Yes for a condominium. No for land — but there are lawful ways to hold a house long term.
Most confusion here comes from people applying condominium rules to houses.
Condominiums
You can buy a unit in your own name, with a title deed, forever. Real freehold — sell it,
leave it to your children, rent it out.
The one limit: no more than 49% of a building’s total unit floor area may be foreign-owned.
Some buildings have quota left; some don’t.
The 49% quota →
Land
Foreigners cannot own land. Not through a friend, not through a workaround.
But a house and the land under it are separate things — you can own the building. For the
land, three lawful routes:
| Route | What it is | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Leasehold | Registered lease, 30 years maximum | Most foreign house buyers |
| Thai company | Company owns the land, you control the company | Genuinely risky — read before agreeing |
| Usufruct | Registered right to use the land and take its income | Often the best answer, rarely offered |
Buying in a Thai spouse’s name
Your spouse may own land. You may not — and at the Land Office you will likely sign a
declaration that the money is theirs and you have no claim. That means what it says.
Protect yourself with a usufruct or registered lease in your own name over the same land, set
up at purchase. Much harder afterwards.
Our advice
Decide what you want before you fall in love with a house. A condominium in your own name is
the simplest thing you can buy in Thailand. A house on leased land is normal and workable —
provided you understand you are buying 30 years, and price it that way.
If someone offers a clever structure giving a foreigner outright ownership of land, they are
wrong or describing something unlawful.