I am looking at buying a pre- fabricated ( knock down house) on a small piece of land that I have a 30 year lease on, would just like to ask, is there any problems with planning permission from the land officer for a structure that is not permanent ( not bricks & mortar ) is the cost based on the size of the land & the footprint of the structure etc? A friend has told me that it doesn't matter the size etc & that he & a friend both paid 35,000 baht at the land department to get it registered, this is my first time in doing something like this & seeing as this is Thailand, I find it expensive......

 

Thanks in advance 

 

Bazz

I can't answer that directly but I have seen many converted containers (for example)....so I would not envisage a problem.

19 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

I can't answer that directly but I have seen many converted containers (for example)....so I would not envisage a problem.

Thanks for quick reply, but does the cost sound reasonable?

33 minutes ago, baz69er said:

I am looking at buying a pre- fabricated ( knock down house) on a small piece of land that I have a 30 year lease on, would just like to ask, is there any problems with planning permission from the land officer for a structure that is not permanent ( not bricks & mortar ) is the cost based on the size of the land & the footprint of the structure etc? A friend has told me that it doesn't matter the size etc & that he & a friend both paid 35,000 baht at the land department to get it registered, this is my first time in doing something like this & seeing as this is Thailand, I find it expensive......

 

that sounds extremely to me. Not sure how you got the land leased to you but since you do you should be comfortable going into the land office and asking questions to them directly.

3 minutes ago, baz69er said:

Thanks for quick reply, but does the cost sound reasonable?

 

 

Sounds high - wat exactly was the 35k paid for.

 

Presumably your lease has been registered at the Land Office, in which case you will already have paid the registration charge. 

 

LEASE
Under Thai law, any lease of at least three years must be registered with the land office. In Thailand, long-term rentals are a popular option for expats wishing to stay in the country for extended periods. The registration charge is one percent of the rental fee for the duration of the rental. For instance, if a landlord and tenant agree to rent a property for 30 years at a monthly rate of THB 5,000, the total rental charge for the duration of the lease would be THB 1,800,000. The filing fee in this scenario would therefore be 18,000 Thai Baht.

Unlike ownership transfers, lease registration is not subject to withholding income tax and SBT. Nonetheless, stamp duty is still applicable, but at a rate of 0.1%.

 

On 7/19/2025 at 7:09 PM, baz69er said:

I am looking at buying a pre- fabricated ( knock down house) on a small piece of land that I have a 30 year lease on, would just like to ask, is there any problems with planning permission from the land officer for a structure that is not permanent ( not bricks & mortar ) is the cost based on the size of the land & the footprint of the structure etc? A friend has told me that it doesn't matter the size etc & that he & a friend both paid 35,000 baht at the land department to get it registered, this is my first time in doing something like this & seeing as this is Thailand, I find it expensive......

 

Thanks in advance 

 

Bazz

A friend of mine asked the land officer first and then bought a house.

On 7/19/2025 at 7:09 PM, baz69er said:

I am looking at buying a pre- fabricated ( knock down house) on a small piece of land that I have a 30 year lease on, would just like to ask, is there any problems with planning permission from the land officer for a structure that is not permanent ( not bricks & mortar ) is the cost based on the size of the land & the footprint of the structure etc? A friend has told me that it doesn't matter the size etc & that he & a friend both paid 35,000 baht at the land department to get it registered, this is my first time in doing something like this & seeing as this is Thailand, I find it expensive......

 

Thanks in advance 

 

Bazz

Normally you would need a complete set of plans with all electric, water, drains foundations etc. submitted which they then approve, never heard of having to do this with a temporary building. The registration sounds a bit on the high side, but it is quite a few years since we did ours, but it wasn't 35K. Things are getting expensive, so it may be the going rate. I would get some advice from a lawyer if I was you as it isn't much different from having a garage or a shed and neither require a blue book registration.

I might be out of touch here but to put a pre-fab on a block of land would (but TIT) require permission from the Tessaban (Municipal office) as @Formaleins says. Having it registered as part of your lease is another matter for the Land Office.

On 7/19/2025 at 2:09 PM, baz69er said:

I am looking at buying a pre- fabricated ( knock down house) on a small piece of land that I have a 30 year lease on, would just like to ask, is there any problems with planning permission from the land officer for a structure that is not permanent ( not bricks & mortar ) is the cost based on the size of the land & the footprint of the structure etc? A friend has told me that it doesn't matter the size etc & that he & a friend both paid 35,000 baht at the land department to get it registered, this is my first time in doing something like this & seeing as this is Thailand, I find it expensive......

 

Thanks in advance 

 

Bazz

Constructions on a plot of land is handled by the tessa ban office – some places it's situated together with the amphor-local district office – the Land Office only handles the lands size and borders. You should ask tessa ban, as that is the office for building permission and issuing house number, and later a house book when the house is at least 80% finished.