Mortgage Laws Thailand: Home Financing Options

Reviewed by ThaiLawOnline, a licensed Thai law firm practising in Thailand since 2006. Thai lawyer of record: Wichuda Atthamethakon, LL.M., Thai Bar Licence 3149/2556.

Last updated on 18 September 2026

Last legal review: 18 September 2026.

Here’s a story we hear often. A buyer pays a 10 percent deposit on a condo in Hua Hin or Pattaya. He plans to borrow the rest from a Thai bank. Three branches turn him down in one week.

People who search for mortgage laws Thailand expect to find rules against foreigners. There are almost none. The law is clear and quite borrower-friendly. The hard part is finding a lender who will say yes.

This guide covers both sides. First the law: how a mortgage is created, registered and enforced under the Civil and Commercial Code. Then the money: the home financing options a foreigner really has in 2026, what they cost, and where deals go wrong.

One point of vocabulary before we start. In Thailand a mortgage (jamnong) is only the security. The loan is a separate contract. You can have a loan without a mortgage, but never a mortgage without a debt behind it.

Mortgage Laws Thailand: How a Thai Mortgage Works

The rules sit in Sections 702 to 746 of the Civil and Commercial Code (CCC). They have been in the Code since the 1920s. The big modern change came with the Act Amending the Civil and Commercial Code (No. 20) B.E. 2557, in force since 11 February 2015.

What the Civil and Commercial Code Says

Section 702 defines the contract. The owner (the mortgagor) assigns a property to the lender (the mortgagee) as security. The property is not handed over. You keep the keys, the title and the right to live there.

What the lender gets is priority. It is paid out of the property before ordinary creditors. That right follows the property even if it’s sold to someone else. Common law readers can think of a registered legal charge, not a transfer of title.

A mortgage is also an accessory right. If the debt behind it doesn’t exist, the mortgage can’t be enforced. The Supreme Court said so in Decision No. 8905/2551, which we summarise on our Section 702 page.

Written, Registered and Stated in Baht

Three formalities matter. Miss one and you have no mortgage.

• In writing and registered. Section 714 requires a written contract registered by the competent official. For land and houses that means the Land Office. A private mortgage deed signed at a lawyer’s office creates nothing.
• An amount in Thai currency. Section 708 requires a fixed sum or a maximum sum, stated in baht. A loan in dollars or euros still needs a baht ceiling on the deed.
• Signed by the owner. Under Section 705, only the current owner can mortgage a property. That one sentence explains most of the limits foreigners run into.

The registered amount is a ceiling. Some parties declare a low figure to save on the registration fee. That’s a false economy, because the lender’s priority stops at the registered sum.

What Can Be Mortgaged, and by Whom

Under Section 703, any immovable property can be mortgaged. Land, houses and condominium units all qualify. So do a few registered movables, such as ships of five tons and over.

Now apply Section 705. A foreigner can mortgage a condo unit held in his own name. He can’t mortgage land, because he can’t own it. Our guide to foreigners buying land in Thailand explains that restriction.

An ordinary residential lease can’t be mortgaged either. Banks won’t lend against a 30-year lease, whatever the sales brochure says. The newer Sap-Ing-Sith right is different, since the Sap-Ing-Sith Act B.E. 2562 allows it to be mortgaged. See our page on Sap-Ing-Sith in Thailand.

Second Mortgages and Ranking

Section 712 lets an owner mortgage the same property again, even if the first contract forbids it. Lenders rank by registration date. The second lender is paid only after the first is paid in full.

Any later change must be registered too. Section 746 says an unregistered repayment, release or amendment can’t be raised against third parties. When the loan is repaid, go back to the Land Office and register the release.

Can Foreigners Get a Mortgage in Thailand?

Legally, yes. No Thai statute bars a bank from lending to a foreigner. The obstacle is bank credit policy, not the law.

Thai banks like borrowers they can assess and chase. That means a work permit, Thai salary slips, Thai tax returns and a National Credit Bureau record. A retiree on a pension from abroad has none of these.

Foreigners Who Work in Thailand

If you hold a work permit and have been on a Thai payroll for a couple of years, you have a real chance. Expect a loan only for a freehold condo inside the foreign quota. Expect a lower loan-to-value than a Thai buyer gets.

Permanent residents are treated better. They can also buy a condo under the Condominium Act without importing foreign currency. Holding permanent residency doesn’t guarantee a loan, but it removes several objections.

Retirees, DTV Holders and Non-Residents

Here the honest answer is usually no. We haven’t seen a published bank policy that accepts a retirement extension, a DTV or a Privilege visa as a basis for a home loan. LTR visa holders with Thai income may do better, case by case.

