27/01/2025
Hua Hin District is a place that foreigners often choose to live after retirement, which has led to disputes over cases where foreigners have signed a contract to buy and sell land and have been disputed by the land development project, which is a party to the contract, because the project has not transferred the land according to the contract, which has resulted in quite a few lawsuits being filed in court. The defendant's lawyer, who is a party to the contract, often argues that the plaintiff is a foreigner and the law does not allow the purchase of land in Thailand. Therefore, the contract to buy and sell made is void because it has a purpose prohibited by law. The plaintiff cannot file a lawsuit to enforce the contract to buy and sell made. On this issue, the court ruled based on legal principles according to the Supreme Court's decision 3857/2565 as follows: "Although the plaintiff is an alien with US nationality, the Land Code does not prohibit aliens from holding ownership absolutely. However, it must be in accordance with the conditions and methods specified by the ministerial regulations and must receive permission from the Minister of the Interior according to Section 86, paragraph two of the Land Code. In the case where an alien has illegally acquired land, the alien must dispose of it within the time specified by the Director-General. If the land is not sold within the specified time, the Director-General of the Land Department has the authority to sell the land under Section 94.” Therefore, the land allocation project which is a contracting party with a foreigner cannot raise such a defense and must transfer the land to the foreigner according to the contract. However, when the land is transferred, the foreigner must comply with the law, which is to transfer the land to a Thai person within the specified time, such as being able to transfer it to his wife who is a Thai person or transfer it to a juristic person who is a Thai national.