Phuket Condo Foreign Quota: What Buyers Must Check

The Phuket condo foreign quota is the legal cap that decides whether you can register a condominium unit in your own name: foreigners, taken together, may not hold more than 49 percent of the total floor area of all units in that building. It is a building-wide limit, not a personal allowance, and it applies only to registered condominiums. A villa, a house or a plot of land sits outside this rule and follows Thailand's separate bar on foreign land ownership.

The cap comes from Section 19 bis of the Condominium Act B.E. 2522. Bangkok law firm Tilleke & Gibbins, explaining that Act, states that foreign ownership in a project must not exceed 49 percent of the total floor area of all units combined, and that the remaining 51 percent must be owned by Thais. A foreign buyer must also qualify under Section 19. Most private purchasers qualify under Section 19(5) by bringing foreign currency into Thailand, or withdrawing it from a non-resident baht or foreign-currency account, in an amount not less than the unit price.

What does the 49 percent cap actually measure?

It measures floor area, not the number of apartments. A building with a few large penthouses and many small studios can reach the foreign limit after far fewer than half of its units have been sold to overseas buyers. The denominator is the combined area of the units at the time the condominium was registered. Units later sold by a foreigner to a Thai buyer release that area back to the Thai side of the register. It is also why our survey of Phuket condo prices per square metre is not a promise that every advertised unit can be transferred to a foreigner.

How do you check that a unit still has room?

Ask the condominium juristic person, or the developer's sales office if the building is new, for a dated written letter. The letter should state the total saleable unit area, the area already registered to foreigners, and the area still available, preferably in square metres rather than a rounded percentage. The Land Office expects written evidence that the transfer will keep the building inside the cap; a verbal assurance from an agent is not that evidence.

Get the letter before you pay a deposit you cannot afford to lose, and ask for a fresh copy close to transfer day, because another sale can use up the remaining space. Your lawyer should also check whether the unit is already registered on the foreign side or would consume new quota. For the wider ownership rules, start with our explainer on whether foreigners can buy property in Phuket.

What if the building is already full?

The Land Office will not register a freehold transfer to a foreigner if the Phuket condo foreign quota would be exceeded. In that case the unit is usually offered as a lease, not as foreign freehold. A registered lease of up to 30 years is a real right, but it is not the same as owning the unit outright, and marketing that describes later renewals is not the same as extra terms already recorded. Compare that choice with our freehold vs leasehold Phuket guide before you treat two asking prices as equivalent.

What else must a foreign buyer show at the Land Office?

Quota is only one file in the folder. Under Section 19(5), which is how most buyers qualify, you need bank evidence that an amount not less than the purchase price arrived from abroad in foreign currency, or was withdrawn from a qualifying non-resident or foreign-currency account. In practice that record is the Foreign Exchange Transaction form issued by the receiving Thai bank. Our FET form Thailand guide explains the common mistakes that can stop a registration.

The Land Office will also want to see that common-area fees are paid up to date. Budget for transfer charges; our guide to Phuket property transfer fees explains the 2 percent transfer fee and the other usual items. This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Use an independent Thai lawyer who works for you, not only the developer's counsel.

• Obtain a dated quota letter that shows remaining foreign area in square metres.
• Confirm whether your unit already sits on the foreign register or would use new quota.
• Make sure the sale contract states that the unit is sold as foreign freehold, if that is what you are paying for.
• Plan the inward remittance so the FET paperwork matches the buyer's name and the price.
• Check common-area arrears and any mortgage that must be released before transfer.
• Treat a pitch to "use a Thai company" as a warning, not as a way around the cap.

Does a Thai company get around the cap?

A genuinely Thai-majority company can hold units on the Thai side of the register, just as it can hold land. Using Thai nominee shareholders to hide foreign control is illegal. If a seller or agent presents nominee ownership as a routine way past the Phuket condo foreign quota, stop and take independent advice. Proposals to raise the cap above 49 percent have been discussed, but they have not become law.

Is the Phuket condo foreign quota counted by the number of apartments?

No. The Condominium Act measures the cap by the combined floor area of the units, not by counting doors. A building can be full for foreigners while most of the unit numbers are still Thai-owned, if the foreign purchases were the larger apartments.

Does the cap apply to villas and houses?

No. The Phuket condo foreign quota applies to units in a building registered as a condominium. A pool villa on its own title is a land-and-building question, which is why foreigners normally lease the land and, where the structure allows it, own the building itself.

What happens if quota runs out between reservation and transfer?

The Land Office looks at the position on registration day. If the remaining foreign area can no longer absorb your unit, the freehold transfer to you should be refused. That is why the letter should stay current, and why the contract should say what happens if quota is no longer available.

Can I inherit a unit if the building is already at the limit?

Inheritance has its own rules under the Condominium Act and the Civil and Commercial Code, and they depend on how the heir qualifies as a foreigner. If registering the heir would push the building over 49 percent, the heir may have to dispose of the unit. Ask a lawyer; do not rely on a sales brochure.

Photo: Multi-storey building in Patong, Phuket, by Karelj, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).