My uk based thai lady friend (not married) bought a plot of land across the soi from her family home in Isaan.

Part of the purchase was that I could use the land as a garden/orchard with some sort of prefabricated accommodation for my retirement. I asked if i could lease the land . I am concerned that we could fall out or she passes before me and have no security with her existing family.

Without her knowledge I visited the local land office branch to enquire about the process. I did wonder if something was lost in translation. The head person made it clear that a 30 year lease was not possible. I was told that a 3 year lease was possible.

I understand that percentage of the lease is payable . There is no payment intended for the lease.

Any comments or thoughts.

Your concerns answered your own question. Yes, you should be concerned and the head man at the land office pretty much pointed out, that 3 years please renewal, is all you're going to get.

Only invest what you can lose, as if you're UK friend dies before you do, the family will be moving in & you'll be moving out.

Have you already developed the land?

10 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Your concerns answered your own question. Yes, you should be concerned and the head man at the land office pretty much pointed out, that 3 years please renewal, is all you're going to get.

Only invest what you can lose, as if you're UK friend dies before you do, the family will be moving in & you'll be moving out.

thank you

Consider a 20 footer container home.........tool shed to start, home after, a few add ons....up n away if needed............

8 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Have you already developed the land?

no i have read too many disaster stories. TBH i was thinking about a few trees and one of these prefab resort type pre made structures. The things that can go on the back of a lorry .

Maybe size of a 20 ft sea container. DEFFO not one of these concrete cathedrals you see dotted across the villages.

The lady often looks of the car window and points out the "falang" houses. Often the case the falang moves on to the the next world and the house sits there unused and unloved .

10 hours ago, surreybloke said:

I was told that a 3 year lease was possible.

The lease can actually be 30 years according to Thai property law, however any lease over 3 years must be registered at the land department, if I recall correctly.

Googled up what I was looking for and this is the first on the list: https://www.sunbeltasia.com/legal-services/property-law/thailand-30-year-lease-agreement-property-law/

27 minutes ago, surreybloke said:

no i have read too many disaster stories. TBH i was thinking about a few trees and one of these prefab resort type pre made structures. The things that can go on the back of a lorry .

Maybe size of a 20 ft sea container. DEFFO not one of these concrete cathedrals you see dotted across the villages.

The lady often looks of the car window and points out the "falang" houses. Often the case the falang moves on to the the next world and the house sits there unused and unloved .

I imagine it's a stressful experience eventually, same the guys who have built on the GF/wifes land, also those who bought in company name

5 hours ago, Off Piste said:

Consider a 20 footer container home.........tool shed to start, home after, a few add ons....up n away if needed............

yep i found a start up firm along rt 2 about 2 hours north of korat making resort type cabins and coffee shops et al

You should consider getting a usufruct agreement.

https://www.thailandlawonline.com/article-older-archive/usufruct-in-thailand

Lifetime Property Rights and Long-Term Occupation Under Thai Law

Last updated: May 2026

Foreigners cannot generally own land in Thailand directly, but Thai law recognizes several registrable real property rights that may provide long-term rights of occupation and use. One of the oldest and most established of these rights is the Thai usufruct (สิทธิเก็บกิน / Sidhi-Kep-Kin).

Under Thai law, a usufruct may be created either for a fixed period of time or for the lifetime of one or more natural persons. A usufruct granted to a natural person is not limited to 30 years and may continue for the entire lifetime of the usufructuary.

Usufructs look good on paper, but only on paper. Seriously, if a family doesn't want you living there, then they'll make it uncomfortable, if not unhealthy for you to stay.

Have the electric and water turned off, or you may simply have an 'accident'.

Reality though, if land office is only allowing 3 yr leases, then they probably won't be issuing any usufructs either.

Walk away from this one. Avoid the stress, simply rent or buy a condo elsewhere.

On 6/18/2026 at 5:34 AM, surreybloke said:

My uk based thai lady friend (not married) bought a plot of land across the soi from her family home in Isaan.

Part of the purchase was that I could use the land as a garden/orchard with some sort of prefabricated accommodation for my retirement. I asked if i could lease the land . I am concerned that we could fall out or she passes before me and have no security with her existing family.

Without her knowledge I visited the local land office branch to enquire about the process. I did wonder if something was lost in translation. The head person made it clear that a 30 year lease was not possible. I was told that a 3 year lease was possible.

I understand that percentage of the lease is payable . There is no payment intended for the lease.

Any comments or thoughts.

