Property Lease in Thailand

Leasehold is a frequent choice of property developers and foreign buyers. It means renting property and is regarded as an alternative to freehold ownership. Land can be leased on short or long term contracts up to thirty years. Leases for industrial or commercial purposes can be registered for a term of up to fifty years. Property leases are governed by the Thai Civil and Commercial Code (CCC) in Sect. 537-571. Whereas, with a few limited exceptions, land ownership is prohibited to foreigners, land lease is not. In a typical situation, the land owner and the foreign lessee would normally prefer entering into a sale and purchase agreement but chose leasehold to comply with Thai property law. In such cases, the land owner offers a lease agreement which is clearly biased for the benefit of the lessee and gives the lessee as many rights and options as possible in an effort to make it resemble a freehold ownership. Obviously, this effort can only be successful to a certain extent.