Foreigner Owning a Unit in a Condominium or Apartment Building in Thailand
According to the Condominium Act of Thailand, foreigners and foreign juristic persons are allowed to own a condominium unit in Thailand in their own name, but only when there are apartment units in a condominium building registered under this law. What to know is that not all apartment buildings in Thailand are registered under the Condominium Act. It is normally that the foreigners usually find too many apartments building where built without registration in the tourist areas of Thailand, but it is difficult to differentiate between the registered apartment building and unregistered ones, especially for a foreigner. Both registered and unregistered many times appear in the same looks while the legal protection is limited for the unregistered compared to the protection offered to the owners and purchasers under the Condominium Act. And also, only registered condominiums offer freehold ownership over the units.
In case of an unregistered apartment building, which is not go under the Condominium Act, there have no ownership unit title deeds for the unit. This means that ownership of the units is not legally separated from the building as a whole so the building as a whole must be in joint ownership by all unit purchasers together and the units can only be leased as part of a building. However, this will not include the land the building stands on, but foreigners are not allowed to own land in Thailand. In addition, the individual units offer freehold ownership and the land is jointly owned by all the unit owners, but only in case of a true condominium.
When it comes to documentation, the major document of ownership in a true condominium is the unit title deed issued and administrated by the local Land Office. In order to prove ownership of the building, the apartment unit title deed is required. When there is apartments in a building not registered under the Condominium Act, the unit may have a separate Thai ‘house books’ – the books contains the full address and the occupants of an apartment who are not always be the owner of the building or apartment.
According to the Condominium Act, freehold ownership of condominiums by foreigners is restricted and the main restrictions / requirements for foreign ownership are:
1. Foreigners can not own more than 49% of the total floor area of all units in a condominium building. For example, foreigner can own 49 from 100 equal apartments in a complex and the remaining 51 must be owned by Thai nationals. And when 49% quota for foreign freehold ownership in a condominium project is sold out, the remaining units may be leased under a registered 30 year lease agreement.
2. To register ownership, it is a must for the foreigner who buys a unit under the Condominium Act to bring foreign currency into Thailand, at least amount equal to the total purchase price. Without proof of remittance of foreign currency into Thailand, the Land Office will not register the apartment unit into the foreigner’s name except that you are a resident in Thailand.
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Tags: apartment building, apartment buildings, apartment unit, apartment units, condominium act, condominium unit, foreigner, title deed, title deeds, tourist areas