A usufruct is an agreement that grants temporary ownership of a property to another person. The usufructuary (the person granted the rights), gets to use the property as they please. They also get to rent the property and profit from any rent made. This is all on the condition that the property is not altered or damaged.
In many ways, a usufruct is very much like a leasehold, in that the usufructuary is granted temporary permission to “own” the land. One of the main differences is that a usufruct can be granted until the end of the life of the usufructuary (or for a set period of time).
For real estate investors, it is a secure opportunity to take advantage of the Thai property market. A Thai usufruct contract will last for their lifetime (unless instructed otherwise), so there is no need to be concerned over the duration of the agreement expiring. This can give them more confidence when going ahead with a property investment that they will not lose at some point in the future.