Superficies Agreement, Thailand (Bilingual English-Thai)
A foreigner cannot own Thai land, but can legally own the house on it. The right of superficies makes that ownership official: it is registered at the Land Office and annotated on the back of the Chanote, so it binds anyone who later buys the land, and it can pass to your heirs. This template is adapted from a superficies agreement our office registered for a real client, with all personal details removed, and upgraded with everything we have learned registering these rights across Thailand.
What you get
- 13 pages, fully bilingual English and Thai, drafted by licensed Thai lawyers
- A plain-words explanation of the law: 30-year and lifetime terms, inheritance, what happens if the building burns down, end-of-term buyout at market value
- The renewal question answered honestly: why automatic renewals fail after Supreme Court decision 4655/2566, and the special reciprocal consideration clause that makes a renewal promise far harder to walk away from
- 14 operative clauses including registration mechanics, owner covenants, transfer and inheritance, and an end-of-term appraisal procedure
- Practice indications, a before-signing checklist, and an attachments list matching what the Land Office expects
- MS Word (edit freely) and PDF, instant download after checkout
Works best combined with
Most of our clients register a superficies for the house together with a land lease with right to build or a usufruct for the land, held by the same person. If one layer is attacked, the other still protects you. Read the background in our guide to foreign land ownership restrictions.
Attach it to the registration, or keep it private
The Land Office registers a short standard form that contains only the minimum. This agreement is the full version: our lawyers add the clauses the standard form never contains, precisely to give you more rights than the official form alone. You may present it to be attached to the registration as an addendum, or keep it as a private contract between the parties and register only the standard form. Keeping it private protects your terms and avoids friction: some Land Offices are reluctant to record extensive additional rights for foreigners, who cannot own land, and an officer who dislikes one clause can delay or refuse the whole registration. Signed with witnesses, the agreement binds the parties in full either way; registration is what protects the right against third parties, not what makes these clauses valid between you.
Drafted and maintained by the licensed Thai lawyers of ThaiLawOnline, serving expats and investors since 2006. Updated 16 August 2026.
