The 1987 Philippine Constitution bars foreign nationals from holding land title. The same law expressly allows long-term leasing: the leasehold. Sign one and you get exclusive use, plus the right to sublet, transfer and inherit for up to 99 years, all registered against the land title. It’s the legal route in, not a barrier.
The Constitution’s ban on foreign land title is the first line every European reads when they look toward Southeast Asia, and many stop there. The same law that restricts direct land title expressly allows the long lease: the leasehold.
Republic Act 7652, the 1993 statute governing long leases by foreign nationals, sets the frame. A foreign national can sign a leasehold for an initial term of up to 50 years, renewable for another 25, with a further stretch negotiated by contract up to 99 years. Over that term, the rights it grants are broader than most people expect.
How the leasehold works and what rights it grants
It starts with a notarized contract between the foreign national and the Filipino landholder. That contract is entered at the Register of Deeds (the Spanish equivalent would be the public real estate registry), which turns a private deal into a right enforceable against third parties. If the landholder sells the plot or dies, your leasehold stands.
The entry is made directly on the land title (TCT or CCT). Anyone who checks the registry will see there’s an active leasehold on that land.
The concrete rights: exclusive use of the unit for 99 years, subletting to third parties (which is what runs through the Land of Nomads hotel pool), transfer to another person, Filipino or foreign, for the remaining term, inheritance (the leasehold passes to your heirs, it doesn’t die with you) and improvement of the built structure. The land stays with the Filipino landholder, but the building on it is yours.
Some context that helps: in London, one of the priciest real estate markets on the planet, most homes run on leasehold. It’s not a second-class mechanism. It’s a legal instrument settled worldwide.
What happens when the 99 years run out (and why it needn’t worry you today)
At the end, the contract can be renewed by agreement between the parties. Philippine law allows it and, in practice, most contracts in tourist areas get renewed because the interest is mutual: the landholder keeps earning and the leaseholder wants the asset productive.
Sign the leasehold in 2026 and it runs to 2125. There’s plenty of room.
Worth knowing: a leasehold’s value tends to slip as expiry approaches, just as in the British market, where contracts with under 80 years left start losing appeal. Land of Nomads contracts include preferential-renewal clauses that make extending the term easier.
How Land of Nomads protects each deal
Not all leaseholds are equal. The quality of the protection depends on how the contract is drafted, who holds the land, and what clauses go in.
The Land of Nomads legal lead has spent more than nine years in the Philippines and knows the system from inside. Every deal goes through the in-house legal team and Filipino lawyers who specialize in real estate law. What each contract locks in:
- Verified landholder. The land title is checked at the Register of Deeds, confirmed free of liens or pending litigation, with a recent Certified True Copy pulled.
- Notarized and registered contract. Only a contract entered at the Register of Deeds is enforceable against third parties. A private agreement isn’t enough.
- Preferential-renewal clause. The leaseholder has a first right to renew on the same terms or at market terms.
- Transferability clause. You can transfer the leasehold to a third party without the landholder’s authorization (notice aside). That’s what gives the asset liquidity.
- Protection of improvements. If the contract isn’t renewed, the landholder must compensate the residual value of what you built.
The leasehold isn’t the wall, it’s the door
The Constitution hasn’t changed since 1987 on foreign land title. Existing contracts are shielded by the principle of non-retroactivity. A registered leasehold gives you exclusive use, transfer, inheritance and commercial exploitation for 99 years, recorded with a public authority.
Thousands of international leaseholders operate under this model. The perceived wall (‘I can’t hold title’) dissolves once you grasp that the gap with freehold is conceptual, not operational: over the working life of the asset, the rights line up.
If you want to see how a real contract is put together, the Land of Nomads team can hand you a sample copy to review with your own lawyer before you decide anything. Here’s how the no-bank financing works.
