Koh Samui
Sap-Ing-Sith on Koh Samui: property registered in your own name, on the deed
The Land Code will not let a foreigner hold land here.
A registered Sap-Ing-Sith right is what you can hold.
On the Chanote, in your own name, for up to 30 years.
150+ owners · registration in about 30 days · no obligation
In one sentence
How can you hold a villa on Koh Samui in your own name?
On Koh Samui a foreigner cannot hold land, but a Sap-Ing-Sith right can be registered on the Chanote in your own name for up to 30 years, with United Grace Co., Ltd. as the Thai landowner.
Key facts
- Registered at the Land Office in about 30 days; 150+ owners so far.
- Transferable, inheritable and mortgageable; survives a sale of the land.
- Three published payment plans; the calculator shows government fees and taxes.
- After registration the villa can join the i‑ลม hospitality network.
Koh Samui is the most developed property market in the Gulf.
There is an airport, a year-round rental market, and hundreds of villas built for foreign buyers.
There is also a Land Code that has never allowed a foreign individual to hold land, which is why so much of that villa stock sits inside Thai companies.
Savills Thailand, reported in The Nation in July 2026, counts over 800 villa units across 70 to 80 projects in Samui supply in the first half of 2026.
United Grace is a 100% Thai-owned company with offices in Bangkok, Koh Samui and Koh Phangan.
We register Sap-Ing-Sith rights on the Chanote, in the buyer's own name.
Koh Phangan is a different market and is covered on its own page.
What you can hold here
Five routes, and where each one ends
| Route | Open to a foreigner | Practical limit |
|---|---|---|
| Land freehold | No | Closed by the Land Code |
| Condominium freehold | Within the 49% quota | Almost no villa product on Samui |
| Building without the land | Yes | Splits the asset; unfinanceable |
| 30-year lease | Yes | Landlord's consent to sell |
| 51/49 Thai company | Yes | Nominee exposure |
| Sap-Ing-Sith | Yes, in your own name | Up to 30 years, no renewal |
A lease is a personal contract under sections 537–571 of the Civil and Commercial Code.
Assignment needs the landlord's consent, inheritance is contested, and no bank lends against it.
The familiar "30+30+30" is a promise of renewal, not a right.
Full comparison on lease versus Sap-Ing-Sith.
Where Thai shareholders hold shares on a foreigner's behalf, that is a nominee arrangement, prohibited under the Land Code and the Foreign Business Act, with penalties that reach the land itself.
In 2026 five agencies, DBD, DSI, the Department of Lands, AMLO and the Revenue Department, began reviewing companies with foreign shareholders across Surat Thani.
See nominee structures and company versus Sap-Ing-Sith.
Reported by The Nation.
Not every one of those companies is a nominee structure.
Samui carries the largest concentration in the province.
The right
Sap-Ing-Sith on a Samui Chanote
Sap-Ing-Sith comes from the Property-Based Right Act B.E. 2562 (2019).
It is not a contract.
It is a registrable real right, inscribed on the Chanote at the Land Office next to the freehold owner, and it attaches to the land rather than to the person who granted it.
- Open to any natural or legal person, Thai or foreign.
- Statutory term of up to 30 years.
- Freely transferable without the landowner's consent.
- Inheritable by statute for the remainder of the term.
- Mortgageable as a matter of law.
Whether a given bank lends to a given foreign borrower is a credit decision.
See financing. - Survives a change of landowner.
United Grace Co., Ltd. is the legal and beneficial owner of the land it holds.
Not in trust, not as a nominee.
You hold a separate statutory right in your own name, not ownership of the land.
The mechanics are set out on our legal page.
Two ways in
Existing owner, or new buyer
You already own a Samui villa
A clean asset purchase.
We buy the property from your existing structure, take title, and register your right on the same deed.
The old company is left behind.
This is most of our Samui work.
You are buying for the first time
The property is bought in United Grace's name and your right is registered at the purchase itself.
On Tracks A and B you fund the purchase; on Track C we do.
Only for properties that fit the portfolio.
Stage 1: commitment
Terms agreed, pricing track chosen, documents prepared.
Stage 2: acquisition
Due diligence and transfer of title to United Grace.
Stage 3: registration
Your right inscribed on the Chanote at the Land Office.
About 30 days from signing in the normal case.
Completed files are listed on registrations.
Pricing
Three tracks, one identical right
- At signing
- The purchase price
- Annual payment
- 3% of the purchase price
- At signing
- The purchase price + a service fee of 20%
Minimum service fee: ฿700,000 - Annual payment
- Nothing
- At signing
- Nothing: we fund the purchase
- Annual payment
- 6% of the purchase price
Track A carries no separate one-time service fee.
