Can Foreigners Own Property in Cambodia? The 2026 Legal Guide

Can Foreigners Own Property in Cambodia? The 2026 Legal Guide

Foreign property ownership in Cambodia operates under a specific and limited legal framework. Foreigners can own condominium units above the ground floor. They cannot own land, ground-floor units, or houses. The gap between what the law permits and what the market practices is significant, and understanding both is essential. Here is what the law says.

The Constitutional Prohibition on Foreign Land Ownership

The Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia (1993), Article 44, states that only Cambodian citizens and Cambodian legal entities have the right to own land. This is a constitutional provision, meaning it cannot be overridden by ordinary legislation. No amount of investment, visa status, or legal structuring changes this fundamental restriction.

This means foreigners cannot own landed property (houses, villas, plots of land) in their own name anywhere in Cambodia. The constitutional prohibition is absolute and has been reaffirmed by the Constitutional Council of Cambodia in multiple decisions.

The 2010 Foreign Ownership Law

In 2010, Cambodia enacted the Law on Providing Foreigners with Ownership Rights in Private Units of Co-Owned Buildings, commonly referred to as the Foreign Ownership Law. This law created a narrow exception to the constitutional prohibition: foreigners can own private units in co-owned buildings (essentially condominiums) subject to specific conditions.

The conditions are as follows. The unit must be above the ground floor (first floor and above). Foreigners collectively cannot own more than 70% of the total private units in any single building. The building must have a strata title (co-owned building title) registered with the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction (MLMUPC).

The implementing regulations were issued through Sub-Decree No. 82 in 2010 and subsequent MLMUPC prakas (ministerial orders) that detail the registration procedures.

The Strata Title System

The strata title is the mechanism that makes foreign ownership possible. Under the 2009 Law on Co-Owned Buildings (Strata Title), a co-owned building can be registered as a strata title property, which divides ownership into private units (individually owned) and common areas (collectively owned). Each private unit receives its own certificate of title.

For a foreigner to obtain legal ownership, the following must be in place: the building must be registered as a co-owned building with the MLMUPC, each unit must have its own strata title certificate, and the foreign buyer must receive a title certificate in their name issued by the MLMUPC.

The practical problem: many buildings in Cambodia, including some marketed to foreign buyers, do not have completed strata title registration. This means the individual units cannot be legally titled to foreign owners. Some developers sell units with only a sales and purchase agreement (SPA) and a promise to deliver the strata title later. This creates significant risk.

What "Above Ground Floor" Actually Means

The law restricts foreign ownership to units above the ground floor. In practice, this means the second floor and above (using the Cambodian/international convention where the ground floor is the entry level). Some developers have attempted to circumvent this by designating the ground floor as a "basement" or "parking level" and calling the second floor the "ground floor," but the MLMUPC has not consistently accepted these interpretations.

This restriction means foreigners cannot own ground-floor retail units, shophouses, or any unit with direct ground-level access, regardless of the building type.

The Title System in Cambodia

Cambodia's land title system is complex and has significant gaps. Understanding the title types is critical.

Hard Title (Mukhakhet): Issued by the MLMUPC, this is the strongest form of title in Cambodia. Hard titles are registered in the national cadastral database and provide legal ownership recognized by the state. The Land Management and Administration Project (LMAP), a World Bank-funded initiative, has been systematically issuing hard titles since 2002, but coverage is not universal.