Superficies contract

Superficies agreement done online: Our price 5,800 baht.

Average price by a law firm is normally more than double.

What are superficies in Thailand?

The right of superficies is a real right known in most of civil law countries (France, Swiss,Thailand, etc). The owner of a piece of land granting superficies is giving to the beneficiary a right to own, upon or under the land, buildings, structures or plantations. Section 1410 of Thai Commercial and Civil code mentions:

“Section 1410. The owner of a piece of land may create a right of superficies in favour of another person by giving him the right to own, upon or under the land, buildings, structures or plantations.”

So under Thai law, the owner of land can grant this right to a person, including a foreigner. The holder f of that right is called a superficiary. The superficiary is allowed to own any construction or structures built on upon a land. In other words, superficies separates the ownership of the land and the structures on the land.

A right of superficies can be created either for the life of the grantor or of the beneficiary; or for a limited period of time (clause 1412 of the Thai Commercial and Civil Code). If superficies are made for a limited period of time, the maximum length can’t exceed 3O years. When superficies are made for a limited period of time, and depending of the contract, the right of superficies can be transmissible to a third party (inheritance, for example)

Like many contracts, at the end, this right of superficies can be renewed if the parties agrees. Again, the renewal must not exceed 30 years. A right of superficies must be registered at the Land Department to be valid toward third parties. The Land Department will ask some registration fees. A lease agreement can be combined to a lease agreement.

To register superficies, you must have a title deed like a “Nor Sor Sam” or a “Chanotte”. You can’t register superficies on a “Por Bor Tor 5” for example.