Can foreigners buy property in Phuket? Condo quota, land rules and costs (2026)
Short answer: yes for a condominium unit — under the Condominium Act a foreigner can own a unit outright, within the foreign quota of 49% of the building's floor area. No for land, apart from narrow exceptions in the law (for example a permission under Section 96 bis of the Land Code — Department of Lands). A house or villa comes through other structures, such as a registered lease of the land, which need a licensed lawyer.
A plain-English summary of official Thai sources, checked on 15 October 2026. It is not legal advice: confirm the current rules with the Land Office and a licensed lawyer before paying.
Condominiums: the 49% rule
A foreigner can own a condominium unit outright: the unit is registered in the buyer's name at the Land Office. The Condominium Act caps foreign ownership in each condominium — all foreign owners together may hold no more than 49% of the total floor area of all units in the building, counted as at the registration of the condominium (Section 19 bis). The limit is floor area, not the number of units, so “49% of the units” is a simplification.
When a unit is transferred to a foreigner, the seller reports to the Land Office which foreigners already own units in the building and what share of the floor area they hold, and the Land Office registers the transfer only if the foreign share stays within the limit (Sections 19 ter and 19 quater). Before you pay, ask the condominium juristic person or the seller for the current foreign-ownership figure of the building.
Who qualifies (Section 19)
Section 19 of the Condominium Act lists who may own a unit as a foreigner:
- a foreigner permitted to reside in Thailand under the immigration law;
- a foreigner admitted to Thailand under the investment promotion law;
- a juristic person referred to in Sections 97 and 98 of the Land Code that is registered under Thai law;
- a foreign juristic person under Revolutionary Council Announcement No. 281 that holds an investment promotion certificate;
- a foreigner or a foreign juristic person that brings foreign currency into Thailand, or withdraws money from a non-resident baht account or a foreign-currency deposit account.
The last category is the one open to any foreign buyer. At the transfer you show evidence that foreign currency was brought into Thailand, or withdrawn from such an account, in an amount not less than the price of the unit (Section 19 ter). The evidence comes from the bank, so agree the transfer with the bank before you send the money: the names of the sender and the buyer, the purpose of the payment, the currency, and the project, unit number and price exactly as in the contract.
Land, houses and villas
Land is different. Foreigners generally cannot own land in Thailand; the exceptions in the law are narrow (for example a permission under Section 96 bis of the Land Code — Department of Lands) and are not a standard way to buy a home. For a foreign buyer, a house or villa therefore comes through other structures — for example a registered lease of the land, with separate arrangements for the building. Each part needs its own document and its own registration, so this is work for a licensed lawyer, not a standard purchase.
The Land Office registers a lease of land or a building for at most 30 years — a longer term in the contract is cut to 30 years — and a lease of more than three years must be in writing and registered (Department of Lands: lease registration guide, in Thai). The registration fee is 1% of the total rent for the whole lease term (Department of Lands). What counts is the term written in the registered lease: a promise to renew is a clause of the contract, not a registered right, and whether it can be honoured later depends on the contract and on the law at that time.
Companies with Thai shareholders on paper. The Department of Lands publishes official measures against land being held on behalf of foreigners (Department of Lands: measures against nominee land holding for foreigners). Do not rely on schemes in which a foreigner holds a minority of a company's shares and Thai shareholders hold the rest only on paper: land held on behalf of a foreigner is what these measures are aimed at.
Buying in the name of a Thai spouse. When a Thai national married to a foreigner acquires a condominium unit, the Department of Lands procedure includes a written statement that the money used is the Thai spouse's personal property (Department of Lands: condominium acquisition by a Thai national married to a foreigner, in Thai). The Thai spouse is then the registered owner, so this route does not make the foreign spouse an owner.
What you pay at the Land Office
| Payment | Official rate | Calculated on | Who pays and when | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer fee | 2% | the official assessed value of the unit | Who pays is agreed in the sale contract. | DOL |
| Specific business tax | 3.3% (3% plus 10% local tax) | the sale price or the assessed value, whichever is higher | The seller's tax on a commercial sale, for example a developer selling its units or a resale within five years of acquisition, unless an exemption applies. | Revenue Department |
| Stamp duty | THB 1 per THB 200 (0.5%) | the sale price or the assessed value, whichever is higher | Not charged when specific business tax applies. | Revenue Department |
| Withholding income tax | 1% for a company seller | the sale price or the assessed value, whichever is higher | The seller's tax; for an individual seller it is calculated from the assessed value and the years of ownership. | DOL |
| Lease registration | 1% | the total rent for the whole lease term | For a registered lease of land or a building. | DOL |
| Mortgage registration | 1% | the mortgage amount | Only when a loan is secured on the property; the Land Code fee schedule caps it at THB 200,000, the Condominium Act schedule lists 1% of the mortgage amount. | DOL |
Who pays which item between buyer and seller is a matter of the sale contract: the Department of Lands names the seller as the payer of specific business tax and withholding tax, and its fee table does not assign the transfer fee to either party.
Example. Our median asking price is THB 3,750,000 (1,064 listings, 19 April – 15 October 2026). If the official assessed value of a unit were the same amount, the transfer fee would be 2% of it: THB 75,000. In practice the assessed value comes from the official rates for the specific building and usually differs from the asking price, so ask the Land Office for it before you sign; the official rates by building are in our table of Phuket condominium assessment rates.
