Land Title Deeds in Thailand

There are two main types of land ownership in Thailand which we should explain


Rights of Possession
Firstly there is the right of possession, for example, land that has been used by a family for generations of the land and they have possesion rights of the land under the civil and commercial code. Such titles are Sor Kor 1, Tor Bor 5,6 or Sor Por Gor 4. These titles basically are only family possession rights and generally only used for farming. These titles can not be bought or sold and no building rights or legal acts would be allowed on the land. I do know of cases where families being in possessionof certain pieces of land for generations have been able to upgrade them to regular land title deeds but this is not generally the case and any serious investor would not normally give any credibility to these titles of possession.


Rights of Ownership
Usually we are looking for land title deeds giving right of ownership not possession. Here there are basically three title deeds;- Chanote, Nor Sor 3 and Nor Sor 3 Gor. The most sought after titles are the Chanote and the NOr Sor 3 Gor as both these titles have legal documents of rights of ownership and can be sub-divided into smaller plots and planing permission and any such legal acts can be carried out immediately on the land. The only difference with the Nor Sor 3 is that although legal documents are issued for the land it has not been accurately surveyed which can lead to problems in verifying actual land area. And if any legal act is to take place on this land it must be published for at least 30 days.


As we have been saying all the way through if it is not clear 100%, seek the advice of a legal professional in this field, as there are also many other issues that are important to consider such as servitude , access and rights of way.


Land Measurement & Survey


Land in Thailand is measured in Rai, Ngan and Talang Wah.
> 1 Wah = 4 sq.m.
> 1 Ngan = 100 Wah or 400 sqm. > 4 Ngan = 1 Rai or 1600 sqm.


In comparison to Western Standards:-
> 2.50 Rai = 1 Acre
> 6.25 Rai = 1 Hectare