Hi,I just bought a piece of land which I register in the name of a thai friend with a mortgage and a lease agreement.Now I was on the local goverment office to ask for a building licence in my name so I can register the house in my name.The answer I got was that I needed approval from the BOI to apply for a licence in my name.However I always understood that a foreigner cannot own the land but in fact can own the building on it.Are those people in the goverment office wrong or is it me?

Hi,I just bought a piece of land which I register in the name of a thai friend with a mortgage and a lease agreement.Now I was on the local goverment office to ask for a building licence in my name so I can register the house in my name.The answer I got was that I needed approval from the BOI to apply for a licence in my name.However I always understood that a foreigner cannot own the land but in fact can own the building on it.Are those people in the goverment office wrong or is it me?

You are right. Foreigners can't own land here. But you CAN own a building ON the land that you are leasing or under the name of your thai friend. The process that you're going hrough is legal. Check out this website for more information about owning properties in thailand --there are several ways!!! They provide free consultation. And if you need assistance, they offer many services.

http://www.siam-legal.com --purchase land section

I maybe wrong here and you should check with the experts but I have always understood in normal cases ie non BOI investments, the application for a Building Permit must be signed by the Owner of the land title even if the land is leased out thus confirming the Owner has no objection to the construction on their land. An English translation of the application form should confirm this.