The basic rule: the house belongs to the landowner
Under Thai law, a building generally belongs to the owner of the land it stands on. If you build or buy a house on leased land or on your partner's land, you are not the owner of that house without a specific arrangement, even if you paid for it in full.
What a superficies does
A superficies separates ownership of the building from ownership of the land. With a registered superficies, the house belongs to you while the land remains owned by someone else. You can sell the house and, depending on the term option, pass it on to your heirs. A superficies does not, however, make you the owner of the land and is not a way around the ban on foreign land ownership.
Term and inheritance
A superficies is agreed either for a fixed term of up to 30 years, for the lifetime of the landowner or for the lifetime of the holder.
- •With a fixed term or for the lifetime of the landowner, the right passes to your heirs if you die.
- •For your own lifetime, it ends on your death.
Choose the option deliberately if you want to be able to pass the house on.
At the end of the term, you may remove the building but must restore the land to its original condition. If the landowner wishes to keep the building, they can buy it at market value.
Combination with a right of use
A superficies governs ownership of the house, not the use of the land around it, such as the garden or access. It is therefore combined with a leasehold or a usufruct for the land. Typical combinations are:
- •Leasehold plus superficies: the standard solution when buying a house from an unrelated owner
- •Usufruct plus superficies: typical when the Thai spouse owns the land
Settle it before you build
Clarify ownership before construction starts, not afterwards. Key points:
- •Who owns the land, who pays and who owns the finished house?
- •Who pays for maintenance, insurance and major repairs?
- •Are renovations, extensions or a pool permitted?
- •Does the landowner undertake to co-sign building applications?
- •What happens on separation, sale or death?
A word about trust
A superficies is valuable legal protection, but it does not replace trust. Only invest substantial sums in a house on someone else's land if you know the landowner well, for example as a spouse, long-term partner or family member, or if an independent lawyer has reviewed the entire structure.