A usufruct is the best solution. Ask a lawyer to set up

Any lease over three years and up to 30 years is at the discretion of the head guy in the relevant land office and is best handled by a lawyer.I ve had a couple or three 30 year leases ,no issues but I ve also had them refused.Some jurisdictions will only allow 10 or 15 year leases but can be renewed for a total of 30.Caveat here is the head guy in the land office has a lot of discretion.

Anything beyond 30 would have to be on trust as it's I believe not legal binding to have a contract to renew after 30 years.Let the lawyers and the owner handle it and only show up when asked to the land office,if your transferring the ownership to a Thai friend etc ,it has to be someone conceivably wealthy enough to have bought the land.The reassuring thing about leases over 3 years is they are registered with the land office and your name is on the back of the chanote document ,feels very legitimate

Edited June 19Jun 19 by bwanajohn
Typo

On 6/18/2026 at 5:42 AM, KhunLA said:

Your concerns answered your own question. Yes, you should be concerned and the head man at the land office pretty much pointed out, that 3 years please renewal, is all you're going to get.

Only invest what you can lose, as if you're UK friend dies before you do, the family will be moving in & you'll be moving out.

On 6/18/2026 at 5:42 AM, KhunLA said:

Your concerns answered your own question. Yes, you should be concerned and the head man at the land office pretty much pointed out, that 3 years please renewal, is all you're going to get.

Only invest what you can lose, as if you're UK friend dies before you do, the family will be moving in & you'll be moving out.

Great saying ‘only invest what you can afford to lose’, I thought about buying a house here using the methods a foreigner can use to buy a house. After visiting various properties I realised I would be pouring my money down a black hole, buying property in Thailand isn’t an investment for a foreigner like it is in the U.K., you will never own the property 100%, I will continue to rent.

5 minutes ago, Jumbo1968 said:

Great saying ‘only invest what you can afford to lose’, I thought about buying a house here using the methods a foreigner can use to buy a house. After visiting various properties I realised I would be pouring my money down a black hole, buying property in Thailand isn’t an investment for a foreigner like it is in the U.K., you will never own the property 100%, I will continue to rent.

Agree, and only under certain circumstances does it really make sense to buy in TH. ROI or security. Only security is condo, and not the best ROI, although at worse, if here long enough, inexpensive housing cost.

Emphasis on 'if here long enough', as age plays a big factor whether to buy in anywhere. If retiring like most, 60-65 yrs old, then maybe not the best use of funds. Really have to know what you want, and expect to live another 10-15-20 years for any real ROI.

On 6/18/2026 at 12:34 AM, surreybloke said:

I understand that percentage of the lease is payable . There is no payment intended for the lease.

Any comments or thoughts.

You should have a usufruct instead of a lease — a 3+ years registered lease needs payment and taxation — a usufruct can work free of charge for an agreed number of years up to 30, or for life of either signing party, and still be registered on the title deed for a small fee.

Under 3 years it is an unregistered rental agreement that gives you nil long term security. However, if your concern is the family, you might not wish to use the land even with a registered right.

When I read the OP this is the first thing that struck me was not the lease or the future.

On 6/18/2026 at 5:34 AM, surreybloke said:

a plot of land across the soi from her family home in Isaan.

Many well meaning fellows fall for the cheap land next to or in the same village as the family.

In my humble opinion stay well away from any family. Chances are that one or more of the distant cousins will be continually pestering the "rich" faring for a loan (sic) then will harbour resentment when refused.

My wife doesn't wish to be anywhere near her family as she doesn't want any messy problems. That's just her. I see her family as being OK but...

We live about 700km away.

21 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

When I read the OP this is the first thing that struck me was not the lease or the future.

Many well meaning fellows fall for the cheap land next to or in the same village as the family.

In my humble opinion stay well away from any family. Chances are that one or more of the distant cousins will be continually pestering the "rich" faring for a loan (sic) then will harbour resentment when refused.

My wife doesn't wish to be anywhere near her family as she doesn't want any messy problems. That's just her. I see her family as being OK but...

We live about 700km away.

Yep, definitely a scenario I experienced and seen a lot of. Myself, 1st short Thai wife marriage, and saying 'NO' was a big riff in our short relationship. Many don't seem to know how to say NO.

Present wife, irrelevant, as her family all seem to have more jiggle in their pockets & equity than I'll ever have here in TH. Plus, they like me, and use to visit one sis almost weekly, another monthly.

Neither of us want to live near her family, only because of their location, Udon, NBLP, Krung Thep & north of. After 16 yrs, couldn't wait to leave Udon area. Nice metro area, but town itself is too congested now, along with not the best air quality part of the year. Really liked the cooler weather, though short lived.

NO THANKS