Transcript of the above video:

A topic that often comes up with respect to foreigners and land in Thailand is the topic of lease. Leasing is a method that is available for foreign nationals to gain enjoyment of property, including land here in the Kingdom of Thailand but there are rules associated with it. Most notably, at least as of the time of this video, the rules pertaining to the duration of leases basically states in the Thai Civil and Commercial Code that a maximum of 30 years is all that will be allowed. 

However, in a recent article from the Buriram Times, that is buriramtimes.com, and they are citing Thai Visa News, quoting directly: "Thai Business Media has said that their sources in the Thai Government are suggesting that laws relating to the Condo Act of 2008 and rules about owning land and houses are about to change." Quoting directly: "In addition, leases are set to increase from 30 to 50 years or more." Quoting further: "However, any changes in the law are likely to be temporary for the next 3 to 5 years as a post-COVID stimulus package." Quoting further: "It is planned to increase those buying on lease from 30 years to 50 years plus 40 years. (So in theory maybe you could have a 50 year lease with the ability or option to extend another 40 years after the initial 50)  Quoting further: "The source indicated that all changes to these regulations would only be temporary for the next 3 to 5 years." and they reiterated that a few times in this article, this temporary nature. 

Let's start with first of all, for now it is 30 years. That is what you are looking at with respect to leases. It appears they are currently talking about possibly extending that duration. Again, we have been talking about this for a while and I have yet to see it come to fruition. A lot of these things that get discussed with respect to land, property, real estate ownership or leasing or anything associated with that in Thailand, a lot of talk gets out there and oftentimes we don't really see very much action, candidly. That said, anything that could occur, there is this temporary thing and that really makes it nebulous to me and leads me to conclude that anybody, if they do end up changing the laws, it definitely is a good idea to contact a legal professional because there is just so much gray that goes on with this notion of a 3 to 5 year temporary period. Well what does that mean? If you get a lease locked in during that period okay that might be valid, but what if you want to assign it to someone after that period? Is it possible to do that or does the law snap back and they say well you would only be able to sublease for a max of 30 years for example? I am just speculating but that notion of the temporary nature of these provisions it makes me, I won't say uneasy, but it is concerning from a legal standpoint and I would definitely urge those who are looking to enjoy any of these possible benefits and again nothing has been promulgated to the effect of extending this in a practical matter, so we have yet to actually see this come to fruition but for those who are looking at this, again it is probably not a terrible idea to contact a legal professional to gain some insight and guidance into how best to proceed.