Habitation in Thailand: Civil Code Rules

What Is the Right of Habitation in Thailand?

The right of habitation in Thailand is the right to dwell in another person’s building free of rent. Section 1402 provides that a person who has been granted a right of habitation in a building is entitled to live in that building without paying rent. The Thai term is sitthi asai, and the object of the right is a building (rong ruean).

Two features set the right apart from other ways of occupying a home. First, no rent is payable, which separates it from a lease. Second, the right is placed in Book 4 of the Code, on property, among the real rights such as servitude, superficies and usufruct.

How Is a Right of Habitation in Thailand Created?

A right of habitation in Thailand over a building is a real right in immovable property, so the registration rule in Section 1299 applies. Acquisition of such a right by juristic act is not complete unless the act is made in writing and the acquisition is registered with the competent official.

Section 1299, paragraph 2, deals with real rights acquired other than by juristic act. If such a right is not registered, the register cannot be changed to reflect it. In addition, the unregistered right cannot be set up against a third party who acquired the property for value and in good faith and who registered that acquisition in good faith.

A grant made by contract alone, without writing and registration, does not meet the requirement in Section 1299, paragraph 1.

How Long Does the Right Last?

Section 1403 offers three options: a fixed period, the life of the grantee, or no period at all. A fixed period may not exceed thirty years and is reduced to thirty years if set longer. A right with no period may be ended at any time on reasonable notice to the grantee.

Fixed period

Under Section 1403, paragraph 3, a right of habitation granted for a fixed period may not be granted for more than thirty years. If the parties fix a longer period, the period is reduced to thirty years. The parties may renew the right, but the renewed period may not exceed thirty years from the date of renewal.

For the life of the grantee

Section 1403, paragraph 1, allows the right to be created for the life of the grantee. Because Section 1404 bars any transfer of the right, including by inheritance, a life right cannot pass to the grantee’s heirs.

With no fixed period

If no period is fixed, Section 1403, paragraph 2, allows the right to be terminated at any time. The only condition is reasonable advance notice to the grantee. For a grantee who needs security of occupation, the choice of term in the instrument is therefore decisive.

Who May Live in the Building?

The grantee’s family and household may live in the building with the grantee, unless the right is expressly limited to the grantee personally (Section 1405). The right itself stays with the grantee: it cannot be sold, assigned or inherited (Section 1404).

Section 1405 places the burden of restriction on the grantor. Unless the instrument states clearly that the right is granted for the personal benefit of the grantee alone, members of the grantee’s family and household may dwell there too. A grantor who intends a strictly personal right must say so in express terms.

Section 1404 is short and absolute: the right is not transferable, even by way of inheritance. The grantee cannot pass it to a buyer or an heir.

Can the Grantee Take Produce From the Land?

Yes, within limits. Unless the grantor has expressly forbidden it, the grantee may take natural fruits or products of the land, but only as far as necessary for the needs of the household (Section 1406). The right does not extend to taking produce for sale.

A grantor who wishes to keep the fruit of a garden or orchard must forbid the grantee from taking it, expressly, in the grant.

Repairs, Care and Improvements

The grantor is not bound to keep the property in good repair, and the grantee cannot claim reimbursement of expenses spent improving it (Section 1407). Through Section 1409, the grantee must take care of the property and carry out ordinary maintenance and petty repairs, as a hirer must under Section 553.

The owner has no repair obligation by default. The grantee must look after the building with the care a person of ordinary prudence would take of their own property, and Section 1407 gives no claim to recover money spent improving it.

Hirer Duties That Apply to a Right of Habitation in Thailand

Section 1409 applies the hirer’s duties and liabilities in Sections 552 to 555, Section 558, Section 562 and Section 563 to a right of habitation in Thailand, mutatis mutandis. The grantee therefore carries much of the conduct regime of a tenant, without the duty to pay rent.

Two provisions deserve attention. Section 562 extends the grantee’s liability to damage caused by persons living with the grantee, which matters because Section 1405 lets family and household members share the building. Section 563 sets a six-month period, counted from the return of the property, for the owner’s claims of the kind it covers.

When the Right Ends

When the right of habitation comes to an end, the grantee must return the property to the grantor (Section 1408). The right ends at the close of its fixed period, at the end of the grantee’s life where it was granted for life, or on reasonable notice where no period was fixed (Section 1403).

On return, the borrowed hire rules apply. Unauthorised alterations must be undone if the owner asks (Section 558), and the six-month period in Section 563 runs from the date the property is returned.

Right of Habitation in Thailand Compared With Usufruct

A right of habitation in Thailand is narrower than a usufruct. Habitation allows the grantee to live in a building. A usufruct gives possession, use and the benefits of the property, with power to manage it (Section 1417). The two rights also treat a missing term in opposite ways.

A usufruct with no fixed period is presumed to last for the holder’s life (Section 1418), while a right of habitation with no fixed period may be ended on reasonable notice (Section 1403). Both share the thirty-year ceiling for a fixed term, because Section 1418 applies Section 1403, paragraph 3, to a usufruct.

Points to Settle in the Grant

Most of the rules in Sections 1402 to 1409 are defaults. A grant that is silent on a point leaves it to the Code, and the Code’s default may not match what the parties want. Five points follow from the text of the sections.

1. Term. A grant with no period can be ended at any time on reasonable notice (Section 1403). A grantee who needs security should hold a fixed period or a life right.
2. Registration. The grant should be made in writing and registered, as Section 1299 requires for a real right acquired by juristic act.
3. Personal or household. Unless the grant is expressly personal, the grantee’s family and household may live in the building (Section 1405).
4. Produce. Unless expressly forbidden, the grantee may take natural fruits and products of the land for household needs (Section 1406).
5. Repairs and alterations. The owner has no duty to repair, improvement costs are not recoverable (Section 1407), and alterations need the owner’s permission (Sections 558 and 1409).

Frequently Asked Questions

Planning a Right of Habitation in Thailand

A right of habitation in Thailand gives a secure, rent-free home only when the grant is drafted and registered with care. The Code fixes the outer limits: no transfer, a thirty-year ceiling for fixed terms, and termination on notice where no term is set. Within those limits, the instrument decides who may live in the building, what produce may be taken and how alterations are handled. Related rights are covered in our guides to usufruct in Thailand and superficies in Thailand, and our real estate lawyers in Thailand advise owners and occupiers on these rights. The Code is available from the Office of the Council of State, and registration is handled by the Department of Lands.