Property Due Diligence in Phuket: What a Lawyer Checks Before You Buy (2026)

This guide presents the actual checklist we use in practice. It explains not why you should hire a lawyer, but what the lawyer does. It also provides the practical figures: what each check is intended to identify, the total transaction costs for a THB 10 million purchase, and the options available if a check reveals a problem.

What Does Property Due Diligence in Phuket Include?

A proper due diligence engagement covers three areas: the property, the seller, and the transaction structure. The following is the 14-point checklist we use for a property purchase in Phuket:

The Property

1. Title deed verification at the Phuket Provincial Land Office — confirming that the title deed is genuine, current, and corresponds to the land being offered for sale.
2. Encumbrance check — reviewing the registrations on the back of the title deed for mortgages, leases, usufructs, servitudes, and seizure orders.
3. Ownership history (title lineage) — tracing how the title reached the current owner and identifying defective transfers or titles upgraded from weaker forms of evidence.
4. Lawful access — confirming that the land connects directly to a public road or has access through a registered servitude, rather than relying only on an informal arrangement with a neighbour.
5. Zoning and land-use restrictions — checking Phuket town-planning zones, environmental protection zones, and elevation and slope restrictions that may limit or prohibit construction.
6. Building permits and legality of construction — verifying that the villa or building was duly permitted, was constructed in accordance with the permit, and, for newer developments, has obtained any required environmental approval.
7. Outstanding land and building tax — confirming with the relevant local administrative authority, whether the municipality or subdistrict administrative organisation where the property is located, that no outstanding annual land and building tax is attached to the property.

The Seller

8. Corporate check, if the seller is a company — confirming that the company legally exists, remains active, that the signatory has authority, and that the sale has been properly authorised.
9. Litigation and bankruptcy search — identifying court proceedings, bankruptcy proceedings, or debt enforcement against the seller that could affect or unwind the sale.
10. For developers: track record and project status — reviewing licences, previous projects, and whether the project land is mortgaged to a bank.

The Transaction

11. Contract review — reviewing the sale and purchase agreement, deposit conditions, payment schedule, and the consequences of default (see our contract review service).
12. Structure check — determining whether the proposed ownership structure, such as a freehold condominium, leasehold, superficies, sap-ing-sith, or Thai company, is lawful and appropriate for your circumstances.
13. Foreign quota confirmation — for a condominium, obtaining written confirmation from the condominium juristic person that sufficient space remains within the building’s 49% foreign ownership quota for your unit.
14. Funds and FET compliance — for foreign buyers, arranging the transfer of purchase funds in a manner that enables the bank to issue the Foreign Exchange Transaction evidence required by the Land Office.

Each item produces a finding in the due diligence report: clear, clear subject to conditions, or a red flag accompanied by a recommendation.

How Do We Verify a Title Deed, and What Red Flags Do We Find?

The title deed check is central to the process and cannot be completed using only a copy supplied by the seller. The lawyer must attend the Phuket Provincial Land Office and obtain the current registered record.

What we examine:

• The front of the title deed: the type and number of the title document, the name of the registered owner, which must match the seller exactly, and the survey coordinates and area of the plot.
• The back of the title deed: every registered transaction affecting the property, including mortgages, leases exceeding three years, usufructs, servitudes, and court seizure orders. A copy presented by the seller as “unencumbered” has no evidential value unless it matches the Land Office record, which is the authoritative record.
• The title lineage: how the current owner acquired the title. A title upgraded from a possessory claim, transferred through a questionable inheritance, or issued over land that was formerly within a forest reserve may be challenged. In Thailand, a successfully challenged title may be revoked entirely, even where the purchaser acquired it in good faith.

Red flags we regularly identify in Phuket include an undisclosed mortgage securing the seller’s business loan; a registered 30-year lease to a third party that the seller failed to disclose; land whose only access crosses a neighbouring plot without a registered servitude; a villa constructed larger than the approved plans; and land within a protected elevation zone where the existing house could not lawfully be rebuilt.

What Is the Difference Between a Chanote, Nor Sor 3 Gor, and Lower Forms of Title?

Not all Thai land documents provide the same degree of security. The type of title determines how secure the purchase is:

For a straightforward purchase, insist on a Chanote or Nor Sor 3 Gor. Any document below this level represents a project requiring further legal and administrative work, rather than the purchase of a fully secure property, and the price should reflect that risk.