On Track C United Grace funds the acquisition and the taxes and government fees for both initial transaction stages; the client pays the annual service fee.
All three produce the identical registered right, and the track can be changed later.
On Tracks A and B, the client pays the taxes and government fees for both stages: the property sale to United Grace and the grant or transfer of the right.
On Track C, United Grace funds the purchase and pays these taxes and fees for both stages.
Independent counsel is separate.
Model your own case on the calculator.
After registration
Letting the villa, and selling it later
Samui demand is seasonal.
Horizon Homes Samui notes that 60–70% of visitors arrive between November and March, and puts returns at 5–7% net for landed properties after operating costs.
Savills Thailand cites 8–10% annually.
Both are third-party market estimates, not an offer, a projection or a guarantee for any specific property.
United Grace Hospitality can rent the villa from you and pay rent agreed in advance, monthly, half-yearly or annually, while it handles licensing in its own name, subject to approval, together with marketing, bookings and guest care.
We assess the location, condition and rental potential first, then present an offer.
Detail on Hospitality.
Resale
| Item | Network | Agency |
|---|---|---|
| Commission | 1.5% indicative | 6–10% |
| To registration | Estimated 7–10 days to registration after a buyer is found and terms agreed | After a buyer is found and terms agreed; registration timing depends on the transaction |
| Due diligence | Documents available for independent adviser review | 3–6 weeks |
Buyer search takes additional time.
A sale and a timeframe for finding a buyer are not guaranteed.
The right transfers without the landowner's signature.
Government fees on a later resale are allocated in that sale agreement.
Honest limits
What Sap-Ing-Sith does not do
- The Act contains no renewal mechanism.
Continuation beyond the term needs a fresh grant and a fresh registration.
Anyone quoting 60 or 90 years is describing something the statute does not provide. - Buildings revert to the landowner at expiry unless separately registered.
- The value of the right declines as the remaining term shortens.
Price accordingly. - Land Offices have registered relatively few of these since 2019 and some are still unfamiliar with the entry.
One project was reportedly delayed about two months until Bangkok authorities intervened. - It is not freehold land.
You hold a real right on someone else's deed.
A structure that only works while nobody examines it is not an asset.
Talk to someone who registers these on Samui
Send us the deed or the listing.
We will tell you plainly whether it fits, and what it would take.
United Grace Co., Ltd. · Bangkok · Koh Samui · Koh Phangan · +66 95 257 9212 · office@united-grace.com.
This page is general information about Thai law, not legal advice.
Confirm your position with independent Thai counsel before you commit to anything.
Questions owners ask.
Can a foreigner own a villa on Koh Samui in their own name?
The Land Code does not allow a foreign individual to hold freehold title to land anywhere in Thailand, including Samui.
What a foreigner can hold in their own name is a Sap-Ing-Sith right, a registrable real right inscribed directly on the Chanote next to the freehold owner, for a term of up to 30 years.
Why not just buy a condo on Koh Samui instead?
Most buyers looking for a private pool villa never find a condo that fits.
I already own a Koh Samui villa through a Thai company.
What can I do?
Koh Samui has 8,213 companies with foreign shareholders under review in the 2026 inspection reported by The Nation, so this is the most common conversation we have on the island.
How long does registration take at the Koh Samui Land Office?
Land Offices have processed relatively few Sap-Ing-Sith entries since 2019 and some are still unfamiliar with them; in one reported case a project was delayed roughly two months until Bangkok authorities intervened.
What happens at the end of the 30 years?
Continuing beyond the term requires a fresh grant and a fresh registration, which is a new negotiation.
Buildings revert to the landowner at expiry unless separately registered.
What does it cost?
Track A, the preferred track: the purchase price at signing, then 3% of the purchase price per year, with no separate one-time service fee.
Track B: the purchase price plus 20% once, minimum 700,000 baht, and nothing annual.
Track C: nothing at signing and 6% of the purchase price per year, with United Grace funding the acquisition.
On Tracks A and B, the client pays the taxes and government fees for both stages: the property sale to United Grace and the grant or transfer of the right.
On Track C, United Grace funds the purchase and pays these taxes and fees for both stages.
Can I rent the villa out and who manages it?
United Grace Hospitality can rent the villa from you and pay rent agreed in advance, monthly, half-yearly or annually, under a contract that sets out the amount, the payment dates and each party's responsibilities.
United Grace handles licensing in its own name, subject to approval, and manages marketing, bookings and guests.
Your rent is not calculated per booking.
Can I sell the right later?
A Sap-Ing-Sith right is freely transferable without landlord consent.
Inside our network the indicative transfer fee is 1.5% against a traditional 6-10% agent commission, with an estimated 7–10 days to registration after a buyer is found and terms are agreed.
Buyer search takes additional time; a sale is not guaranteed.