house?

[DJ54]

I’d be very careful going down that slippery slope… can you imagine investing millions of baht just to be fleeced at a later date… … 

[xtrnuno41]

Red once you could and many did, but in time rules were changed.

If you start company, which cost you lots of effort to do so, your company MUST be really active.

So not just a fake company anymore, doing nothing, they check on that.

 

[geisha]

I know a lot of companies run by foreigners had big problems a while back in Phuket. They were closed down. 

[LivinginKata]

2 hours ago, LukKrueng said:

Did you have a separate chanot for the house?

Only the land has the Chanot. Assume he has a contract too lease the land. Max 30 years, The building would have a building permit, then license with Tabian Baan from the local Municipality (Tesibaan)

[Tropposurfer]

This numpty needs someone to tune him that if he sells to a 'connected' person he will be getting fitted for some cement shoes or fed to the pigs right quick once the mark finds out they've been scammed.

[jcmj]

Ownership of property in any form can change whenever the Thai government wants. Like it or not. Nothing is 100% guaranteed here. 

[PaoloR]

Remember the associated charges for running the company will mount up and that the cost of finding business to keep the company active can be onerous. Alternatively, wonder each day whether they are coming to take possession of your house. Been there, done that, never again!

[Dogmatix]

According to the Land Code this  practice is illegal and punishable by prison terms for the foreign buyers and Thai nominees.  It used to be easy to do very easy to do, nonetheless. but in 1996 it was made harder by a letter to Land Offices from the Interior Ministry ordering to investigate companies with any foreign shareholders, directors or even a foreinger lurking around at the land office and send suspicious cases to the director general of the Land Dept. That is not to say it was made impossible but definitely made harder.  Land officials have been known to ask nominee directors about their business plans and why they want to spend the company's entire share capital on an ocean view villa in a resort area.  If they can't answer the transfer is rejected.

[zzzzz]

17 hours ago, LukKrueng said:

Did you have a separate chanot for the house?

Chanot's are for land,

Building permit was in my name
my name is also in the back of the blue book

[LukKrueng]

19 hours ago, LivinginKata said:

Only the land has the Chanot. Assume he has a contract too lease the land. Max 30 years, The building would have a building permit, then license with Tabian Baan from the local Municipality (Tesibaan)

 

4 hours ago, zzzzz said:

Chanot's are for land,

Building permit was in my name
my name is also in the back of the blue book

Chanot is the ONLY type of title deed in Thailand. There's no other document to show ownership. The blue book is a house registration document, only lists THAI citizens (and PR holders) that are registered to that particular address. A Thai person can own many properties, but can only be listed as a resident in 1 of them.

The building permit is just that - a permit to build on a plot of land. Nothing to do with ownership. 

And besides - even of it does - can you sell the house without the land it stands on? Can the landlord of the plot sell the land with the house on it?

[LivinginKata]

3 hours ago, LukKrueng said:

 

Chanot is the ONLY type of title deed in Thailand. There's no other document to show ownership. <snip>

 Incorrect. There are about 6 levels of land title. Chanot is the top/best title, then nor sor sam gor, then nor sor sam, then lower titles only use for farming or hill land/. Only the top 3 types can have building permission for larger scale building.

[Eloquent pilgrim]

Better to have the land in your name on a 30 year lease (not ownership) and the house in your name (ownership)

[bignok]

Farangs can buy land on the moon.

[xtrnuno41]

19 minutes ago, Eloquent pilgrim said:

Better to have the land in your name on a 30 year lease (not ownership) and the house in your name (ownership)

You have to be aware then, you have to return the land as it was once when you leased it.

Meaning breaking down house.

[LukKrueng]

1 hour ago, LivinginKata said:

 Incorrect. There are about 6 levels of land title. Chanot is the top/best title, then nor sor sam gor, then nor sor sam, then lower titles only use for farming or hill land/. Only the top 3 types can have building permission for larger scale building.

Chanot, or NS4 is the only real fully freehold title deed, with the most accurate measurements, no limits on selling/buying (after the limited period of 5-10 years of "red chanot" has passed) and a possibility to divide the land to separate plots and issue a chanot for each of the parts. NR3 is a limited title deed whereas NS3r is a bit better. Both are with less accurate measurements and no possibility to divide the land. The "titles" you refer to as for farming or hill land are no deeds at all - those are limited permits to "make food" from the land and those are not even registered at the land department. Those permits are issued by different government agencies.

All of the above is not related to my original reply which was a question about a title deed for the house separate from the land which the one I replied to claims he has

[jphasia]

I bought a house + land in Phuket a bit more than 20 years ago.

I used a local lawyer that time that advised me that the eaiest way was to setup a local limited company (using thai nominate shareholders...).

So the land and the house became own by the Thai company.

The seller was a foreigner and the land was own by his Thai wife.

It was a big land and his project was to split the land in 6 parts, build 6 houses and sell them separetely.

My house was the first built but as I wanted a garden and privacy, I bought the house and the parcel next to it. 

Later on, he built the remaining houses.

Few years later, knowing Thailand and not comfortable with this purchased using Thai limited company, I contacted another lawyer and asked to transfer the property ownership to my son (Thai / French) who was less than 10 years old that time.

My son them became the Ta Bien Baan master and the chanote was transfered to his name. He is since then the sole owner of the full property being a Thai citizen.

During the chanote ownership transfer, my lawyer asked to come to the land department as they were holding transfer, asking for unpaid tax (garbidges collections) and the amount to pay (taxes unpaid + late penalties...) was 300,000b. I understood what it was really and compare to the property value, I had no choice than pay.

 

The houses next to mine were bought by foreigners. They bought the houses on their names, but leasing the land for 30 years. They actually don't live there but rent out their properties.

The seller (foreigner) of the property passed away few year ago.

About 4 years ago, I saw a sign placed in the front of these properties from a Bank and the properties being sealed.

I asked my wife what was it about.

The wife of the seller, once her husband passed away, made loans to the bank and used the lands as collateral. She didn't pay back the loan and disapeared...

[ChasingTheSun]

The aggressive large-scale investigation and seizing of land from foreigners who illegally bought it using the thai company route will become a very populist thing for the government to do at some point.

 

Just a matter of time.

 

 

 

Edited October 10, 2023 by ChasingTheSun

[eisfeld]

I heard foreigners can own bridges in Phuket. Someone is selling them on a platform for funny videos!

[Agusts]

I thought the 30 years lease is probably the best option to live in a house and land in Thailand, probably have to evacuate after 30 as despite what they promise now, at that time they raise the price so high, nobody can afford it - have seen that first hand on a 10 years lease property of a friend...

 

But I heard from a guy who leased for 30, then went for a few months holiday, when he came back he saw a boat parked in his garden...!? The Thai land owner said the land is only leased but still his property, and he can park his boat as needed for now....! 

 

He said the lawyer advised him not worth fighting this in court, that can take a year or more, and then he probably is only ordered to remove it, which he probably does by then anyway..., said lease agreements are all very flexible and dodgy here...???? 🥴