75% Condo Quota Still Just a Proposal — and the 99-Year Lease Plan Is Shelved

Two ideas for loosening Thailand's foreign property-ownership rules have been in circulation for over a year, and both are worth treating with real caution — one has stalled at the proposal stage, and the other has been dropped outright.

Start with what is actually law today, because it is easy to lose track of amid the speculation. The Condominium Act currently caps foreign freehold ownership at 49% of the total unit area (by floor space) in any registered condominium project — a Thai majority of at least 51% must remain in Thai hands, unit by unit, project by project [1]. Separately, long-term leasehold in Thailand is capped by statute at 30 years, renewable through a fresh registration rather than an automatic extension, and any lease longer than 3 years must be registered at the local Land Office to be enforceable against third parties [2]. Both of these rules are in force right now, with no pending change to either.

Against that baseline, two reform ideas have been floated. The first is a proposal to raise the foreign condo quota from 49% to 75%, reportedly with possible conditions such as zoning restrictions or a price floor limiting which units or projects would qualify. This has reportedly been under cabinet-level study since late 2024, but no bill implementing it has been submitted to parliament [3][4]. It remains an idea under discussion, not draft legislation, and there is no indication of when — or whether — it will advance to a formal bill.

The second idea, a proposal to allow 99-year leasehold registration (well beyond the current 30-year cap), has had an even shorter path: it was not enacted, and reporting indicates the current government has shelved it [1]. This is not a proposal quietly working its way through committee — it is, as of this writing, a dead plan under the present administration. Anyone still discussing 99-year leases as an upcoming option is working from outdated information.

What this means for foreign buyers

Nothing has changed. If you are buying a condominium unit today, the 49% foreign quota still governs whether a unit is available in the foreign-ownership pool of its project — check the project's current foreign-quota utilization with the juristic person or your agent before making an offer, since popular projects can already be at or near the cap [1]. If you are considering a long-term lease structure instead of freehold, current law still limits registered leases to 30 years, renewable by new registration rather than guaranteed extension [2]. Do not structure a purchase or lease on the assumption that a 75% quota or a 99-year lease option will exist by the time you close — the quota idea remains an unsubmitted study, and the 99-year plan has been shelved, not delayed [1][3][4]. If a developer or seller markets a unit or lease on the promise of either reform, treat that as a red flag and verify current rules independently.

What this means for sellers and agents

Agents and sellers should be precise in how they describe these proposals to clients, especially foreign buyers evaluating whether to wait for looser rules. It is accurate to say a 75% quota proposal has been under cabinet study since late 2024 [3][4]; it is not accurate to say it is coming soon, imminent, or likely to pass in any particular timeframe — no bill has reached parliament. It is not accurate at all to market a 99-year lease as forthcoming — that plan has been shelved by the current government, and continuing to reference it risks misleading a client into a bad decision or a legal dispute over lease terms that don't exist [1]. The safe, defensible position in any listing, contract discussion, or client conversation is to quote the rules currently in force — 49% foreign freehold quota, 30-year maximum registered lease — and to flag both reform ideas only as unconfirmed and, in the 99-year case, currently dead, rather than as reasons to delay a transaction or adjust pricing.