สิทธิการเช่าในประเทศไทย: การเช่าที่จดทะเบียน 30 ปี

ตรวจสอบโดย ThaiLawOnline สำนักงานกฎหมายไทยที่ได้รับใบอนุญาตและดำเนินกิจการในประเทศไทยตั้งแต่ปี พ.ศ. 2549 ทนายความผู้รับผิดชอบสำนวน: วิชุดา อรรถเมธากุล, น.ม., ใบอนุญาตเนติบัณฑิตไทย เลขที่ 3149/2556.

อัปเดตล่าสุดเมื่อ 5 กันยายน 2569

สิทธิการเช่า (สิทธิการเช่า, sitthi kan chao, also called a สัญญาเช่าที่จดทะเบียน หรือ สัญญาเช่าระยะยาว) is the right to possess and use land, a house or a condominium unit under a lease contract governed by Sections 537 onwards of the ประมวลกฎหมายแพ่งและพาณิชย์, registered at the สำนักงานที่ดิน for a term of up to 30 years. It is the main legal structure by which foreigners, who cannot own land, hold Thai property for the long term. A registered lease binds anyone who later buys the land, but it remains a contract rather than ownership, and its limits, above all the 30-year ceiling, are the source of most disputes.

What the Civil and Commercial Code says about leases

Section 538 provides that a lease of immovable property for more than three years is enforceable only for three years unless it is in writing and registered by the competent official. Section 540 caps the term at 30 years; anything longer is reduced to 30, although the parties may renew for a further period not exceeding 30 years when the first expires. Registration takes place at the Land Office on the back of the โฉนด หรือ นอร์ ซอร์ 3 กอร์, and the lessee receives a registered copy.

A registered lease survives a sale of the land. Under Section 569 the transfer of the leased property does not end the lease; the buyer takes over the lessor’s rights and duties for the remaining term. That is why registration matters: an unregistered ten-year lease is a three-year lease against a new owner. Subletting or assigning the lease needs the lessor’s consent unless the contract allows it (Section 544).

Practical points for a foreign lessee

Both parties, or their attorneys under a ทอร์ ดอร์ 21 power of attorney, attend the Land Office with the title deed, passports or ID cards and a Thai-language lease. The registration fee is 1% of the total rent for the whole term, plus stamp duty of 0.1%, and the office will ask which party pays. A lease can be registered over a condominium unit as well as land, which is one option when the building’s foreign quota is full.

The common mistakes are paying the full 30 years’ rent up front to a landlord who is not the registered owner, leaving the lease unregistered to save the fee, and relying on a renewal clause. The Land Office also looks at the substance: a lease at nominal rent on land the foreigner paid for, with a Thai owner in name only, is a ผู้ได้รับการเสนอชื่อ arrangement, not a lease.

Renewals, death and the 30-year ceiling

A promise to renew is a contractual obligation of the person who made it. The Supreme Court has held that such promises do not bind a buyer of the land or the lessor’s heirs, so the widely marketed 30 + 30 + 30 structure gives a secure right for the first term only. The renewal has to be registered as a fresh lease at expiry, with the fee paid again. A lease is also personal to the lessee: unless the contract provides for heirs, it ends on the lessee’s death, and the remaining years cannot be inherited. Foreigners who want something inheritable pair the lease with a พื้นผิว over the house, or look at the sap-ing-sith right created in 2019, which is transferable and inheritable for up to 30 years.

คำถามที่พบบ่อย

ดูเพิ่มเติม: สิทธิเก็บกิน, พื้นผิว, sap-ing-sith, สัญญาเช่าในประเทศไทย, the 90-year lease myth และ risks of buying property in Thailand.