Leasehold vs freehold: what foreigners actually own

UK buyers know leasehold as flats with ground rent and 99–999 year terms; Australians barely use the concept outside Canberra. Thailand is different on both counts. Freehold for a foreigner effectively means a Foreign Freehold condominium — perpetual, titled ownership in your name, available only within a building's 49% foreign quota. Leasehold means a maximum 30-year registered lease — much shorter than UK terms — usually with contractual (not guaranteed) renewal options. Villas on their own land are, for a foreigner buying personally, always leasehold-based structures, because foreigners cannot own land.

Foreign Freehold condo: your name on a Chanote-backed strata title, registered at the Land Office. You can sell to anyone (to a foreigner if quota allows), mortgage it in principle, leave it in your will, and hold it indefinitely. No landlord, no term running down.

Leasehold (condo or villa): a 30-year right of exclusive use registered on the title deed. It is a genuine property right — it binds buyers of the freehold and can be sold (assigned) for the remaining term. But the term depreciates: a lease with 12 years left is worth much less than one with 28, and banks won't lend against it. For villas, good structures pair the land lease with ownership of the building itself plus registered superficies, which materially strengthens your position.

In the same building, leasehold units typically trade 10–20% below the Foreign Freehold price of an identical unit. That discount is the market pricing three things: the depreciating term, renewal uncertainty, and a thinner resale market (your future buyer inherits a shorter lease). Developers who have exhausted their foreign quota often push leasehold hard with polished "90-year" marketing — remember that only the first 30 years is a registered right.

The classic "30+30+30" contract contains two renewal promises from the landowner. Thai law does not allow a lease longer than 30 years to be registered, and pre-signed renewals have repeatedly been treated by courts as attempts to circumvent that limit. In practice: renewals are honoured when the landowner is a solvent, reputable developer with a brand to protect, and are legally fragile when the freehold changes hands or the owner is an individual. Ask who owns the freehold, what happens on their death or sale, and whether the renewal terms specify the rent for later terms. If the numbers only work if you get 90 years, buy something else.

Ongoing costs are similar for both: condo CAM fees (roughly ฿50–90/m²/month in Phuket), a sinking fund on new buildings, and Thailand's land and building tax (modest for residences — capped in the low thousands of baht for most homes). Differences appear at transfer: freehold pays the standard transfer taxes (typically 2–3% all-in for the buyer's share), while lease registration costs 1.1% of the total lease value. On resale, freehold owners can repatriate proceeds against their original FET paperwork; leasehold assignments are contractually simpler but the shrinking term caps the price.

• Buying a condo and quota is available: pay the Foreign Freehold premium. It's the only perpetual, bankable ownership a foreigner can hold and it resells fastest.
• Buying a condo, quota full, price reflects it: leasehold can be rational — especially for a 10–15 year holding horizon where the discount outweighs the depreciation.
• Buying a villa: leasehold-plus-building-ownership is the standard, legitimate route. Focus your diligence on the landowner's quality and the lease drafting, not on chasing "freehold" via company structures you don't fully control.
• Buying primarily for rental yield: run the numbers on the leasehold discount — a 15% cheaper entry on the same rent materially lifts yield, which can beat freehold on pure returns even with resale friction.

Whatever you choose, the ownership structure is shown on every listing here, and it should be verified — not assumed — by your lawyer during due diligence. This guide is general information, not legal advice.