Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Usufructs (I call it Usufruct but apparently the French call it ‘usifrik’), Superficies, which is something I actually don't often delineate the two. In my mind, I just sort of think of Usufruct and Superficies as one and the same - legally speaking they are not - and then of course Long-term leases. So we're talking about property matters here in Thailand, and these are instruments that can be utilized by Foreign Nationals. Let's go ahead and jump in here. 

I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Bangkok Post, bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Nominee structures thrust into the spotlight. Quoting directly: "Foreigners already have several lawful pathways to use or control property in Thailand without directly owning land. The most common is long-term leasehold, typically for 30 years, sometimes marketed as 30 + 30-year arrangements." 

Yeah and I kind of wish they would sort of parse this out a little more. They do go into detail, but this whole notion of 30 + 30 + 30 Leasing, we did a video on that a couple of years back. The Supreme Court roundly rejected that in Thailand, so that's something to bear in mind. That said, quoting further: "However, renewal beyond the initial 30 years is not guaranteed under Thai Law, making some foreign buyers reluctant to rely on lease hold alone." 

Yeah look, no offense to the Bangkok Post on this one. I get you are sort of lay people, and you are describing it technically correctly, but at the end of the day, it's not guaranteed under Thai Law because it's not in existence under Thai Law. Thai Law stipulates you can do 30-year leases. Automatic renewals are not stipulated under Thai Law, that's why the Supreme Court rejected it. So, I think in the future it may just be better to just say, "hey, you can do 30-year leases in Thailand" and just leave out talk of 30 + 30; one man's opinion. That said, quoting further: "Another legal mechanism is superficies rights, where the land is owned by a Thai national and the building belongs to a foreigner." Yeah, I call this bifurcation of title. Basically, you have title to a structure on the land, and then the land itself is held, the title to it is held by somebody else. Quoting further: "This structure is common among foreigners with Thai spouses, allowing them to retain ownership of the house even if the land itself remains under Thai ownership." In most of the situations I see, frankly leasehold deals with this; bifurcation of title is another way to do it. There are more than one way to skin a cat, as they say. That said, quoting further: "Foreigners can also obtain Usufruct (or usufruct) rights, granting them the right to use land, live on it or receive benefits from it for a defined period or until death." 

In a lot of cases involving a lot of the folks - especially like 40 something guys - a lot of them say, "I'd really prefer to have a Usufruct, a lifetime usage, rather than a 30-year lease - not to say a 30-year lease - like I'm 44, that takes you out to 74. Now most people sort of might be cavalier about that up until you turn 74 and you have to leave where you were staying. So, I do understand why some folks would say, "no, no I want the lifetime right, rather than the term lease". As we have discussed in other videos though, different Land Offices take different stances on interpretation and enforcement of rules against foreign ownership and undue foreign influence over Thai real estate, so again some Offices make it easier or harder to do Usufructs versus Superficies versus Leases. Another thing to bear in mind is mortgages which is a financial instrument attached to land. I've discussed that in other videos; I won't go into that in too much detail here. But again, depending on the Land Office you're dealing with, there are varying levels of difficulty as well as formalities associated with registering these different types of instruments of rights on the respective title deeds associated with various types of property. 

So the thing to take away from this video is if you find yourself overwhelmed about matters pertaining to Thai property, definitely before making any decisions regarding making deposits, down payments, purchases, it's a very good idea to contact a legal professional, gain some insight and guidance into how best to proceed.