foreign ownership

Hi Locum, the lady is absolutely correct. However, this is what you can and cannot do.

Cannot - As a foreigner you cannot own land, a house/villa or an apartment above a shop house.

Can - You can but a condo unit, as long as it is not ground floor and  units sold to foreigners cannot exceed 70% of the total units.

Can - Buy an apartment above a shop house, however, you will have to put it in a "Nominee Structure". This basically means who appoint a person of Cambodian Nationality to purchase the apartment(s) on your behalf, you will need to appoint a lawyer to draw up the nominee structure so that the agreement is watertight and your property cannot be usurped from you.

Can - buy land and houses/villa. To do this you have to set up a land holding company, of which, 51% is Cambodian owned and 49% is foreign owned, this will allow you to purchase land and property. However, as a registered Cambodian company, you will have to submit your monthly and yearly tax returns.

I trust this is helpful and if you require any further information, please don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks very much for your elucidation. I'm at a loss though as to the difference between a condo, flat and apartment in the local legal structure. Any explanations?
Thanks  mp

Hi Locum,

Condo equates to tall residential structures with lifts and other amenities, like swimming pool, gym, games room, creche, parking, security etc.

Flats are a UK term which described a low rise block of residential units without the facilities mentioned above.

Apartments are more a US term but are similar to flats.

Now how does this work in Cambodia?

Condos are bought on a strata title, therefore, you own your apartment/flat, but not the common areas, swimming pool, gym, parking areas etc, which you will pay a management fee.

Previously, the shop house apartments/flats, were sold to foreigners on either a hard or soft title, recently, in their infinite wisdom, they decided to stop foreigners buying these properties. Hence the structures you have to use to purchase now.

Hard and Soft Titles
Due to the Khmer Rouge the vast majority of land titles were destroyed, therefore, there were no ownership papers. After the Khmer Rouge were expelled, people returned to Phnom Penh and those in power at the time started to seize property, therefore, some properties were designated as hard title, which meant that you owned it outright, soft titles were issued on properties because no evidence could be found on the ownership or poorer people occupied building were there were several apartments in the block, so they owned there apartment but not the building in its entirety.

Hope this helps

Thanks very much for your extensive information