Foreigners and Land in Cambodia: What the Law Allows

1. Ownership of land: who the law allows

Constitutional rule: Article 44 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia states that all persons, individually or collectively, have the right to own property, but that only natural persons or legal entities of Khmer nationality have the right to own land. Legal private ownership is protected by law; expropriation is limited to the public interest as provided by law and requires fair and just compensation in advance.

Land Law 2001 restatement: Article 8 of the Land Law 2001 (promulgated by Royal Kram NS/RKM/0801/14) restates the same nationality rule: only natural persons or legal entities of Khmer nationality have the right to ownership of land in the Kingdom of Cambodia. The article lists, among those who may be owners of land, Cambodian citizens, public territorial collectives, public institutions, Cambodian communities or associations, public enterprises, Cambodian civil or commercial companies, and any Cambodian organisation recognised by law as a legal entity.

Article 8 also addresses falsification of nationality. A foreigner who falsifies national identity to become an owner of land in Cambodia is punished as determined under Article 251 of the Land Law. Any property bought under those circumstances is seized as State property without compensation.

In short: foreigners cannot own the land itself. That is the core constitutional and Land Law rule, and it is the starting point for every structure discussed below.

Cambodian companies and majority Khmer ownership (Land Law Article 9): Article 9 of the Land Law allows an enterprise registered in Cambodia to own land if it has majority Khmer ownership—that is, if 51% or more of its shares are held by natural persons of Cambodian nationality or by Cambodian legal entities recognised under Cambodian law. Two further rules in Article 9 matter for investors:

• Only the percentages stipulated in the articles of incorporation are taken into account.
• Any private agreement signed by a shareholder that is contrary to Article 9 is null and void.

If the percentages in the articles of incorporation change so that the enterprise ceases to be Cambodian, Article 9 requires the enterprise to amend the articles of incorporation to comply with the actual circumstances and to inform the competent institutions of that amendment according to the laws in force.

Related nationality definition in investment law: The Law on Investment 2021 defines a “Cambodian Legal Entity” as a company that has a place of business and is registered in Cambodia, whose 51% or more of its shares are held by persons of Cambodian nationality. For company land ownership, the Land Law Article 9 test above is the governing rule.

2. Private units in co-owned buildings

Foreigners may, under a dedicated 2010 statute, own private units in co-owned buildings. That is ownership of the unit, not ownership of the land under the building.

The 2010 Law (NS/RKM/0510/006): The Law on Providing Foreigners with Ownership Rights in Private Units of Co-owned Buildings, promulgated on 24 May 2010, provides that legally qualified foreigners have ownership rights in private units of co-owned buildings and rights to use and enjoy the common areas, subject to that law and related regulations (Article 5).

Article 6 sets the main limits:

• 1. Floor level: Foreigners have ownership rights in private units only from the first (1st) floor up. The ground floors and underground floors cannot be owned by foreigners.
• 2. Proportion to be set by sub-decree: A sub-decree is to determine the proportion and percentage of private units that can be owned by foreigners in a co-owned building.
• 3. Private units only; common areas for all co-owners: The ownership right for foreigners covers private units. Common areas are kept for the common use of all co-owners.
• 4. No ownership of the land parcel: In any case, the land parcel where the co-owned building is located cannot be subject to the ownership of special co-owners (foreign unit owners).
• 5. Border and location restrictions: Foreigners are not authorised to acquire ownership rights in private units of co-owned buildings located within 30 (thirty) kilometres of the land borders of Cambodia and in other areas determined by the Royal Government, except for co-owned buildings located in Special Economic Zones, in important urban areas, and in other areas determined by the Royal Government.
• 6. Buildings on leased land: If the co-owned building is constructed on land leased from a third party, foreigners enjoy perpetual lease rights in private units similar to how Khmer citizens do.

Transactions that violate Article 6 are addressed elsewhere in the same law (including nullity of the transaction and rectification provisions for foreigners who purchased or received a transfer in violation of Article 6). Those procedural and penalty details are left to the statute itself; this note does not expand them beyond the ownership limits above.

Proportion under Sub-Decree No. 82 ANK.BK: Sub-Decree No. 82 ANK.BK of 29 July 2010 implements the proportion rule that Article 6 of the 2010 Law left to a sub-decree. Under Article 2, legally qualified foreigners can have ownership rights in private units of a co-owned building not exceeding 70 (seventy) percent of the total surface size of all private units of the co-owned building. Under Article 3, when issuing a certificate of ownership of a private unit to a foreign owner, the Cadastral Authority shall write on the certificate the proportion of the surface size of each private unit as compared to the total surface size of all private units in the co-owned building. The English text is unofficial; the Khmer text prevails.

3. Perpetual lease (Civil Code)

Where land ownership is not available, Cambodian private law provides long-term use rights. The principal Civil Code device for long-term use of an immovable is the perpetual lease.