A few lenders have offered products for non-resident buyers over the years. Names that come up are UOB, ICBC (Thai), MBK Guarantee and Bangkok Bank’s Singapore branch. Their terms change often and the published figures conflict.

So don’t rely on a blog, including this one, for a rate or a percentage. Ask the lender for a written indication before you sign a reservation agreement. A verbal “should be fine” from a sales agent is worth nothing.

What the 2026 LTV Rules Mean for You

The Bank of Thailand relaxed its loan-to-value rules in May 2025. Banks may lend up to 100 percent of the property value on housing loans. In April 2026 the central bank announced an extension to 30 June 2027.

That is a ceiling, not a promise. It helps Thai buyers most. Lenders that accept foreigners still tend to cap the loan at around half to 70 percent of their own valuation. Plan on a large cash deposit.

Home Financing Options in Thailand Compared

Most foreign buyers end up with one of six routes. Each has a different legal footprint.

Option	Who it suits	Security taken	Main legal risk
Thai bank home loan	Work permit holders, permanent residents	Registered mortgage over the condo unit	Variable rate after the fixed period. Standard terms favour the bank.
Offshore bank loan	Residents of Singapore or Hong Kong with a banking relationship there	Mortgage in Thailand or assets held abroad	Currency mismatch between income, loan and property.
Developer payment plan	Off-plan buyers without bank access	None. You are an unsecured creditor of the developer.	Developer delay or insolvency before transfer.
Home-country equity release	Owners of property abroad	Your home abroad	You put your main home at risk for a holiday asset.
Loan in a Thai spouse’s name	Couples buying land and a house	Mortgage over land owned by the Thai spouse	You have no ownership. Your protection is contractual only.
Private loan or seller financing	Buyers and sellers who agree terms directly	Registered mortgage in favour of the lender	Interest capped at 15 percent a year. Informal deals are hard to enforce.

Borrowing in Your Home Country

This is the route many foreign buyers take. You remortgage or draw on a credit line at home, then wire the money to Thailand. Your home lender never touches the Thai property.

It’s cleaner than it sounds. The funds arrive as foreign currency, so the bank can issue the FET evidence you need for a condo. The Thai title is registered free of any charge.

The cost is risk at home. If the baht moves against you or the Thai property loses value, the debt on your house stays the same.

Buying a Condo With a Loan: The FET Problem

Foreign freehold ownership of a condo comes with a currency rule. Under Section 19 (5) of the Condominium Act B.E. 2522, the ordinary foreign buyer must bring the price in as foreign currency. The bank’s Foreign Exchange Transaction form proves it at the Land Office.

A baht loan drawn inside Thailand is not foreign currency brought in. That gap has caught buyers on transfer day. Lenders that serve foreigners know the issue and have their own way of documenting the drawdown.

Our advice is simple. Before you sign, ask the lender in writing how the loan will be evidenced for the Land Office. Then ask the developer’s or seller’s agent to confirm the local Land Office accepts it.

The building must also have room in its foreign quota. Section 19 bis caps foreign ownership at 49 percent of the total unit area. See our guide to the condo foreign ownership quota and the full condo buying guide.

Developer Payment Plans and Off-Plan Risk

Developers sell payment plans as “financing”. They are not loans. You pay a booking fee, a contract deposit, then instalments during construction. The balance falls due on transfer.

That last payment is the trap. It is often 50 to 70 percent of the price. If the bank loan you hoped for doesn’t arrive, you can lose the unit and your deposit.

Your instalments usually go straight into the developer’s account. Escrow exists under the Escrow Act B.E. 2551, but it’s voluntary and rare. We explain the protections that do exist in our off-plan condo guide and our article on escrow accounts in Thailand.

Read the forfeiture clause before you pay the deposit. In Decision No. 1511/2569, the Supreme Court refused to let a developer keep a buyer’s instalments as a forfeited deposit. We covered it in condo deposit forfeiture in Thailand.

Buying Through a Thai Spouse or Partner

Many of our clients are married to a Thai national. The pattern is familiar. The land goes in the Thai spouse’s name. The Thai spouse signs the bank loan. The foreign spouse pays the instalments.

Understand what you hold in that structure. You don’t own the land. At registration, the Land Office will ask you to confirm that the purchase money belongs to your spouse alone. That declaration weakens any later claim that the land is marital property.

Some banks will add the foreign spouse as co-borrower or guarantor. Think hard before signing. You take on the debt without getting any title. Our page on personal guarantees in Thailand explains how far a guarantor’s liability goes.

