Buying a condominium in Thailand

What this page covers

Condominium ownership is the one form of residential real estate a foreigner can hold outright (freehold) in their own name in Thailand, subject to a quota. This page covers buying a unit for personal use or as a rental investment; construction/renovation of the unit is covered on a separate page.

Legal framework

• The Condominium Act B.E. 2522 (1979) allows foreign individuals and eligible foreign-majority entities to hold freehold title to units totalling up to 49% of the total saleable floor area of a registered condominium project. The remaining 51% must be held by Thai nationals/entities. This quota is administered and verified by the Department of Lands (Ministry of Interior) at the Land Office where the project is registered.
• The quota is checked and enforced per project at the point of registering transfer of ownership — a unit cannot be registered into a foreigner's name if the project's foreign quota is already full, even if a sale contract has been signed.
• To register a freehold unit, the buyer must bring funds into Thailand from abroad in foreign currency and obtain a Foreign Exchange Transaction (FET) form / credit advice from a Thai bank confirming the inward remittance was for the purpose of purchasing a condominium — this is the paperwork the Land Office checks for a foreign freehold registration.
• On transfer, the Land Office collects a transfer fee, and the Revenue Department (Ministry of Finance) collects either Specific Business Tax or Stamp Duty (never both on the same transfer) plus withholding tax, depending on the seller's status and holding period.

Conditions to check before you commit

• Confirm the project's current foreign-quota usage with the Land Office where the project is registered before paying a deposit — a project already at 49% foreign ownership can only register a leasehold, not a freehold, unit to a foreign buyer.
• Transfer the full purchase price from outside Thailand in foreign currency (not Thai baht already inside the country) and keep the bank's FET form/credit advice — the Land Office will not register a foreign freehold purchase without it.
• Check with the Revenue Department's official guidance which of Specific Business Tax or Stamp Duty applies to your purchase, and confirm the current transfer-fee schedule with the Land Office before completion.
• Where the quota is full, the common alternative is a registered leasehold (see the "buying a house, villa or land" page for lease-term rules) rather than a nominee or shareholding structure — nominee arrangements are illegal.
• Budget separately for the sinking fund (one-off, paid at transfer) and the monthly common-area fee, both charged per square metre by the condominium juristic person.

Official price and market data

Thailand's government statistical agencies publish an official index of condominium price movement, not a table of absolute price-per-square-metre by neighbourhood:

• The Bank of Thailand's official Residential Property Price Index tracks condominium (and house) purchase prices over time (base year 2011 = 100), built from commercial-bank and Government Housing Bank mortgage-loan data.
• The Real Estate Information Center (REIC), the state real estate statistics agency under the Government Housing Bank, publishes its own condominium price index and area-level reports, including land-price movement near new transit lines.

Check the official Bank of Thailand and REIC statistics pages (linked below) for the current index level and year-on-year change in the province/zone you are considering, and obtain an independent appraisal for the specific unit rather than relying on an indicative figure.

Common risks and mistakes

• Paying in Thai baht from a local account (instead of remitting foreign currency from abroad) can make the unit ineligible for foreign freehold registration.
• Buying into a project already at its 49% foreign quota without checking first at the Land Office can force a costly change to leasehold terms after deposit.
• Using a Thai nominee shareholder/company structure to bypass the quota is illegal under the Foreign Business Act.

What this page is not

This is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice, and not a substitute for independent due diligence (title search, quota check at the Land Office, developer track record) before any payment. Land and house/villa purchase rules are different from condominium rules and are covered on a separate page.

Known developments to watch

As of 21 September 2026, the 49% quota remains the law under the Condominium Act B.E. 2522 (1979). Any proposal to change the quota only takes effect once enacted and published — confirm the current, effective rule with the Department of Lands rather than a news report of a proposal.

Official government sources reviewed on 21 September 2026

• Department of Lands (Ministry of Interior) — official website
• The Revenue Department (Ministry of Finance) — official English site, Stamp Duty
• The Revenue Department (Ministry of Finance) — official English site, Specific Business Tax
• Bank of Thailand — official Residential Property Price Index statistics
• Real Estate Information Center (REIC), Government Housing Bank — Thailand's state real estate statistics agency