Under the JICA English translation of the Civil Code:

• Article 244 (definition): A perpetual lease is a long-term lease of an immovable for a term of no less than 15 years.
• Article 245 (formation): A perpetual lease is not valid unless it is established in writing. A perpetual lease that is not in writing is deemed a lease without a prescribed period and may be terminated unilaterally under the ordinary lease-termination rules.
• Article 246 (perfection): Unless the perpetual lessee registers the perpetual lease, it cannot be asserted against third parties. If ownership of the immovable is assigned, a registered perpetual lease may be held up against the transferee.
• Article 247 (term): The term of a perpetual lease may not exceed 50 years. If a perpetual lease is established with a term exceeding 50 years, it is shortened to 50 years. A perpetual lease may be renewed, provided that the renewed term shall not exceed 50 years counting from the date of renewal.

The Civil Code also addresses rent, termination for non-payment, assignment, sublease, inheritance of the perpetual lease, and the perpetual lessee’s real-property-type claims (Articles 248 to 254). Those operational rules are beyond the ownership-limit focus of this note; the points above are the statutory definition, writing requirement, registration, and maximum term.

4. Usufruct (Civil Code)

Usufruct is another Civil Code right that allows use and enjoyment of another person’s immovable without transferring ownership of the land.

Under the JICA English translation:

• Article 256 (definition): Usufruct refers to the rights to use and enjoy the profits of the immovable of another person for a period that may not exceed the life of the usufructuary. The usufructuary may use the immovable for its intended purposes and receive natural and legal fruits arising from it.
• Article 259 (perfection): Unless a usufruct is registered, it cannot be asserted against third parties.
• Article 260 (term): A specified term may be provided, or the usufruct may continue until a certain event. If no term is specified, it is deemed to continue until the death of the usufructuary.
• Article 268 (extinguishment): A usufruct is extinguished by the death of the initial usufructuary, or by expiry of the term or condition prescribed in the establishment agreement.

The Land Law 2001 formerly contained its own usufruct chapter (former Articles 119 and following). Many of those articles are marked repealed in the bilingual Land Law text after application of the Civil Code, with transitional rules in the Law on Implementation of the Civil Code. Current analysis of usufruct therefore centres on the Civil Code provisions above.

5. Law on Investment 2021, Article 21

The Law on Investment 2021 (CDC English text) separates ownership from use for investment projects.

Article 21 provides:

• Investors’ ownership of land for the purpose of implementing Investment Projects is granted only to persons of Cambodian nationality in accordance with the laws and regulations in force.
• Investors have the right to use land through economic land concessions, perpetual leases, or leases for a fixed duration, in accordance with the laws and regulations in force.

Article 21 therefore aligns investment practice with the constitutional and Land Law ownership ban: investment status does not create a foreign freehold path. It expressly lists the use mechanisms available under the laws in force.

6. Economic land concessions (ELCs)

Land Law framework: Chapter 5 of the Land Law 2001 treats land concessions as a legal right, established by a legal document issued under the discretion of the competent authority, allowing a natural person, legal entity, or group of persons to occupy land and exercise rights set forth by that law (Article 48). Article 49 distinguishes concessions responding to a social purpose (for example, building residential constructions and/or cultivating State land for subsistence) from concessions responding to an economic purpose (industrial agricultural exploitation).

Key ownership and area rules in the Land Law and State Property Law 2020 include:

• Article 52 (Land Law 2001): A land concession may only create rights for the term fixed by the concession contract. A land concession cannot establish ownership rights on the conceded land, except for concessions responding to social purposes.
• Article 58 (Land Law 2001): A land concession can only be granted on lands that are part of the private property of the State.
• Article 59 (Land Law 2001): Land concession areas shall not be more than 10,000 hectares total per person or entity group under common control.
• Article 61 (Land Law 2001): The maximum duration was originally ninety-nine years under the 2001 statute.
• Articles 52–54 (State Property Law 2020): Under the Law on Management, Use and Disposal of State Properties (2020), an economic land concession shall not exceed 50 (fifty) years. Maximum size remains 10,000 hectares total. An ELC does not create land ownership (except social concessions) and can be inherited for the remaining term.

Sub-Decrees 146 & 114: Sub-Decree No. 146 ANK/BK sets procedures for initiating and granting ELCs on private State land. Sub-Decree No. 114 (29 August 2007) confirms that mortgage or transfer of rights over a long-term lease or ELC does not extend to ownership of the underlying State land.

Together, these instruments reinforce that an ELC is a use right on private State land, not land ownership.

7. Trusts: regulated, but not a confirmed path to foreign land ownership

Cambodia’s trust framework is set out in the Law on Trusts 2019 (Royal Kram NS/RKM/0119/002, promulgated 2 January 2019), supervised in practice through the Trust Regulator under the non-bank financial services architecture. Trustees must be licensed and authorised under the Trust Regulator’s operational rules (Prakas on Trust Operations).

