Q: How do I acquire land on Koh Tao?

A: The island of Koh Tao ( ko Taow ) is owned by the Thai Government, Suratthani Treasury Office. Approximatly 50 years ago the Thai Government assigned life long land papers to the local community of Koh Tao. The land papers are called Por Bor Tor 5 ( por bor tor haa ) which gave the Thai owner of the paper a life long title lease to either keep the land or sell the paper to any other Thai Naionalist.

A Non-Thai Nationalist can obtain these land papers by registering a Thai Limited company. It is recomended that an experienced Lawyer be present while signing papers or paying money for any property. This will ensure that a contract between all parties and the government of Koh Tao is completed corectly.

History shows that 95% of the locals holding their Por Bor Tor 5 land-title concider thier land as their own and refuse to acknoledge the claim of ownership from the Thai Government.

There is a solution to this issue. When a company buys land on Koh Tao and obtain the original landpaper with the Por Bor Tor 5 land-title, he can return the land paper to the Thai Government and receive an official updated government lease from the Treasury Office in Suratthani. A small fee and tax per Rai ( 40m2 )is then payable annualy and if carried out corectly this lease will be automatically renewable every 15 to 30 years. The length of the lease is determined by the Treasury office in Suratthani and depends on the location and size of the land.

There has never been any disputes over the reclaiming of Koh Tao land by the Thai Government. For the past few years the Thai Government have been investing heavilly in the road, electric and pier infrastructure of Koh Tao. This is to support the fast growing tourism industry seeing an increase of forigners and Thai's alike purchasing property on Tao. The majority of these new purcasers are joining the local community and holding the original land title papers.

We recoment that you consult an experienced lawyer about these maters.

 

Q: Where can I find an experienced Layer?

A: Here is a list of lawyers we recomend that will work with us to make your purchase uneventful.

S. Samui Business Co., Ltd.
Suthep
Koh Samui
Tel.: (66) 077 247 563 (4)
Fax.: (66) 077 247 568
Mbl.: (66) 081 970 8562