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HomeProperty LawBuying Property Through
How We Help
Buying Property Through
a Thai Company
A Thai company is often presented to foreign buyers as the simple way around the land rules. It is not simple, and for many buyers it is not appropriate. We give you a straight assessment of whether the structure is lawful for your circumstances, what it costs to run, and what the alternatives are.
The Real Question
The question is not whether you can — it is whether you should
A Thai limited company is a legitimate legal entity built to carry on business. A company with a genuine business can own the land it operates from. What the law does not permit is Thai shareholders holding shares on a foreigner’s behalf, with no real involvement, purely to place land beyond the foreign ownership rules.
Before we form anything, we tell you which side of that line your plan sits on. A company earns its place when the following are all true.
A Genuine Operating Business
A company that actually trades — a restaurant, a guesthouse, a workshop, a farm — may lawfully own the land and premises it operates from. The property follows the business, not the other way round.
A Structure You Can Explain
If an authority asked why the company exists, what it does and why it needs this property, there should be a straight, truthful answer. If there is not, the structure is exposed.
Shareholders With a Real Stake
Thai shareholders in a lawful company have genuinely invested, take genuine risk and have a genuine say. Shareholders recruited to sign and disappear are the definition of the problem.
What We Do
The scope of work on a company purchase
Whether the outcome is a company, a different structure or a decision not to buy, this is the work that gets you to it.
- An honest assessment of whether a company structure is lawful and appropriate for your specific circumstances
- A review of the alternatives — condominium freehold, registered leasehold, usufruct, superficies — before a company is assumed
- Company formation where there is a genuine business purpose, including objects, share structure and director arrangements
- Due diligence on the land or building the company would acquire — title, encumbrances, permits and access
- Review of any existing company you have been asked to buy into or take over, and its exposure
- Contract and Land Office representation for the acquisition itself
- Ongoing corporate compliance — annual accounts, tax filings, statutory records and meetings
- A written scope and fee estimate before you instruct us, so the full cost of the structure is visible
Where It Goes Wrong
The features that expose a structure
A property held by a company can be unwound, and the people who arranged it can carry personal liability. These are the signs that a structure was built for the wrong reason.
Shareholders Who Never Appear
Thai shareholders you have never met, who contribute nothing and expect nothing, are a nominee arrangement. This is the single highest-risk feature of a foreign-controlled property company.
A Company That Will Never Trade
A company formed only to hold a house, with no business, no revenue and no activity, has no answer to the question of why it exists.
“Don’t Worry, Nobody Checks”
Enforcement has moved. Land Department scrutiny, source-of-funds questions and company audits now reach structures that were once ignored.
Pressure to Register Before Advice
Being urged to form the company and pay a deposit before any independent lawyer has looked at the plan is a reason to stop, not to hurry.
Our Commitment
What we will and will not do
The cheapest firms in this area sell a structure. We give an assessment, and sometimes that assessment is that the purchase should not go ahead as proposed.
- We do not provide, introduce or arrange nominee shareholders
- We will not build a structure whose only function is to hold land for a foreigner
- We tell you plainly when a purchase should not proceed in the form proposed
- We set out the lawful alternatives before a company is treated as the answer
- We give you the full ongoing cost of a company, not just the set-up fee
- Every verbal assurance from a seller or developer is checked against the documents
Before You Instruct Us
Where to be before the first conversation
None of this is a barrier to talking to us. It is what makes the conversation useful.
- Be able to state the genuine business the company will carry on
- Be able to explain why that business needs this particular property
- Know who the Thai shareholders are and what they are actually contributing
- Understand that the company files accounts and tax returns every year, trading or not
- Take independent advice before registering anything or transferring any money
- Keep every reservation form, receipt and item of correspondence
Before You Instruct Us
Questions buyers ask
Q
Is buying property through a Thai company illegal?
No. A Thai limited company is a legitimate legal entity, and a company with a genuine business can own land for its business purposes. What is unlawful is using Thai shareholders who hold shares on a foreigner's behalf, with no real involvement or investment, purely to put land beyond the foreign ownership rules. The line between the two is where the legal risk sits, and it is what we assess before you commit.
Q
Can you just set up the company and shareholders for me?
We will form and administer a company where there is a real business reason for it. We do not provide or arrange nominee shareholders, and we will not build a structure whose only purpose is to disguise foreign land ownership. If that is what a purchase needs in order to work, our advice will be that it should not proceed in that form.
Q
The developer says everyone buys this way. Should that reassure me?
No. “Everyone does it” describes what other buyers did, not whether it was lawful and not whether it is right for you. The enforcement position in Thailand has tightened, and structures that were rarely questioned a decade ago are now being examined. We advise on the current position, not the historic one.
Q
What are the ongoing obligations if I do use a company?
A Thai company must keep statutory records, file annual accounts and tax returns, hold shareholder meetings, and maintain proper bookkeeping — every year, whether or not it trades. We can handle that compliance for you, but you should budget for it as a permanent cost of the structure, not a one-off.
Q
Do you work with clients who are not in Thailand?
Yes. Most of this work — advice, company formation, due diligence and document review — is handled remotely, with signing arranged by power of attorney or in person at the point of transfer.
Related Resources
Company structures and the alternatives
The factual detail behind foreign ownership rules and company formation lives in the Property Law and Company guidance.
Foreign Land Ownership
→Guide: what the law actually says about foreigners and land, and where company structures sit.
Company Formation in Thailand
→Guide: how a Thai limited company is formed, structured and kept compliant.
Choosing a Property Lawyer
→Why the reviewing lawyer should never be the one the seller or developer recommends.
Buying a Condominium
→The freehold route that needs no company at all — legal support start to finish.
Lawyers for Expats Thailand, 2026. This page is general information about using a Thai company to hold property and does not constitute legal, tax or financial advice. Company ownership of land is a complex area that turns on individual circumstances. Contact us for advice on your specific situation.