Key statutory rules on trustees and land held in trust include:

• Article 28 (Registration): Registration with the Ministry of Economy and Finance must be made within 3 months after trust creation.
• Article 29 (Prior approval): Creation of a trust for any purpose requires prior approval under conditions set out in the regulations.
• Article 20 (Trustees): Trustees must have legal capacity and meet conflict-of-interest requirements where the settlor, contributor, and beneficiary are linked.
• Article 16 (Duration): For an individual interest trust, the term must not exceed 100 years from establishment.
• Article 16 (Tenancy rule for land): If, upon termination of the trust, the trust property that is required to be divided is land, and the beneficiary has not received the permission or the rights in possession of that land, then the trust property must become a tenancy until the beneficiary has the full right to possess the land in accordance with the applicable law of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Article 26 states that a beneficiary can be a person who is lawfully established in the Kingdom of Cambodia, or can be a settlor. That wording does not create an exception to Constitution Article 44 or Land Law Article 8.

What official texts do not confirm: No official text confirms that foreign beneficiaries can hold land interests through a trust in a way that overcomes Constitution Article 44 or Land Law Article 8. Official trust-law text subordinates land possession to 'applicable law'. Trusts should therefore not be treated as a route to freehold ownership of Cambodian land.

8. Arrangements the law voids or punishes

Official texts do not authorise using a Cambodian name-holder to give a foreigner land ownership. What the Land Law and the 2010 co-owned-buildings law say is the following:

• Falsifying national identity (Land Law Article 8): A foreigner who falsifies national identity to become an owner of land in Cambodia is punished as determined under Article 251 of the Land Law. Property bought under those circumstances is seized as State property without compensation.
• Private shareholder agreements that conflict with the Cambodian-share rule (Land Law Article 9): Only the percentages in the articles of incorporation count for the company land-ownership test. Any private agreement signed by a shareholder that is contrary to Article 9 is null and void.
• Co-owned unit transactions that violate Article 6 of the 2010 Law: The 2010 Law provides that a transfer or purchase of a private unit in violation of Article 6 is null and void, with related consequences for the parties as set out in that law.

This note limits itself to those invalidity and penalty rules in Land Law Articles 8 and 9 and in the 2010 Law. It does not describe any work-around structure.

9. Summary table: Cambodian land rules for foreigners

10. References (official instruments)

English titles below follow the archived unofficial translations or issuing-authority English texts. Khmer prevails.

• 1. Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia (1993), Article 44 — ownership of property; land ownership limited to Khmer natural persons and legal entities.
• 2. Land Law 2001, Royal Kram NS/RKM/0801/14 — Articles 8–9 (ownership and company share test); Articles 48–49, 52, 58–59, 61 (land concessions).
• 3. Law on Providing Foreigners with Ownership Rights in Private Units of Co-owned Buildings, Royal Kram NS/RKM/0510/006, promulgated 24 May 2010 — Articles 5–6.
• 4. Sub-Decree No. 82 ANK.BK of 29 July 2010 — proportion of private units that may be owned by foreigners (Article 2: not exceeding 70% of total surface size of all private units).
• 5. Civil Code (JICA English translation) — Articles 244–247 (perpetual lease); Articles 256, 259–260, 268 (usufruct).
• 6. Law on Implementation of the Civil Code — transitional treatment of former Land Law usufruct provisions (context only).
• 7. Law on Investment 2021 — definition of “Cambodian Legal Entity”; Article 21 (ownership and use of land for investment projects).
• 8. Sub-Decree No. 146 ANK/BK on Economic Land Concessions — criteria and procedures for ELCs.
• 9. Sub-Decree No. 114 of 29 August 2007 — mortgage and transfer of rights over a long-term lease or an economic land concession; confirms no ownership of conceded land.
• 10. Law on Management, Use and Disposal of State Properties (2020) — Articles 52 to 54 (economic and social land concessions; 50-year ELC maximum; 10,000 ha total; use right, not ownership, except social concessions; succession for remaining term).
• 11. Law on Trusts 2019, Royal Kram NS/RKM/0119/002, promulgated 2 January 2019 — Articles 16, 20, 26, 28–29 (tenancy rule for land, trustees, beneficiaries, registration within three months).

This note is based on official instruments and unofficial English translations archived for the October 2026 review (including OCR of State Property Law Arts. 50 to 55).

How MLV Law Group can help

MLV Law Group advises foreign investors, developers, and corporate entities on real estate structuring, long-term perpetual leases, strata unit acquisitions in co-owned buildings, trust mechanisms, and regulatory compliance under Cambodian land law.

For legal guidance on property acquisitions, lease registrations, or real estate structuring in Cambodia, contact Attorney at Law Mak Dane and our practice team at legal@mlvlawgroup.com or +855 71 777 4168. For related practice areas, see our expertise on Real Estate & Construction, Company Formation, and Invest in Cambodia (QIP).