Last updated on août 1, 2026
What changed: Nothing in the foreign ownership quota. Proposals to raise the condominium foreign quota from 49 percent to 75 percent, and to allow 99-year leases, have circulated since late 2024. Neither has been enacted. No bill has been tabled in parliament. The 49 percent cap and the 30-year lease ceiling both remain the law.
Effective: Not applicable, because there is nothing in force to be effective. What a fait change in 2026: the transfer and mortgage fee cut to 0.01 percent was renewed by Ministry of Interior announcements published in the Royal Gazette on 1 July 2026, running to 30 June 2027. Read the next line carefully, because most coverage omits it: that fee cut is restricted to individual Thai nationals and does not apply to foreign buyers.
Who it affects: Foreign buyers considering a Thai condominium, anyone offered a 90-year or 99-year lease structure, and owners in buildings already at the 49 percent foreign limit.
What to do now: Buy on the law as it stands. Never pay a premium for a unit priced on an expected rule change. Verify the building’s remaining foreign quota in writing before you sign, and treat any 99-year lease offer as a structure a Thai court has already looked through.
Dernière vérification : 1 August 2026, against the Condominium Act B.E. 2522 section 19 bis, section 540 of the Civil and Commercial Code, Supreme Court Decision 4655/2566, and a negative check of the Royal Gazette for any amending instrument.
The rule that still applies: 49 percent
Section 19 bis of the Condominium Act B.E. 2522 lets foreigners own units in a registered condominium up to 49 percent of the total saleable floor area of the building. The remaining 51 percent must be held by Thai nationals or Thai-majority entities.
Two details catch buyers out. The measure is floor area, not unit count, so a building can hit its foreign limit with fewer than half its units sold to foreigners. And the quota belongs to the building, not to you. Whether you can register in the foreign quota depends on what previous buyers have already taken.
You also need to bring the purchase funds in from abroad in foreign currency and obtain the bank’s Foreign Exchange Transaction form. Without it the Land Office will not register you under the foreign quota. Our guide to achat d'un condominium en Thaïlande works through the sequence, and moving money to Thailand from abroad covers the transfer mechanics.
What is actually proposed
Two separate measures get discussed together and are frequently conflated in property marketing.
| Measure | Current law | Proposed | Stage as at 1 Aug 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Condominium foreign quota | 49% of saleable area | Up to 75%, in some versions limited to designated zones or price floors | Proposal only. Under study since late 2024. No bill tabled. |
| Maximum lease term | 30 ans (CCC s.540) | Up to 99 years | Proposal only. No enacted amendment. |
| Transfer and mortgage fee | Standard 2% transfer, 1% mortgage | Reduced to 0.01% for qualifying homes up to 7 million baht, Thai nationals only | IN FORCE. Gazetted 1 Jul 2026, runs to 30 Jun 2027. Not available to foreign buyers. |
The contrast in that last row is the whole lesson, and it cuts two ways. One measure actually completed the legislative journey while the other two have been discussed for two years. But completing the journey is not the same as helping you. Both announcements state that the buyer must be an individual Thai national, so a foreign buyer pays the standard 2 percent transfer fee regardless.
Both Ministry of Interior announcements gazetted on 1 July 2026 require that the buyer be an individual Thai national. A great deal of English-language property coverage reports the headline rate without this condition, which leads foreign buyers to budget 700 baht on a 7 million baht purchase when the real figure is 140,000 baht. If you are buying in your own name under the foreign quota, budget the standard 2 percent transfer fee. Where the reduction can matter to you is on a resale: a Thai buyer purchasing from you may qualify, which affects what the market will bear before 30 June 2027.
Why the quota proposal keeps stalling
The economic argument is easy to state. Thai developers hold unsold inventory, foreign demand exists, and raising the cap would clear stock. The political argument against it is just as easy, and it has proven stronger: opponents frame a 75 percent cap as allowing foreign-majority buildings, and enclave anxiety is potent in Thai politics.
Successive governments have studied the measure without tabling it. Draft versions have narrowed it to particular provinces or imposed minimum prices, which signals the political difficulty rather than resolving it. Treat any specific figure you read as provisional until a bill exists.
The 99-year lease: a court has already ruled
The lease proposal deserves separate treatment, because the gap between what is marketed and what is enforceable is already settled law.
Section 540 of the Civil and Commercial Code caps a lease of immovable property at 30 ans. Agents have long marketed a workaround: a 30-year lease with two pre-agreed 30-year renewals, sold as 90 years of security.
The 30-year ceiling in section 540 is absolute. Any term purporting to run beyond 30 years from commencement is void as to the excess.
The Court looked at substance over form. Pre-agreed automatic renewals and multi-contract schemes built to get around the ceiling are unenforceable, and a pre-paid renewal cannot be compelled. At the end of the registered 30-year term the lessor decides whether to extend. This decision is increasingly cited in lower-court enforcement.
