Current practice for registering property transactions in Phuket.
Villas: first registration of a land leasehold
The house is transferred freehold, the land beneath it on a 30-year leasehold. A land lease agreement is not registered where the entire 30-year rent is paid up front: a schedule with annual payments is required.
According to some reports, Koh Phangan accepts payments at five-year intervals and Koh Samui at three-year intervals. Practice differs between islands and provinces, so the terms should be confirmed with local specialists.
Developers holding signed agreements with 100% prepayment are taking different approaches: some revise the payment schedule and register the transactions, others are waiting for the Land Department to return to the previous rules.
Assignment of a leasehold
Where the property is already registered, the seller assigns the remaining term of the land lease and sells the house freehold; registration goes through, with no questions raised about the payment schedule.
Where the agreement has not yet been registered, this is a first registration and the restriction on the payment schedule applies.
Condominium units
Leasehold agreements for condominium units are registered with the Land Department even where the agreement provides for 100% prepayment.
The regulatory position
A land leasehold with 100% prepayment is not registered — possibly because the transaction is treated as a sale rather than a lease. No direct restriction on the timing or amount of land rent payments has been established.
For buildings, including condominium units, restrictions do exist. Under the Notification of the Contract Committee designating the leasing of residential buildings as a contract-controlled business (2025), a lessor may not require advance rent and a security deposit that together exceed one year’s rent. A lease of more than three years is treated as long-term, so a 30-year leasehold falls within this rule; the Land Department appears not to take it into account.
Author: Aleksandra Agapitova.
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