Non-natives are under the Thailand condominium act allowed to own condominium apartment units (condos) freehold in Thailand. There is after all one restriction which aims to limit foreign freehold ownership of condos in Thailand; not more than 49% of the whole floor area of all units in a condominium building combined can be foreign owned. In case of 100 even units 49 can be foreign owned, the other 51 must be owned by Thai citizens.

The units in a condominium project exceeding the 49% foreign freehold ownership allotment may be sold under a registered leasehold to non-natives. There is no restriction for foreigners renting or leasing real estate in Thailand. The arrangement for hire, sublease or rental surpassing 3 years must be registered in the foreigner’s name on the condo unit title deed.

The main condition under the Condominium Act for the purchase of a freehold condo by a foreigner (non resident) in Thailand is that the full purchase price for the condominium unit (which may not be less that the appraised value) for the condo unit must have been remitted into Thailand in foreign currency (see current exchange rates Bank of Thailand). The handling bank in Thailand must transfer the amount of foreign currency into Thai baht and will issue a Foreign Exchange Transaction form for amount exceeding 20,000 USD or for lesser amounts a credit note and confirmation message of the transferred amounts on request. Without confirmation of remittance of the full purchase price into Thailand in foreign currency the land department cannot register ownership in the foreigner’s name.

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