Thailand leasehold property: evaluate the right you are paying for

Separate sale, succession and building rights

Keep the consequences of a sale by the landowner separate from the consequences of the tenant's death. Ask counsel to explain the current lease term, personal promises and any succession or transfer arrangements individually. A lease, usufruct and superficies serve different purposes; where several instruments are proposed, check how they operate together and what happens to the building when the land-use right ends.

Read the registered term before the marketing headline

For an ordinary fixed-term immovable-property lease under the Civil and Commercial Code, Section 540 sets a 30-year ceiling. Section 538 makes registration necessary for enforcement beyond three years where the agreed term exceeds three years. Special statutory regimes require separate analysis. Ask counsel to compare the signed lease, registration entry, commencement date and expiry date. A document headed ‘90-year lease’ should not be valued as 90 years of presently registered rights.

Separate renewal promises from the current right

A future renewal clause is not the same as a presently registered additional term. Have counsel assess its validity, who is bound, required future acts and what happens if the landowner changes or refuses to cooperate. Avoid pricing a property on the assumption that every promised renewal will occur. Request a financial comparison based on the confirmed current term, with any future renewal treated explicitly as uncertain rather than hidden inside the purchase calculation.

Verify the lessor's authority and the underlying title

Identify the registered landowner and confirm who has power to grant the proposed lease. Investigate existing mortgages, earlier leases, access rights and other registered interests, with their effect on your transaction explained by counsel. For a sublease, examine the head lease and the actual authority to sublet. Trace access and utilities to the property independently; an attractive lease term has limited practical value if essential services or entry depend on arrangements that are undocumented.

Test assignment, succession and the end of the lease

Ask what happens if you want to transfer the lease, rent out the house, make alterations or pass your interest to an heir. Do not assume these rights merely because you paid the entire premium upfront. Examine required consents, fees, registration steps and termination provisions. Where a building is owned separately, have counsel explain its position during and after the land lease, including any removal, compensation or handback obligations in the actual documents.

Connect payment to the agreed registration outcome

Have counsel define which documents must be signed and registered before substantial money is released. Confirm the treatment of rent, premiums, service charges, taxes and any security, with clear receipts and a record of what each amount buys. Identify who will attend the Land Office, who holds originals and how registration will be evidenced. Keep the registration copy and annexes together; a marketing brochure and a payment receipt are not an adequate record of the lease right.

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