Usufruct & Superficies

Alongside leases, Thai property law offers a couple of other registered rights that are sometimes used to structure a foreigner’s connection to land and buildings: usufruct and superficies. Both are less commonly used than a standard lease, but they can suit specific family or estate-planning situations.

Usufruct

A usufruct is a registered right that allows a person (the usufructuary) to possess, use, and benefit from a property, including collecting any income it produces, even though they do not own it. Usufructs are often granted for the lifetime of the usufructuary, or for a fixed term, and are frequently used within families, for example where a Thai spouse owns land and grants a usufruct over it to a foreign partner. Because a usufruct is a personal right, it generally cannot be sold or transferred to someone else, and it typically ends on the death of the usufructuary.

Superficies

A right of superficies allows a person to own a building, structure, or plantation on land separately from ownership of the land itself. This is useful where the land will remain in one party’s name but a house or other structure built on it needs to be legally owned by someone else, such as the person who paid to build it. Like a usufruct, a superficies right can be registered at the Land Office for it to be enforceable against future owners of the land.

Choosing the Right Structure

• Usufruct suits situations focused on the right to use and benefit from land and any existing property on it.
• Superficies suits situations where ownership of a building needs to be separated from ownership of the land beneath it.
• Both are typically combined with, or considered alongside, a lease depending on the buyer’s goals.

These structures involve real legal trade-offs and are usually set up alongside broader estate or family planning. Please discuss your specific circumstances with our team and an independent Thai lawyer before choosing between them.