The 49% condominium quota, why you cannot own the land under a house, and which of the widely-reported reforms have actually become law. As of September 2026: none of them.
A foreigner can own a condominium unit outright, in their own name, freehold. The limit is not on you — it is on the building. Foreign nationals may hold no more than 49% of the total floor area of all units in a registered condominium building. The remaining 51% must be held by Thai nationals or Thai-majority companies.
That quota is calculated on floor area, not on unit count. A building can be at 49% with fewer than half its units foreign-owned if those units are the larger ones. Ask the juristic person for the current foreign quota position in writing before you pay a deposit. If the building is full, the unit can only be sold to you on a leasehold or Thai-company basis — a materially different asset, at a materially different price.
Ownership is evidenced by a unit title deed and registered at the Land Office. Nothing about the 49% rule is negotiable at the point of transfer: if the quota is full, the Land Office will not register the transfer.
Foreigners cannot own land in Thailand. This is the rule that most of the market's creative structuring exists to work around, and it is where most of the risk lives.
The lawful routes are narrow. You can own a building while leasing the land it sits on — the structure and the land are legally separable in Thailand. You can register a lease of the land for up to 30 years. Long-term leases beyond 30 years, and lease "renewals" promised in a side agreement, are not enforceable against a future owner of the land in the way buyers are usually told they are.
The Thai-company route — a company nominally owned 51% by Thai shareholders that holds the land, controlled in practice by the foreign buyer — is widespread and is a nominee arrangement. Nominee shareholding is unlawful under the Foreign Business Act, and enforcement against it has been increasing rather than relaxing. Take independent Thai legal advice before going anywhere near it, from a lawyer you found yourself rather than one introduced by the seller.
Two proposals get reported as though they were in force. Neither is, as of September 2026.
Raising the foreign condominium quota from 49% to 75% has been under cabinet study since late 2024, in various forms — sometimes nationwide, sometimes limited to resort provinces, sometimes with a price floor attached. No draft has been enacted. The enforceable quota is 49%.
Extending registrable leases to 99 years has been discussed for as long. It has not been legislated. The enforceable maximum registrable lease term is 30 years.
If an agent tells you either has changed, ask them to show you the gazetted law. Treat both as live debates, not incoming rules, and never pay a premium for an asset priced on a reform that has not happened.
For a foreigner buying a condominium in their own name, the purchase funds must be remitted into Thailand from abroad in foreign currency and converted to baht in Thailand. The receiving bank issues evidence of the inward remittance — commonly still called an FET form (Foreign Exchange Transaction form), and issued for transactions above the threshold set by the Bank of Thailand.
The Land Office requires that evidence to register the transfer into a foreign name. Money already sitting in a Thai account, or transferred in baht, will not do. Get the remittance right at the start; it is expensive and sometimes impossible to reconstruct afterwards.
Have the remittance sent in your own name, with the purpose stated as the purchase of a condominium unit. A transfer from a third party creates a paperwork problem at the Land Office that can hold up completion.