Registered Condominium vs 'Apartments' in Thailand: What Is the Difference

Why the Word 'Apartments' Tells You Nothing

On the Thai property market, Russian-speaking buyers constantly encounter two terms: 'condominium' and 'apartments'. In marketing materials they are often used interchangeably, but from a legal standpoint they refer to different things. The difference does not lie in the size, design or number of floors of a building, but in one straightforward fact: whether the building has been registered under the Condominium Act B.E. 2522 (1979).

If it has been registered, you can become the full legal owner of a specific unit, obtain a separate title, and (as a foreigner) hold the flat on a freehold basis. If it has not, you are acquiring not ownership but, at best, a right of use under a lease agreement with the building owner. Both types of property can look identical from the outside, which is why you must verify the status through documents rather than by visual inspection alone.

What a Registered Condominium Is

A registered condominium is a building that the developer has formally brought within the scope of the Condominium Act and entered on the register of the Land Department. The legal consequences of that status are as follows:

• A separate title deed is issued for each unit - a Unit Title Deed (in Thai: 'nor sor'/chanote for the unit) - specifying the floor area of the flat and its share in the common property.
• The buyer becomes an owner (freehold), not a tenant. The right is perpetual, inheritable and freely transferable.
• A foreign ownership quota applies: up to 49% of the total saleable floor area of the building may be held by non-residents on a freehold basis. The remainder must be registered to Thai nationals or Thai-structured entities.
• The building is managed by a condominium juristic person with bylaws, an elected committee and general meetings of owners. The level of maintenance fees and the sinking fund are approved by the owners, not unilaterally by the developer.

A freehold unit in a registered condominium is the only way for a foreigner to legally own residential property in Thailand on a title-ownership basis, without resorting to leasehold arrangements or nominee Thai structures.

What Usually Lies Behind 'Apartments'

An apartment building that has not been registered under the Condominium Act remains, in law, a single asset belonging to one owner - a company or an individual. Separate title deeds for individual flats do not exist and cannot exist in such a building. It is therefore impossible to transfer 'ownership' of a unit: what is conveyed is a lease agreement over part of the building.

What this means in practice:

• You acquire a time-limited right of use, not a right of ownership. The maximum term for a residential property lease under the Civil and Commercial Code (CCC, Section 540) is 30 years; anything promised beyond that (extensions of a further 30+30 years) is merely a contractual undertaking - it does not constitute a real right and is not guaranteed by law.
• Management, rates and service charges are determined by the building owner, not a meeting of residents. The democratic mechanisms of the condominium regime do not apply here.
• Lease agreements are frequently drafted in favour of the landlord: it is common to find clauses providing for termination of the lease on the death of the tenant, prohibiting inheritance, and requiring the owner's consent for any assignment.

Registration of the Lease - a Critical Point

Even a properly drafted lease must be registered. Under CCC Section 538, a lease of immovable property for a term exceeding three years is enforceable only to the extent that it is in writing and registered at the Land Office. If a 30-year lease is not registered, it protects the tenant only for the first 3 years - the remainder is legally unenforceable.

A separate warning is warranted against the misrepresentation of documents: the house registration book (thabien baan, 'house book') is an administrative registration document tied to an address - it is not evidence of ownership. It is sometimes presented as a 'title', which is incorrect.

Funds from Abroad: FET / Tor Tor 3

When purchasing a freehold unit, a foreign buyer must transfer funds correctly. To register ownership, the Land Department requires proof that the currency was remitted from abroad. The required document is the Foreign Exchange Transaction (FET) form, previously known as the Tor Tor 3 (TT3). A bank issues it upon receipt of an inbound transfer above a specified threshold. Without an FET it is not possible to register a unit under the foreign quota in a condominium. This requirement does not apply to 'apartment' leases, since no transfer of ownership takes place.

Comparison

What to Check and What to Watch Out For

• Building status. Request confirmation of registration under the Condominium Act and the file number at the Land Department - this is the first thing that defines the nature of the transaction.
• Unit document. For a condominium: a separate Unit Title Deed showing the floor area and the share in the common property. A house registration book is not a title deed.
• Foreign quota. Confirm that the building still has available freehold capacity within the 49% limit, and obtain this confirmation in writing.
• If it is a lease. Review the term, renewal conditions, inheritance provisions and assignment rights; verify that the agreement will be registered at the Land Office (without registration, protection lasts only 3 years).
• Management and charges. For a condominium: who sits on the juristic person committee, and what are the maintenance fee and sinking fund amounts. For 'apartments': who sets the rates and by what process they may be changed.
• Funds. For a freehold purchase, arrange in advance with your bank to obtain an FET (Tor Tor 3) upon receipt of the inbound transfer.
• Legal counsel. Before paying a deposit, commission an independent legal due-diligence review of the property and the seller - status and encumbrances are only visible from Land Department records.