Buying in Phnom Penh: strata titles, the river and the new districts

About Buying in Phnom Penh: strata titles, the river and the new districts

By the ULTIMATE Phnom Penh Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Foreigners cannot own land in Cambodia, but since the 2010 law on foreign ownership of private units in co-owned buildings they can own apartments, from the first floor up, within a cap on the share of each building held by foreigners and away from the land borders. Phnom Penh’s condominium towers have grown up around that rule: in BKK1 and Tonle Bassac, along the riverside, on Koh Pich and across the water at Chroy Changvar.

The rule for foreigners

Under the 2010 law, foreigners may own private units in co-owned buildings, not on the ground floor or below it, within a cap per building, and not in buildings close to the land borders. Land, and houses with their land, remain reserved for Cambodian citizens and companies. The Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction (mlmupc.gov.kh) is the official source.

Where people buy

BKK1 and Tonle Bassac, close to the Independence Monument and the riverside; Toul Tom Poung around the Russian Market; Koh Pich, the island district on the Bassac; and Chroy Changvar across the river, where OCIC is developing its Chroy Changvar Bay district.

Use your own lawyer to check the title and the building’s foreign quota before you pay a deposit.

Before you sign

Have your own lawyer confirm the strata title, the developer’s permits and the foreign quota in the building. We don’t publish prices or yields.

Our advice: buy finished, titled apartments from established developers, and visit in the wet season to see how the streets drain.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Buying in Phnom Penh: strata titles, the river and the new districts before you go.