Land Ownership in Thailand
In the beginning, i.e. the Sukhothai era,
most of the land in Thailand was in the possession of the
people, who reserved the right to individually use said land and
to transfer it to their heirs. Later, in the Ayuthaya and
Ratanakosin era, the land was owned by the kings. The people had
to request a royal grant in order to obtain land. At present,
the possession of land has to be in accordance with the
principle land administration laws. There is the supervising
Land Department and some land is still controlled by other
governmental authorities, such as the Forestry Department, which
is responsible for the management of land in forest zones , Sor.
Por. Gor. is responsible for land in reformed land zones,
District Offices and Municipalities (Oar. Bor. Tor) look after
public land zones. All land under the control of these
government departments have no effect as to the rights of people
who owned land before the government appointed the land as a
forest, public or reformed zone. The law has no retrospective
effect on the individual's rights to land under the law before
it became a forest zone. That individual person still maintains
its rights to the land.
There are two types of rights to private
land :
The first is the right of possession (
Possessory right), i.e. people who possess and use the benefit
of land will have the right to possess such land under the Civil
and Commercial Code. The second is ownership by a person who has
a title deed and documents concerning the land.
1. Sor Kor 1 is a
notification form of possessed land. There is a certificate to
show the right to the land. This maintains existing rights.
Notification of Sor. Kor 1; on December 1st 1954, the government
advised all land proprietors to notify such possession to the
government as per form Sor. Kor 1. After it was proven that such
a proprietor had possessed the land legally and used the benefit
of the land, then the government would issue Nor. Sor 3 or Nor.
Sor. 3 Gor as evidence. Nor. Sor 3 and Nor. Sor. 3 Gor are legal
certificates provided that any name shown on the title is a
person who has the right to the land (according to the principle
law). This right will be recognized by the law and can be used
as evidence in any dispute with an ordinary person or the
government.
2. Por. Bor. Tor 6 is evidenced by
the issuance of a tax number for the purpose of paying tax for
using the benefit of the land. Such land has not yet been
assessed as to the person's right to possess such land. In the
event that there is no title for the land , then it may be land
in a conserved forest, public land or land which existed under
Sor Kor 1, Nor. Sor 3, Nor. Sor. 3 Gor or a title deed. Any of
these titles must have a Por. Bor. Tor 6 as tax must be paid,
the same as any land without a title. Purchase of such land is
possible by handing over the possession of the land to the buyer
along with the tax number. The right to land under Por. Bor. Tor
6 can not be used as evidence in any dispute with authorities.
3. Sor. Por. Gor 4-01 is an
allotment of land from the land reformative committee, and under
no circumstances may this land be bought or sold. It may be
transferred to heirs only.
4. Nor .Sor. 3 is an instrument
certifying the use of land issued by the government to the
proprietor of land not a possessory title, i.e. it is confirmed
by law that a person holding Nor. Sor 3 has the legal right to
possess the land. This land title can be used as a legal
document or to use the benefit of the land as an owner. Nor Sor
3 is a floating map with no parcel points. It is issued for a
specific plot of land and is not connected to other land plots.
This causes problems in verifying the land area. Any legal acts
must be publicized for 30 days.
5. Nor. Sor. 3 Gor is a legal land
title with the same legal basis as Nor. Sor. 3. The difference
being that Nor. Sor. 3 Gor has parcel points on the map, and is
set by using an aerial survey to set the points and the land
area. It is possible to verify a nearby land area. It always
uses the same scale of 1:5000. There is no need to publicize any
legal acts, and it is possible to partition ( divide ) the land
into smaller plots.
6. Land Title Deed - Nor. Sor. 4 Jor
is a certificate for ownership of land. A person having their
name shown on the deed has the legal right to the land, and can
use it as evidence to confirm the right to government
authorities. The title deed has been issued by using GPS to set
the area and boundaries of the land, which is a very accurate
method. Any legal acts may be done immediately, as per the right
of ownership. Land partition of more than 9 plots must be
carried out according to the Land Allotment Law, Section 286.
7. Condominium can be owned by a
foreigner with ownership registration on the land-title if the
foreign total held ownership is not over 49 % (some areas and
projects 100 %) from the total square meters of the building. In
this case the foreigner has to send the funds to Thailand in
foreign currency in order to obtain a F3 form from the bank with
the remark 'to purchase a condominium'.
8. Buildings on land
Foreigners have the right to ownership of buildings only, where land is
not included. Legal acts are unlimited. A suggestion for foreigners is
to lease the land for 30 years (commercial purpose 50 years) with an option
to an extension of the lease, then purchase ownership of the house built
on the land. Certainty of possession of land and house is assured, by
being the owner of the house. The ownership of the land shall be leased
out. If arranged as stated above, then the house will be separate from
the land, and will not be a component part under the Civil Law. Ownership
of buildings can be confirmed, and the lessor can not seize the house
upon expiration the lease.
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