The 2015 reform helps a little. Under Section 727/1, a person who mortgages his own property for someone else’s debt is liable only up to that property’s value. A clause making him a surety as well is void, with one exception for company directors.

Protect yourself with registered rights, not promises. A usufruct or a registered lease gives you a right to stay that survives a separation. Register it before the mortgage if the bank allows it.

Order matters here. Under Section 722, a real right registered after the mortgage without the bank’s consent loses to the mortgage. It can be struck from the register on enforcement. Unmarried couples should also read our note on unmarried couples and property.

The Foreigner as Lender: Securing Your Own Money

This is the part most guides skip. A foreigner can’t own land, but he can hold a mortgage over it. Nothing in the Land Code stops a foreign individual from being the mortgagee.

So if you fund a house on your partner’s land, you can lend the money under a written loan agreement. Your partner then registers a mortgage in your favour. It’s a structure we set up regularly.

Expect questions at the Land Office. Officers look for disguised foreign ownership. The loan must be real, documented and paid through a bank.

Know its limits.

• It never gives you the land. Section 711 voids any agreement, made before the debt is due, that the lender becomes owner on default. Enforcement means a court case and a public auction.
• Interest is capped. Section 654 limits interest between private parties to 15 percent a year. A higher rate is cut down to 15 percent. Charging more is also a criminal offence.
• Paper matters. Under Section 653, a loan above THB 2,000 can’t be enforced in court without written evidence signed by the borrower.
• The debt must be real. A mortgage securing a loan that was never paid out can’t be enforced. Keep the bank transfer records.

A registered mortgage has a quiet practical benefit. The owner can’t sell or re-mortgage the land free of your claim. A buyer’s lawyer will see your charge on the title deed. For how to read those entries, see Thai title deeds.

Mortgage or Khai Fak? Know the Difference

Private lenders in Thailand often propose a khai fak (sale with right of redemption) in place of a mortgage. The two look alike on the day you receive the money. They end very differently.

Point	Mortgage (jamnong)	Khai fak
Ownership	Stays with the borrower	Passes to the lender on day one
On default	Notice, court action, public auction	If not redeemed in time, the lender keeps the property. No court needed.
Time limit	None fixed by the Code	Redemption within the agreed term, 10 years at most for immovables
Shortfall or surplus	Surplus from the auction returns to the owner	No surplus. The property is simply lost.

For a borrower, a mortgage is far safer. If a lender insists on khai fak, take advice first. Our guide to sales with rights of redemption explains the redemption rules.

What Happens if You Default

A Thai lender can’t change the locks. It can’t take title by itself either. Enforcement is a court process, and the 2015 amendment made it slower and fairer for the borrower.

Step 1: A Written Notice of at Least 60 Days

Under Section 728, the lender must first send a written demand. It must give you a reasonable time to pay. That time can’t be shorter than 60 days from the day you receive the letter.

The courts take this seriously. In Supreme Court Decision No. 2710/2568, a bank gave a borrower seven days. The Court held the notice bad. The bank had no right to enforce the mortgage, even though nobody had appealed on the point.

The rule applied although the mortgage was signed before 2015. And under Section 714/1, any clause that departs from Sections 728, 729 or 735 is void. Your contract can’t shorten the 60 days.

If another person mortgaged their property for your debt, they get notice too. The lender must send it within 15 days of writing to you. If it’s late, that person is released from interest and charges arising after the 15 days.

Step 2: Court Judgment and Public Auction

If you don’t pay, the lender sues. It asks the court to order the property seized and sold by public auction. The Legal Execution Department runs the sale.

Auctions take time. Several rounds are normal. From first default to a completed sale, a couple of years or more is common.

True foreclosure, where the lender takes ownership, is rare. Section 729 allows it only if interest has been unpaid for five years. The lender must also prove the property is worth less than the debt, and no other charge may be registered.

Your Right to Force a Sale

The 2015 reform added a tool for the owner. Under Section 729/1, once the debt is due, the mortgagor can ask the lender in writing to auction the property without going to court. It works only if no other mortgage or preferential right is registered.

The lender then has one year to hold the auction. If it misses that deadline, the mortgagor is released from interest and charges arising after the year ends. It’s a way to stop interest piling up while a lender drags its feet.

Are You Liable for the Shortfall?

Section 733 says no. If the auction brings less than the debt, the debtor isn’t liable for the difference.

Here’s the catch. The courts have long allowed parties to agree otherwise, and Section 733 isn’t on the list of clauses protected by Section 714/1. Bank standard terms routinely contract out of it. With a bank loan, assume you remain liable for the balance.

In private loans the waiver is often missing. Then Section 733 applies in full. If you’re the lender, that’s a drafting point worth a lawyer’s fee.