Freehold, Leasehold, or a Thai Company — Which Structure Is Appropriate for Your Purchase?

As a general rule, foreigners may not own land in Thailand. Statutory exceptions, such as the THB 40 million investment route under the Land Code or ownership by a BOI-promoted entity, apply to very few purchasers. Consequently, almost every property purchase by a foreigner in Phuket requires a decision on the appropriate ownership structure:

• Freehold condominium — the clearest option. Foreigners may own a condominium unit outright within the building’s 49% foreign ownership quota, calculated by total unit area rather than the number of units. Due diligence should obtain written confirmation that sufficient quota remains before you become contractually committed. Further details are provided in our guide to the foreign ownership quota in condominiums.
• Registered leasehold (30 years) — the standard structure for villas and land. A lease must be registered on the title deed to bind third parties for more than three years. Any promise to renew beyond the initial 30-year term is contractual only: it binds the person who made the promise, but not a future owner of the land. The quality of the lease drafting is therefore substantially more important than “30+30+30” language in marketing materials.
• Superficies or usufruct — registrable rights that can separate ownership or use of a house from the land beneath it. These rights are often combined with a lease to strengthen the buyer’s legal position.
• Sap-ing-sith — the newest right in this group and one that addresses three weaknesses of a lease. The Sap-Ing-Sith Act B.E. 2562 (2019) establishes a registrable right over immovable property. Under section 11, the sap-ing-sith holder has rights, duties, and liabilities in relation to the property as if the holder were the owner, subject to certain matters that the Act reserves to the property owner. Under the definition in section 3, sap-ing-sith may be created over land held under a Chanote title deed, land together with buildings situated on Chanote-titled land, or a condominium unit under the condominium law. The term may not exceed 30 years. If the property is subject to a mortgage, security, or another registered right, written consent must be obtained from the mortgagee, secured party, or relevant right holder, as applicable, under section 4. Under section 12, sap-ing-sith may be transferred, mortgaged as security for an obligation, and inherited. A juristic act concerning sap-ing-sith must be made in writing and registered with the competent official. The Act itself does not impose a nationality prohibition; a foreigner may therefore be able to hold sap-ing-sith in his or her own name. The maximum term nevertheless remains 30 years under section 4. Under section 11, ownership of a building or structure altered, extended, or newly constructed by the sap-ing-sith holder passes to the property owner when the sap-ing-sith terminates, unless the parties agree otherwise; this rule does not apply to work carried out on a condominium unit. Section 15 requires the holder to return the property to the owner in its condition at that time, unless otherwise agreed. The right should therefore be valued on a 30-year basis, and the contract should clearly address the treatment of buildings and improvements.
• Ownership through a Thai company — although a Thai company may ordinarily own land, a company established solely to hold property for a foreigner, using Thai shareholders who hold shares in name only, constitutes a nominee structure. The Department of Business Development has actively investigated these arrangements since 2025–2026, and new shareholder verification measures are now in force. If this structure has been proposed to you, review our analysis of nominee structures in Thailand before proceeding.

Due diligence includes testing the legal and practical strength of the structure proposed by the seller or agent. It is not uncommon for the ownership structure, rather than the property itself, to represent the greatest risk in the transaction.

What Does Due Diligence Cost, and What Are the Total Transaction Costs?

Legal due diligence on a Phuket property is a fixed-scope engagement. Please contact us for a quotation for your specific property. The larger figures are government transaction costs, which many purchasers first learn about at the Land Office counter. The following is a worked example for a THB 10,000,000 purchase from a corporate seller, assuming for simplicity that the appraised value equals the sale price:

This example assumes a corporate seller. An individual seller is taxed under different rules: Specific Business Tax at 3.3% generally applies only where the property has been held for less than five years; after that period, stamp duty at 0.5% applies instead; and withholding tax is calculated under a progressive formula that depends on the number of years of ownership. An individual sale therefore cannot be reduced to a single standard figure.

For a registered 30-year lease, the Land Office charges a registration fee of 1% plus stamp duty of 0.1% on the total rent for the full term. This amounts to THB 110,000 where the total rent over 30 years is THB 10 million.

Three points should be noted regarding this table. First, the total represents the combined government costs of the transaction, not the buyer’s personal bill. Second, withholding tax and Specific Business Tax are legally the seller’s taxes, while the transfer fee is commonly shared; the agreed allocation should be stated in the sale contract, rather than left to a verbal discussion on the transfer date. Third, the government’s reduced transfer and mortgage registration fee of 0.01%, extended until 30 June 2027, applies only to properties priced at no more than THB 7 million and is generally limited to Thai individual purchasers. Most foreign purchases in Phuket therefore do not qualify for this reduction.