Checklist before you pay
- Foreign quota. Get the current foreign-ownership figure of the building from the condominium juristic person or the seller and check that your unit still fits within 49% of the floor area.
- Title and encumbrances. Check the title at the Land Office — the condominium unit title for a condo, the Chanote for land — and any mortgage or other encumbrance registered on it.
- Off-plan projects. Ask the developer for the building permit and, where the project needs one, the approved environmental impact assessment (EIA).
- Money transfer. Bring the price into Thailand as foreign currency by international transfer, with the purpose of payment and the unit details agreed with the bank, so that the bank can document it for the Land Office.
- Reservation and sale agreement. Have a licensed lawyer read the reservation agreement and the sale and purchase agreement, including who pays which fee, before you sign or pay a deposit.
- Common fees and sinking fund. Get the monthly common-area fee and the one-off sinking fund contribution in writing.
- Handover. Agree in writing what is handed over with the unit: furniture, appliances, keys, parking and the list of defects to fix.
Prices to calibrate your budget
- Median asking price of a condo: THB 3,750,000 (1,064 listings, 19 April – 15 October 2026).
- One-bedroom units: median THB 2,965,950 (694 listings).
- Two-bedroom units: median THB 8,620,000 (246 listings).
- Most common budget band: Under THB 3m — 39.9% of the listings (425 of 1,064).
Asking prices from public listings (DotProperty, FazWaz), not transaction prices. Prices by bedrooms, budget and district: Phuket property for foreign buyers; the full dataset: Phuket condo asking prices.
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Questions and answers
Can a foreigner own a condo outright (freehold)?
Yes. A foreigner who falls into one of the categories of Section 19 of the Condominium Act, for example by bringing the purchase money into Thailand in foreign currency, can be the registered owner of a condominium unit, as long as foreign ownership in the building stays within 49% of the total floor area of all units.
What is the 49% quota?
It is the cap on foreign ownership in one condominium: all foreign owners together may hold no more than 49% of the total floor area of all units in the building (Section 19 bis of the Condominium Act). It is counted by floor area, not by the number of units, and the Land Office checks it at every transfer to a foreigner.
Can foreigners buy land or a villa?
Foreigners generally cannot own land in Thailand; the exceptions in the law are narrow (for example a permission under Section 96 bis of the Land Code) and are not a standard way to buy a home. A house or villa therefore comes through other structures, such as a registered lease of the land with separate arrangements for the building, which a licensed lawyer should check.
How long is a lease?
The Land Office registers a lease of land or a building for at most 30 years — a longer term in the contract is cut to 30 years — and a lease of more than three years must be in writing and registered (Department of Lands lease registration guide). The registration fee is 1% of the total rent for that term. A promise to renew or extend is a clause of the contract, not a registered right; whether it can be honoured depends on the contract and on the law at the time, so have a licensed lawyer check it before you pay.
Which fees apply at transfer?
The transfer fee is 2% of the official assessed value of the unit. Specific business tax of 3.3% (the seller's tax) or, where it does not apply, stamp duty of 0.5% is charged on the sale price or the assessed value, whichever is higher, and the seller's withholding income tax is collected at the same time. Who pays which item is agreed in the sale contract.
Do I need a lawyer?
The law does not require one, but it is recommended: a licensed lawyer who works for you, not for the seller or the developer, can check the title, the foreign quota, the contract and the money transfer before you pay.
Sources
Official sources, checked on 15 October 2026:
- Condominium Act B.E. 2522 (1979), as published by the Department of Lands (PDF, in Thai): Sections 19, 19 bis, 19 ter and 19 quater — who may own a unit as a foreigner, the 49% floor-area quota and the evidence shown at the transfer.
- Department of Lands: fees, taxes and duties at registration (in Thai): the registration fees, specific business tax, stamp duty and withholding tax collected when a sale or a lease is registered.
- Revenue Department: specific business tax on the sale of immovable property (in Thai): which sales are taxable, the five-year rule and its exemptions, the rate and the base.
- Revenue Department: stamp duty on the sale of immovable property (in Thai) and the Stamp Duty Schedule, item 28(b) (in English): the rate, the base and the exemption when specific business tax applies.
- Department of Lands: land for a foreigner's residence under Section 96 bis of the Land Code (in Thai): how a foreigner applies to acquire land for a residence under Section 96 bis.
- Department of Lands: lease registration guide (PDF, in Thai): a lease is registered for at most 30 years, and a lease of more than three years must be in writing and registered.
- Department of Lands: measures against nominee land holding for foreigners (in Thai): the official measures against land being held on behalf of foreigners.
- Department of Lands: condominium acquisition by a Thai national married to a foreigner (in Thai).
- Our data: Phuket condo asking prices (methodology and downloads; the figures on this page come from this JSON file) and official Phuket condominium assessment rates (Thai Treasury Department data, not market prices).
Last checked: 15 October 2026. Rates and rules change: confirm the current rules with the Land Office and a licensed lawyer before paying.
Russian version of this topic: Freehold и leasehold в Таиланде.
This page summarises official sources in plain English and is not legal advice. Confirm the current rules with the Land Office and a licensed lawyer before paying.