So a buyer paying today for 90 years is paying for 30 years of enforceable right plus a hope. If parliament later permits 99-year leases, that will not retroactively validate a structure a court has already struck down. We cover this in depth at the 90-year lease myth, with the mechanics at automatic renewal of a lease et renewal options on a 30-year lease. Related rulings sit at Supreme Court decisions about leases.
Enforcement tightened while the proposals stalled
This is the part most coverage misses. Ownership rules did not loosen in 2026. Enforcement of the existing rules got sharper.
Between 15 and 25 May 2026 the Department of Lands issued three consecutive circulars marked most urgent to every Provincial Land Office, addressing land held for foreigners through Thai proxies. The lead reference is MT 0515.2/W 10722, dated 15 May 2026.
Be precise about what these are. They are administrative circulars, not legislation. They create no new law and impose no new reporting duty on the public. What they do is consolidate existing Land Code powers into a single operational framework and direct officers to apply it consistently. The legal exposure of a nominee arrangement is unchanged. The likelihood of it being examined is not.
Anyone holding Thai property through a Thai spouse, a Thai company, or a Thai friend should read actionnaires désignés thaïlandais et recent crackdowns on nominees. The rule that foreigners cannot own land directly is set out at Des étrangers achètent des terres en Thaïlande, with the wider picture at Restrictions relatives à la propriété étrangère en Thaïlande.
What to do instead of waiting
- Verify the building’s foreign quota in writing. Ask the juristic person for the current foreign-owned percentage of saleable area, dated and signed. A verbal assurance from a sales agent is worth nothing at the Land Office.
- Budget the full 2 percent transfer fee. The 0.01 percent rate is restricted to individual Thai nationals, so it will not reduce your bill if you buy in your own name under the foreign quota. Factor the reduction into your exit planning instead: a Thai buyer purchasing from you before 30 June 2027 may qualify.
- Price a lease at 30 years. If a structure only makes financial sense across 60 or 90 years, it does not make sense.
- Consider the lawful alternatives. A usufruit gives a right of use for life, and lease, usufruct and sap ing sith compares the options honestly.
- Run proper due diligence. Title, encumbrances, the juristic person’s finances, and the developer’s record. See diligence raisonnable en Thaïlande.
Two related changes bear on the same buyers. Money you remit to fund a purchase interacts with Thailand’s remittance tax regime, covered in our article on foreign income and Thai tax residence. And if you plan to spend significant time in the property, the 2026 visa rule changes affect how long you can stay.
Foire aux questions
Can foreigners own 75 percent of a Thai condominium building in 2026?
No. The 49 percent limit in section 19 bis of the Condominium Act B.E. 2522 remains in force. The 75 percent figure comes from a proposal that has been under study since late 2024 and has not been enacted. No bill has been tabled in parliament.
Are 99-year leases legal in Thailand yet?
No. Section 540 of the Civil and Commercial Code still caps leases of immovable property at 30 years. A 99-year term would be void beyond the first 30 years. See the 90-year lease myth.
What happens if a building has already used its 49 percent foreign quota?
You cannot register that unit in the foreign quota. You would be buying a Thai-quota unit, which a foreigner cannot hold in their own name. Agents sometimes propose a company or nominee arrangement at this point, which carries the exposure described in recent crackdowns on nominees. Always confirm the remaining quota in writing first.
Did the Department of Lands circulars create new obligations for foreign owners?
No. The May 2026 circulars are internal administrative guidance to Provincial Land Offices. They create no new law and no new public reporting duty. They consolidate existing Land Code powers into one enforcement framework, so scrutiny of nominee structures has increased without the underlying law changing.
Can a foreigner use the 0.01 percent transfer fee reduction?
No. The reduction is real and runs to 30 June 2027, but both Ministry of Interior announcements gazetted on 1 July 2026 require the buyer to be an individual Thai national. A foreign buyer registering a unit under the foreign quota pays the standard 2 percent transfer fee. Most English-language coverage reports the headline 0.01 percent rate without this condition, which is how foreign buyers end up budgeting 700 baht for a fee that will actually be 140,000 baht on a 7 million baht purchase. See property taxes in Thailand.
Should I wait for the quota to change before buying?
Buy on the law as it stands or do not buy. The proposal has been discussed for two years without a bill, faces real political opposition, and may never pass or may pass in a narrowed form limited to certain zones. Meanwhile the gazetted fee reduction expires on 30 June 2027, so waiting has a measurable cost.
Check the ownership structure before you sign
Serving foreigners in Thailand since 2006, ThaiLawOnline.com verifies foreign quota availability, reviews lease and purchase contracts, and tells clients plainly when a structure will not hold. We would rather stop a bad purchase than litigate it later.
Planifiez une consultation, book a consultation immobilière, or review our flat-fee property packages et droit de la propriété en Thaïlande guide.
About the author. ThaiLawOnline.com has advised foreign clients on Thai law since 2006. Our property practice covers condominium purchases, lease structures, usufructs, and title due diligence for foreign buyers.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Proposals described here are not law and may change or lapse. The position was verified on 1 August 2026 against the Royal Gazette and the sources listed above.
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