Inherit Property in Cambodia as a Foreigner
Inherit Property in Cambodia as a Foreigner
A foreign heir who inherits land in Cambodia has exactly three months to sell it — or the property reverts to the next Cambodian-citizen heir, or to the Cambodian state. This is not a soft deadline. It is a statutory forfeiture rule under Article 1155 of the Civil Code.
Understanding the exceptions and workarounds can save an estate worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The Constitutional Restriction
Article 44 of the Cambodian Constitution restricts direct land ownership to natural persons or legal entities holding Khmer nationality. Foreigners cannot own ground-level property or land in their own name — no exceptions, regardless of residency status or how long they have lived in Cambodia.
Article 1155: The Three-Month Liquidation Rule
When a non-Cambodian heir inherits land or ground-level real property, Article 1155 of the Civil Code creates a strict timeline:
- The inherited property is transformed into a temporary legal entity upon the owner's death
- This property must be sold within three months
- Sale proceeds are distributed to the foreign heirs
If the property is not sold within three months, the inheritance automatically passes to the next eligible heir in the succession line who holds Cambodian citizenship. If no such citizen heir exists, the property is permanently dissolved and reverts to the state.
This rule applies to land, villas, townhouses, and ground-floor commercial property. It does not apply to qualifying strata-titled condominiums.
The Strata Title Exception
Foreigners can directly own condominium units under the 2010 Law on Foreign Ownership — and these strata-titled properties are fully inheritable by foreign heirs, bypassing the three-month land restriction entirely.
The qualifying criteria:
- The building was constructed after 2010
- The unit is not on the ground floor or underground levels
- Foreigners own no more than 70% of the total surface area of all units in the building
- The property is more than 30 kilometers from any national land border
When a foreign strata title owner dies, the property passes to their heirs via testament or intestate succession. The heirs register the inheritance with the Cadastral Administration and pay a 4% transfer tax (stamp duty) on the assessed value.
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What This Means Practically
If the deceased owned a qualifying condo above the ground floor — the transfer is straightforward. Register at the cadastral office, pay the 4% stamp duty, and the property passes to the heir.
If the deceased owned land, a villa, or a ground-floor unit — the three-month clock starts immediately. The estate must find a buyer, negotiate a sale, and complete the cadastral transfer within 90 days. Real estate due diligence alone costs approximately $650 and is highly recommended before accepting the asset, particularly for properties with soft-title boundary disputes.
Families who discover the property restrictions only after the owner dies often lose weeks to shock and indecision — weeks they cannot afford under a three-month deadline.
The Cambodia Expat Death Guide includes decision trees for every property scenario — strata titles, nominee structures, long-term leases, and land holding companies — with the specific steps and costs for each.
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