Glossary · Ownership and rights
Foreign quota
Also called: Foreign freehold quota, 49% quota
In short
The share of a condominium building that foreign buyers may own freehold: at most 49 percent of the total floor area of all units. Counted building by building.
What it means
Thai law caps foreign freehold ownership in a condominium at 49 percent of the combined floor area of its units. The remaining 51 percent must be held by Thai nationals or Thai companies. The count is by area, not by number of units, and it is kept for each registered condominium separately.
How it works in a sale
- The developer decides which units it sells within the foreign quota.
- At every transfer to a foreign buyer, the juristic person issues a letter stating the current share of foreign ownership. The Land Office will not register the transfer without it.
- A unit bought within the quota keeps that status: you can sell it to a buyer of any nationality.
- Once the quota is full, a foreign buyer can take a unit in that building only on a lease.
What to check
Ask the developer to confirm in the contract that your unit is sold as foreign freehold. In popular resort projects the foreign quota often sells out before the Thai one, so the remaining units may be offered to foreign buyers on leases at what looks like the same price.
A higher quota has been discussed by the government. At the time of writing it has not been made law.