One more rule surprises people. Under Section 745, a lender may enforce a mortgage even after the debt itself is time-barred. It just can’t claim more than five years of interest arrears.

Mortgage Costs, Fees and Taxes in 2026

Budget for these items on top of the purchase taxes. Our property taxes guide covers the transfer side.

Item	Rate or amount	Notes
Mortgage registration fee	1 percent of the registered amount, capped at THB 200,000	Paid at the Land Office on registration day.
Reduced registration fee	0.01 percent	Thai individual buyers only. Price, appraised value and mortgage each up to THB 7 million. Mortgage registered with the sale. Runs 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027.
Stamp duty on the loan agreement	0.05 percent of the loan, capped at THB 10,000	THB 1 for every THB 2,000.
Bank valuation and processing fees	Set by each lender	Ask for the fee schedule in writing.
Fire insurance	Annual premium	Banks require it for the life of the loan.
Mortgage life cover (MRTA)	Single premium, often added to the loan	Sold hard at signing. Check whether you need it before you agree.
Registering the release	Small Land Office fee	Do it as soon as the loan is repaid.

Note who gets the 0.01 percent rate. The Ministry of Interior notifications published on 1 July 2026 limit it to Thai individuals. Several expat websites quote it as the general rate. For a foreign buyer it’s 1 percent.

Interest Rates and How They Move

Banks aren’t bound by the 15 percent cap in Section 654. They follow Bank of Thailand rules under separate legislation. Home loans are usually fixed for one to three years, then float against the bank’s MRR or MLR.

Read the rate after the fixed period, not the teaser. Ask about the early repayment fee too. Many banks charge one if you refinance within the first three years.

If no rate was agreed, the legal rate is 3 percent a year under Section 7. A debtor in default pays that plus 2 percent under Section 224. So unpaid private debts carry 5 percent unless the contract validly says more.

Can You Deduct Mortgage Interest?

If you’re a Thai tax resident, possibly. The Revenue Code allows a deduction of up to THB 100,000 a year for home loan interest. The loan must come from a lender in Thailand and finance a residence here, secured by mortgage.

Interest paid to a bank abroad doesn’t qualify. For the wider picture, see our guide to personal income tax in Thailand.

How to Get a Mortgage in Thailand: Step by Step

1. Check the property first. Confirm the title, the foreign quota and any existing charges. Our due diligence guide shows what to look for.
2. Get a written indication from the lender. Do this before you pay a reservation fee. Ask for the loan-to-value, rate, term and fees.
3. Make the contract conditional on finance. Add a clause that returns your deposit if the loan is refused. Developers resist it. Insist anyway.
4. Prepare your documents. Expect to supply your passport, visa and work permit, salary slips, tax returns, bank statements and the sale contract.
5. Valuation and approval. The bank values the unit itself. Its figure may be lower than the price, which raises your deposit.
6. Sign the loan and mortgage contracts. They will be in Thai. Get a translation or have a lawyer read them with you.
7. Register at the Land Office. The transfer and the mortgage are registered on the same visit. The bank keeps the original title deed until the loan is repaid.
8. Register the release at the end. When the loan is paid off, collect the release documents and clear the title.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How ThaiLawOnline Can Help

Most of what is written in English on mortgage laws Thailand comes from property agents. We look at it from the legal side. We work with buyers, borrowers and private lenders across Thailand, all remotely. Typical work includes reviewing bank and developer contracts and drafting loan agreements. We also prepare mortgage registrations and protect a foreign spouse’s position with a usufruct or lease.

Start with our property guide for foreigners in Thailand. If money is already owed to you, see our debt collection page. For advice on your own file, book a property consultation with our team.

Key Takeaways

• A Thai mortgage must be in writing, registered at the Land Office and stated in baht (CCC Sections 708 and 714).
• Only the owner can mortgage a property. Foreigners can mortgage a condo they own, never land.
• Bank policy, not law, blocks most foreign borrowers. Get a written indication before paying a deposit.
• Developer payment plans are not loans. The balance at transfer is where buyers get stuck.
• A foreigner can lend money and hold a registered mortgage over Thai land. Interest is capped at 15 percent a year.
• Enforcement needs 60 days’ written notice, a court judgment and a public auction. Supreme Court Decision No. 2710/2568 confirms it.
• The 0.01 percent registration fee is for Thai buyers only. Foreign buyers pay 1 percent, capped at THB 200,000.

Sebastien H. Brousseau, LL.B., ThaiLawOnline.com. Thirty years in law, twenty of them managing law firms in Thailand. ThaiLawOnline has served expats since 2006.