Can I buy land?

Only as a Thai citizen or through a Thai registered company (where 51% Thai ownership does not necessarely mean Thai controlled)

As a non-Thai national you are not allowed to buy/own land in Thailand. If you are told otherwise, it is not true. As a foreigner you are allowed to buy an apartment in a condo. But there are no such offers on Koh Mak.

Can I lease land?

As a non Thai national you can lease land for a maximum of 30 years. Clauses that give you and added 30 (or 2 x 30) years are invalid. If such clauses are present in the contract, the lease still terminates after 30 years. Search the Internet for “court case 4655/2566“

As a side note: also a foreign company can lease land in Thailand.

What can I do when I lease?

During the 30 year lease, you have a strong and exclusive (legally protected) right to use the property as if it was your own. But in conformance with Thai laws, you are not the owner – you are the lessee. The owner stays the owner all the time. Your lease is protected also if the owner sells the land during the lease time.

We will inform you on what happens if the land is sold, what happens to what you build, or what you can pass on to your descendants.

What happens after 30 years?

30 years is a long time. A lot can change — perhaps even the attitude of the Thai government in this regard, since tourism is a very important economic factor in this country.

But nobody will be able to guess what might change in governmental laws in 30 years. So as per today assume that after 30 years the land (and the building on it) will be returned to the landlord. Don’t believe anyone who says otherwise.

What about a Thai company?

You can open a Thai company. Legally you own up to 49% of it. You will need 1 or more Thai partners who own the majority. This company can then buy the land in its name.

Since January 2026 the Thai partners have to show their bank statements proving that the money they are investing is truly theirs. And the company will need to have enough capital to be able to buy the land. (if you’re planning to build, there must be enough capital to also cover construction — a mismatch between the company’s capital and the value of what it owns is something officials closely look at)

Since August 2026, also any change made in the company structure (change of director and/or shareholder) will trigger a check by the DBD.

We will be happy to talk to you about all the challanges that arise here: amount of capital, mortgages, loans, value of the land and house vs. invested money.

Can I rent land?

You can rent and pay monthly or yearly (whatever you define in the rental contract with your landlord). But the rental contract will be for a maximum of 3 years. Everything that exceed 3 years MUST be registered with the land office and will be entered in the chanote. This is valid for land but also houses or apartments. So if you decide to rent and agree to a term longer than 3 years, be aware that it is not valid and will be automatically reduced to 3 years in case of a dispute.

So, a rental (for 3 years maximum) makes really only sense if there is a house on the property ready to move in since you sure will notwant to build a house from zero on a land which you might not have access to 3 years later..