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Réponse courte : A condo lawyer for Chiang Mai costs 4,900 THB for a Title Deed Check or 19,900 THB for the full Condominium Package, handled remotely from our Bangkok office. The one thing that matters most in Chiang Mai is the building, not the unit: much of the stock around Nimman and the Night Bazaar is twenty or thirty years old, with a mixed Thai and foreign quota and accounts nobody has read, and the low prices tempt buyers to skip the checks that would have shown the problem.
Table des matières
Which Land Office registers condominiums in Chiang Mai
Condominium units in Mueang Chiang Mai district are registered at the Chiang Mai Provincial Land Office at the Provincial Government Centre on Chotana Road, Chang Phueak. Mueang district covers the areas foreigners buy in: Nimman and the Suthep side, the Old City, Santitham, Chang Khlan and the Night Bazaar, and the riverside. That office holds the unit title deed register and the foreign ownership count for each building.
Projects outside the city district go to the Chiang Mai Provincial Land Office branch for that district: Hang Dong Branch, Saraphi Branch, San Kamphaeng Branch, Mae Rim Branch, San Pa Tong Branch or Doi Saket Branch. A listing that says “Chiang Mai” can be in any of them, and the certified copy, the quota letter and the transfer appointment all belong to the office that holds the register, so we confirm it on day one.
What is different about buying a condo in Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai is a long-stay and retirement market more than an investment market. The buyers are retirees, long-stay expatriates, remote workers and international school staff. Santitham and Jed Yod carry the older, cheaper low-rise stock. Inside the Old City walls foreign-freehold buildings are rare.
The age of the stock is the issue. Many buildings date from the 1990s boom and were registered long before the 2008 amendment to the Condominium Act. The quota register may not have been updated for years, sinking funds are thin, and lifts, water tanks and wiring are at the end of their life. Because a unit here costs a fraction of a Bangkok unit, buyers treat the purchase as small and skip the checks. The problems are not smaller; only the price is.
Mistakes buyers make in Chiang Mai
- Skipping the check because the unit is cheap. Buyers who would never buy a car without the registration book buy a Santitham unit from a photograph of the deed. The certified copy shows the real owner, the area and every charge; the photograph shows what the seller wants you to see.
- Taking the agent’s word on the foreign quota. Section 19 bis caps foreign ownership at 49 per cent of the combined area of all units. In a 1990s building with a mixed quota the personne morale must state in writing the ratio after your transfer, and that figure must match the count at the Provincial Land Office. “Plenty of foreigners live here” is not a quota letter.
- Reading the debt-free certificate as a clean bill of health. Under sections 18 and 29 the certificate confirms your unit owes nothing. It says nothing about the other sixty owners who have not paid, the empty sinking fund or the lift that has been out since March.
- Accepting a Thai name on the deed when the quota is full. When the foreign side of an older building is full, agents propose registering in the name of a Thai friend or partner. That is not ownership; it is a gift to the person on the deed. See our page on what to do when the foreign quota is full.
What the Supreme Court has said: the nominee who sold the unit
In Dika 4096/2557 a Dutch buyer had a condominium unit registered in a Thai person’s name. The nominee reported the unit title deed lost, obtained a replacement from the Land Office, changed the locks and sold the unit to a third party. The prosecution charged embezzlement; the Supreme Court held the facts proved theft, because the true owner had never handed possession to the nominee, who took it by a stratagem. A restitution order of 3,500,000 baht stood. The buyer and his widow did not get the unit back.
Apply that to Chiang Mai. The foreign quota of a Santitham building is full, the unit is cheap, the agent knows a Thai friend who will “hold it for you”. The registered owner can mortgage the unit, sell it, lose it to a creditor or leave it to heirs. A conviction years later does not return a unit. When the quota is full, the lawful options are a registered bail under section 538 of the Civil and Commercial Code, a registered usufruit, or a different building.
How we handle a Chiang Mai purchase from Bangkok
Our only office is in Bangkok, by appointment, and a Chiang Mai file does not require anyone to travel. Documents move by email and through the client portal. We obtain the certified copy of the unit title deed, front and back with the official stamp and date, through the Land Office network. The juristic person’s quota letter, accounts and debt-free position are requested in Thai by our team and read in Thai, then reported to you in English.
Every report is reviewed by Wichuda Atthamethakon, LL.M., Thai Bar Licence 3149/2556, our Thai lawyer of record, and the file is supervised by Sebastien Brousseau, LL.B., B.Sc., Managing Director, who has managed law firms in Thailand since 2006. On transfer day you receive written instructions for the counter at the Provincial Land Office or the district branch: documents, fee lines and what the quota letter must say. Chiang Mai is outside the Premium package area, so if you want one of our team beside you at the Land Office we quote that before you commit.
