Real Estate & Property Lawyer in Thailand

Real Estate & Property Lawyer in Thailand

Foreign buyers lose money in Thai property for structural reasons, not bad luck. We advise international clients on acquiring, holding, developing and exiting Thai real estate.

Request a Property Review
IslandsSamui, Phangan, Phuket & Bangkok
Buyer-sideNo agent or developer commissions
Full cycleDiligence → completion → exit

Title & Conveyancing

Chanote verification, encumbrance and servitude checks, access rights, and full Land Office representation on transfer day.

Foreign Ownership Structuring

Condominium quota, leasehold, usufruct, superficies and Sap-Ing-Sith, with a candid assessment of company-held structures.

Lease Drafting & Renewal

Registered 30-year leases, renewal mechanics after recent Supreme Court reasoning, assignment rights and lender-acceptable terms.

Villa & Land Due Diligence

Zoning, environmental protection zones, building permits, shoreline setbacks and slope restrictions before you commit funds.

Development & Construction

Land assembly, joint ventures, construction contracts, contractor default, hotel and rental licensing for income-producing assets.

Disputes & Enforcement

Boundary and access disputes, defective construction claims, demolition orders, nominee investigations and court proceedings.

Why Thai Property Needs a Lawyer, Not an Agent

Agents are paid on completion. That is a legitimate commercial model, but it is not aligned with the buyer who needs to know whether a deal should proceed at all. A property lawyer in Thailand is paid to find the reasons not to buy.

The Land Code prohibits foreign nationals from owning land, subject to narrow exceptions. Condominium units can be foreign-owned within the 49% foreign quota of a building’s saleable area. Land, houses and villas cannot. Everything else you will be offered is a workaround, and the workarounds vary enormously in quality.

Key Takeaway: The question is never simply “can I buy this?” It is “what will I actually own, can I finance it, can I sell it, and does it survive scrutiny in ten years?” Most problems we are asked to fix were created at the structuring stage by advisers who were not asked those questions.

Island Property: Samui, Phangan and Phuket

Island deals carry risks that mainland conveyancing does not. Land is frequently steep, access is often shared and undocumented, and much of the most attractive land sits inside designated environmental protection areas with real building restrictions.

Koh Samui hillside subject to building and zoning restrictions
Hillside and slope restrictions govern much of the island’s best land.
Luxury villa terrace representing company-held property in Thailand
Company-held villas need diligence on the company, not only the villa.
Key and villa doorway representing a 30-year lease in Thailand
Registered leases and the renewal question that decides resale value.
Island villa terrace representing selling a villa in Thailand
The exit is a structuring question, decided years before completion.

We check what actually governs the plot: the applicable environmental protection notification and its zone, the municipal building ordinance, town planning, and any forest reserve or shoreline overlay. Where several regimes apply to the same parameter, the strictest one governs, which is precisely where marketing brochures and legal reality part company.

How We Work

  1. Scoping call. We establish what you are buying, how you intend to hold it, your timeline and your exit expectations before any fees are incurred.
  2. Title and regulatory diligence. Land Office searches, encumbrances, access, zoning, permits and, for company-held assets, the corporate history you would inherit.
  3. Structure and documents. We recommend the holding structure, then draft or negotiate the sale agreement, lease, or share purchase documents.
  4. Completion. Representation at the Land Office, verification of tax and fee calculations, and confirmation that registration was effected as agreed.
Key Takeaway: Diligence findings are worth most before the deposit is paid. Once a reservation agreement is signed, your negotiating position on price and structure narrows sharply.

Why International Clients Instruct Us

Buyer-Side by Default

We do not take commission from developers or agents. Our advice is not contingent on your transaction completing.

Island Specialism

Genuine familiarity with Samui and Phangan zoning, access and construction issues rather than generic national advice.

Structuring, Not Paperwork

We advise on what you will own and what it will be worth on resale, not merely on executing documents.

Cross-Border Capability

Coordination with your home-country tax and estate advisers, and certified translation where documents must travel.

Dispute Experience

We litigate property matters, which materially changes how we draft the documents intended to prevent them.

Candid Advice

Where a deal should not proceed, we say so plainly and early, in writing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a foreigner own land in Thailand?
Generally no. The Land Code reserves land ownership to Thai nationals, with narrow exceptions such as substantial qualifying investment. Foreign nationals can own condominium units within the building’s 49% foreign quota, and can hold land rights through registered leases, usufruct, superficies or Sap-Ing-Sith. Each of these gives you something different, and the differences matter on resale.
Is buying a villa through a Thai company legal?
A Thai company may own land, and foreign shareholding within a genuine, properly capitalised trading company is lawful. What is unlawful is using Thai nominee shareholders to hold shares on a foreigner’s behalf in order to circumvent the Land Code. Enforcement in this area has tightened considerably. We assess whether a proposed or existing structure is defensible before you rely on it.
What should due diligence on a Thai property actually cover?
Title type and chain of ownership, mortgages and encumbrances, registered access or the lack of it, boundary accuracy, zoning and environmental overlays, building permits for existing structures, and outstanding tax. For company-held assets, add the company’s share register, capital history, filings and any nominee exposure.

Leases, development and disputes

Are 30-year lease renewals enforceable?
A properly registered initial 30-year term is valid. Pre-agreed renewals are the contested area: Thai Supreme Court reasoning has treated certain prepaid renewal arrangements as circumventing the Civil and Commercial Code. Thailand is a civil law jurisdiction, so judgments are persuasive rather than binding, but the risk is real and it affects what a future buyer will pay. We review the drafting and the commercial facts together.
Do you handle construction and developer disputes?
Yes. We act on defective construction, abandonment, delay and payment disputes, as well as demolition orders and permit irregularities. Where possible we resolve through negotiation or a formal demand before proceedings, which is usually faster and cheaper than litigation.
What taxes apply when I sell?
Transfer registration fee, either specific business tax or stamp duty, and withholding tax, all assessed at the Land Office. The treatment differs sharply depending on whether the seller is an individual or a company, and on how long the property has been held. We model the disposal before you agree a price.
Do you work outside Bangkok?
Yes. We act on Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Phuket, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Hua Hin matters, and attend the relevant provincial Land Office where completion requires it.

Before You Pay a Deposit

Send us the title deed, the draft contract and the location. We will tell you what you would actually be buying, what restricts it, and whether the structure on offer will survive a future sale.

Request a Property Review