Lease agreement in Thailand.
Registering a 30-year lease.
Many foreigners in Thailand choose the Thai lease option because it is easy to understand compared to setting up a Thai Company or registering a Thai usufruct or superficies. Although Thai leases are less complicated, they still have legal formalities which must be followed in order to be properly honoured under Thai law.
A common misunderstanding with a long term Thai Lease, is that one can obtain a 99 year lease as in other countries. Under Thai Property Law a lease may only be registered on property for a period not exceeding 30 years. Many people claim that a Thai lease can be had which has an automatic renewal every 30 years up to three times, but this is simply not possible.
Only a written lease agreement in Thailand is enforceable by law and a lease agreement exceeding three years is only enforceable for the term exceeding three years if the agreement has a Thai language version registered and entered into the local land registers office and endorsed on the land title deed copy of the owner. Additionally, no property lease in Thailand may be longer than 30 years. It is possible to include a renewal clause in the Thai lease which allows subsequent renewals, but the Thai lease renewal contract would need to be re-registered at the local land office in Thailand.
A Thai lease which is granted from a Thai usufruct is permitted in Thailand and this system would allow the lessee to maintain a lease even upon death of the original Thai usufruct principal. This type of lease is also required to be registered with the land department.
The registration and legalisation of a Thai lease should be handled by a Thailand legal professional. Interactive Associates recommend that all our clients seek proper legal representation and assistance in order to obtain the best results from the Thailand legal system.