How Long Does Due Diligence Take in Phuket?

Realistic timeframes, assuming that all documents are provided promptly:

This period should be incorporated into the deposit conditions. The reservation agreement should provide a due diligence period and require the deposit to be refunded if material problems are identified. Paying a non-refundable deposit before due diligence is completed is the most common, and most avoidable, mistake we encounter. For the broader range of issues, see our guide to the real risks faced by property investors in Thailand.

What Additional Checks Apply to Off-Plan and Villa Developments?

An off-plan purchase adds a further layer of developer risk to the risks associated with the property itself:

• Project land: Has ownership of the land on which the project is situated already been transferred and registered in the developer’s name? Is the land mortgaged to the developer’s bank? If it is mortgaged, what agreed mechanism will release your unit or plot from the mortgage on the transfer date?
• Permits before payment: Does the project currently hold its building permit and all required environmental approvals, rather than merely expecting to receive them “next quarter”?
• Payment schedule against construction milestones: Each instalment should be linked to verifiable construction progress, and the contract should state what will happen to your money if the developer defaults. Thailand does not require mandatory escrow arrangements for most private property sales, so the contractual protection is generally the only protection available.
• The developer: Review its litigation history, previous projects that have been completed and delivered, and whether the selling entity is the same company that owns the land, which is frequently not the case.

Which Phuket-Specific Rules Commonly Cause Problems for Buyers?

Phuket is subject to local restrictions in addition to national law. These restrictions are the most common reason for a finding that “the villa could not be rebuilt”:

• Hillside construction restrictions. Phuket’s environmental planning rules restrict construction above specified elevations and on steep slopes. A sea-view plot high on a hill may contain an existing house that was lawfully constructed many years ago but could not obtain permission today. This becomes critically important if the house is destroyed, for example by fire, and it also affects resale value. Due diligence checks the plot’s elevation and slope against the current rules, rather than relying only on what has already been built.
• Coastal zones. Land near a beach is subject to graduated protection zones that impose setback and height restrictions. The boundaries of those zones determine what may be built, how high it may be, and how close it may be to the water. These restrictions are not apparent from the title deed.
• Legality of short-term rentals. Many Phuket purchasers intend to offer daily rentals through Airbnb-style platforms. Daily accommodation is treated as a hotel business under the Hotel Act and generally requires a hotel licence; the available exemptions are narrow. If the investment depends on nightly rental income, the licensing status of the particular property must be included in due diligence rather than discovered only after the first complaint is made to the authorities.
• Condominium, “condotel,” or unlicensed apartment. Only a building registered under the Condominium Act provides foreigners with freehold title and access to the foreign ownership quota. Some Phuket projects marketed as “condominiums” are legally apartments or hotel rooms that provide contractual rights only. This is a fundamentally different and substantially less secure form of ownership.

What Happens If Due Diligence Identifies a Problem?

A red flag does not always mean that the transaction must end. It may instead provide negotiating leverage. Common outcomes include:

• Remedied before completion: An undisclosed mortgage is paid and discharged at the Land Office on the transfer date, using the sale proceeds before the remaining balance is released to the seller.
• Repriced: A shortfall in the plot area or a portion of the land that cannot be developed is reflected in a reduction of the purchase price.
• Restructured: A risky proposed structure is replaced. For example, a nominee-company arrangement may be replaced with a registered lease combined with a superficies, or with sap-ing-sith where the land is held under a Chanote title.
• Withdrawal from the purchase: Where the title lineage is defective or lawful access does not exist, the correct advice is to withdraw. The purchaser then loses only the cost of approximately one week of legal work, rather than the purchase price; with a properly drafted due diligence condition, the deposit should also be recoverable. In our experience, approximately one transaction in ten ends at the due diligence stage, which is precisely why the process is necessary.

Legal due diligence before purchase identifies risks in the property, the seller, and the proposed ownership structure before you pay money or become contractually bound. If a problem is found, you still have the opportunity to impose conditions, require a remedy, renegotiate the price, or withdraw before the risk becomes an actual loss.

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This article is general guidance — not legal or tax advice. If you'd like a scoped opinion on how it applies to your specific situation, contact our team.