How it runs, step by step
| Étape | Ce que nous faisons | What you do | Calendrier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Order | Open the file, confirm whether the Provincial Land Office or a district branch holds the register | Send the project name, unit number, seller’s name and the listing | Day 1 |
| 2. Title Deed Check | Obtain the certified copy, translate it, report on owner, area, encumbrances and building registration | Nothing until the report arrives | 3 business days |
| 3. 25-point due diligence | Quota letter and Land Office count, debt-free position, juristic person accounts and meeting minutes, building permit, seller’s capacity, mortgage | Forward what the seller and juristic person send | Days 4 to 10 |
| 4. Contract review | Mark up the sale agreement, make the deposit conditional on quota and debt-free certificate, fix who pays which tax | Sign only the cleared version | Days 8 to 12 |
| 5. FET guidance | Remittance instructions so the receiving bank issues the FET form in your name, as section 19 ter requires | Remit from abroad in foreign currency | Before transfer |
| 6. Transfer instructions | Written checklist for the Land Office counter; attendance quoted if requested | Attend, or appoint a representative under a Land Office power of attorney | Transfer day |
| 7. After transfer | Verify the new unit title deed and close the file | Send a scan of the registered deed | Within 7 days |
Ce que ça coûte
Our fees are flat and in Thai baht. Government fees at the Land Office (2 per cent transfer fee, 3.3 per cent specific business tax or 0.5 per cent stamp duty, and withholding tax) are paid at the counter and are never included.
- Title Deed Check: 4,900 THB. Certified copy of the unit title deed, front and back, official stamp and date, English translation and a two-page lawyer’s report, in 3 business days. Credited against the Condominium Package if ordered within 30 days.
- Condominium Package: 19,900 THB. The 25-point due diligence, contract review, FET guidance and written transfer instructions, in 7 to 14 business days.
- Condominium Premium Package: 34,900 THB. Adds Land Office attendance and translation on transfer day in Bangkok, Pattaya, Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen, Surin, Buriram or nearby. For Chiang Mai, attendance is quoted separately before you commit.
- Consultation: 2,000 THB per hour, credited against a package.
Order the Condominium Package (19,900 THB)
Order a Title Deed Check (4,900 THB)
Download the free condo buying checklist, réserver une consultation, or read our guide to achat d'un condominium en Thaïlande.
Foire aux questions
Do I need a lawyer in Chiang Mai, or can a Bangkok firm do this?
The register is held at the Chiang Mai Provincial Land Office or a district branch, and the certified copy is obtained through the Land Office network, so the work does not depend on where the lawyer sits. We handle Chiang Mai files remotely from Bangkok: documents by email and client portal, the report in English, the Thai-language requests to the juristic person made by our team. We have no office in Chiang Mai.
How do I know if an older building still has foreign quota?
Only from two documents read together: the juristic person’s letter stating the foreign ratio after your transfer, and the count held at the Land Office for that building. Agents’ estimates are often years out of date in 1990s buildings where units changed hands informally. We obtain both before the deposit is released, and the contract makes the deposit refundable if the quota is not there.
The unit is cheap. Is the 19,900 THB package worth it?
The price of the unit does not change the number of things that can go wrong. Unpaid fees, a full quota, an unregistered mortgage or a seller without capacity cost the same to untangle in Santitham as in Bangkok. If the budget is tight, start with the Title Deed Check at 4,900 THB; it is credited against the package if you continue within 30 days.
Can I pay the seller from my Thai bank account?
Not if you want the unit in your name. Section 19 ter requires evidence that the price came into Thailand in foreign currency, normally the Justificatif de transfert de devises (FET) issued by the receiving Thai bank. Funds already in Thailand, including a retirement visa deposit, do not produce that evidence. We give you the remittance instructions before you move anything.
What does the debt-free certificate cover?
Only your unit. Sections 18 and 29 of the Condominium Act make the owner liable for common expenses and bar the officer from registering a transfer unless the juristic person certifies the unit is free of them. The certificate does not tell you whether the building’s sinking fund can replace the lift. For that we read the accounts and the minutes.
What if the project is in Hang Dong or Saraphi rather than the city?
Then the register sits at the Chiang Mai Provincial Land Office branch for that district, such as the Hang Dong Branch, and the certified copy, quota count and transfer appointment are made there, not at the provincial office on Chotana Road. We identify the office on day one from the project’s registration, and the transfer instructions name the counter you will attend.
Can I register a lease instead if the quota is full?
Yes. A lease of more than three years must be registered at the Land Office under section 538 of the Civil and Commercial Code to be enforceable beyond three years, and a registered usufruct is another option. Neither is ownership, and a lessee has no vote at the general meeting. Both are lawful; a Thai nominee on the deed is not.
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