The Condominium Act is the Thai law that lets buildings be registered as condominiums so individual units can be sold on freehold titles — and it's the law that lets foreigners own units outright within a 49% foreign-ownership quota.
The Condominium Act is the single most important piece of law for a foreign property buyer in Thailand — it's the reason foreign freehold ownership exists at all. In plain terms, it's the Act that lets a building be formally registered as a condominium, so that its individual units can be sold on their own freehold title deeds.
Crucially for overseas buyers, the Act also created the 49% foreign-ownership quota: up to 49% of the total floor area of a registered condominium may be owned freehold by foreigners, in their own names. That quota is what allows you to own a Phuket condo outright — not on a lease, not through a company, but registered to you personally — provided your purchase money is brought in from abroad and documented with a Foreign Exchange Transaction (FET) form.
The Act also sets the framework for how condominiums are run: the juristic person that manages the building, common-area rights, service charges and the sinking fund for major maintenance. Understanding it matters because it defines both what you own — your unit, plus a share of the common property — and the rules and costs that come with it. A building that isn't registered under the Act simply can't offer foreigners freehold units.
It gives foreign buyers something rare in the region: genuine, registered freehold ownership in their own name, backed by a unit title deed and a defined 49% quota. Your lawyer verifies at the Land Office that the building holds a Condominium Act licence, that quota space is available, and that the unit can be transferred to you. That legal clarity — you own the unit outright, indefinitely — is a big part of why Phuket compares well to markets where foreigners can only lease.
It permits foreigners to collectively own up to 49% of the total floor area of a registered condominium on a freehold basis, in their own names, with the balance held by Thais. To register the transfer, a foreign buyer must show the purchase funds were remitted from abroad via an FET form. It's a clear, well-established framework — which is why the freehold condominium is the standard route for overseas investors. See also the other structures foreigners can use.
Thinking about buying in Phuket?
See if you qualify →The Act allows up to 49% of a registered condominium's total floor area to be owned freehold by foreigners, with at least 51% held by Thai nationals. If the foreign quota in a building is full, remaining units can only be sold to foreigners on a leasehold basis — so quota availability is something to check before you buy.
No — it applies to registered condominium buildings and their units, not to land or standalone houses. For a villa, where land is involved, foreigners use a long registered lease, a usufruct or superficies right, or genuine company ownership. The Act is specifically what makes foreign condominium freehold possible.