Thread: What Type of Land Title Deed Do I Have?

Continuing my series of exclusive articles for Teak Doors, looking at some of the legal niceties relating to land ownership in Thailand, this week I take a look at the topic of “What Type of Land Title Do I Have?”

As usual, please feel free to comment on the contents - all feedback, negative or positive, is warmly welcomed.

What Type of Land Title Deed Do I Have?

* Note: the following is intend only to provide the reader with an overview of the issues that need to be considered when buying property (read “land”) in Thailand; it is not intended to be a comprehensive guide, nor is it intended to constitute legal advice. In the event that you are contemplating buying property in Thailand, it is strongly recommended you seek the advice of a reputable lawyer in Thailand.

As with most things relating to the ownership of land in Thailand, the concept of what type of land title deed foreigners acquire with the purchase of the land can be, at best, confusing. Indeed, it is not unheard of in Thailand for foreigners to purchase land only to find out after the sale has gone through that, in fact, they bought nothing! Caveat emptor my friends, so make sure you know what it is you’re buying.

Overview
Much like the laws in Western countries, basically Thai law recognises two general forms of rights over land: (1) a right of ownership; and (2) a right of possession. However, unlike the laws you may be more familiar with in your home country, Thai law subdivides these two basic forms of general rights, each of which may, or may not (depending on the rights associated), confer upon you a different status – so beware.

Right of ownership
Obviously, as a foreigner, when acquiring land in Thailand you want to ensure that you acquire an “absolute right of ownership”. Unfortunately, however, life is not quite that simple. The reason: a right of absolute ownership requires a land title deed, and a land title deed can only be given if the land in question has actually been ‘surveyed’. As large parts of Thailand (particularly outside of the main cities) have not been surveyed, if you want to buy land in rural Thailand, you’re not likely going to be buying land that comes with the all important land title deed, but rather with some other form of ownership right.

Anyhow, the following are, basically, the two different types of rights of ownership available:

(i) Chanote / Nor.Sor. 4 – the Land Title Deed
A Chanote (or Nor.Sor 4 officially) is the quintessential evidence of your right of ownership as the land owner. It trumps all other types of land rights (and evidence of ownership/right of use, bar adverse possession) and is evidence, as registered and issued by the Land Department in the area where the land is located, of your ownership over the freehold of the land. As such, this is the most secure type of evidence of land ownership you can acquire.

(ii) Nor.Sor. 5 – the Land Particulars Certificate
One step down from the Nor.Sor. 4 is the Nor.Sor. 5. The Nor.Sor. 5 is evidence that the land title deed investigation survey has been completed, but that the Nor.Sor. 4 has not yet been issued. In other words, you’re waiting in the queue! Note though, unlike the Nor.Sor. 4, the Nor.Sor. 5 cannot be used in court as evidence of ownership of the land per se, but rather is an entitlement to the right to ownership of the land in question. A moot point maybe, but nonetheless and important one. Fortunately, however, a Nor.Sor. 5 can be legally transferred.

The Nor.Sor. 4 and Nor.Sor. 5, in their own different ways, are the only available legal evidence of a right of ownership of land in Thailand. All other rights are rights of possession.

Right of possession

(i) Nor.Sor. 3, Nor.Sor. 3 Gor and Nor.Sor. 3 Khor - the Certificate of Use
Basically, a Certificate of Use is issued to the occupier of the land to evidence and certify to the fact that the holder of the certificate has the legal right to “use” the land in question. Unfortunately, however, things are not that simple and the Nor.Sor. 3 structure is subdivided into three (3) different categories:

(a) Nor.Sor. 3: is the lowest form of evidence of land use and permits the holder of the certificate to construct buildings. Although this is the lowest form of evidence of a right to use the land, it remains a “legal” right to use of the land – thus has some value in the courts.

At this junction it is worth pointing out that unlike Nor.Sor. 4 and 5 land, Nor.Sor. 3 land remains unsurveyed. Two problem immediately arise because of this: firstly it is almost impossible to determine what specific size/lot of land you have. Second, there is not divisional line between plots of land, thus no ‘inter-connection’. In other words, there is no wall between what you own and what your neighbour owns. Consequently, by law, if you would like to do anything with your Nor.Sor. 3 land, you are required to publish a notice of your intentions at least thirty (30) days before you commence, during which time your neighbours are at full liberty to object to what you want to do!

(b) Nor.Sor. 3 Gor: essentially a Nor.Sor. 3 Gor certificate of use land is the same as Nor.Sor. 3, with one very important difference. In the case of Nor.Sor. 3 land, the land in question has been surveyed aerially, thus a divisional point between the land exists, and the possessor of the certificate is not required, by law, to give thirty (30) days notice before doing anything with the land.

(c) Nor.Sor. 3 Khor: with Nor.Sor. 3 Khor land we skip back to Nor.Sor. 3, the land in question has not been aerially surveyed. However, the important distinguishing factor here is the fact that the Nor.Sor. 3 Khor certificate is issued by the Land Department where the land is located.

Now, I hope you are all a little confused by that, because so am I! However, hold on to your hats because this is where it gets even better! It is possible for land in Thailand to have both a Nor.Sor. 3 Certificate of Use and Nor.Sor. 5 Land Particulars Certificate. In such a case, if you want to transfer the right to you as the acquirer, or someone else as the buyer, you must register the transfer in the Certificate of Use first, and thereafter in the Nor.Sor. 4. If you chose not to do it that way, you could find yourself the subject of a land dispute.

(ii) Nor.Sor. 2 – Pre-emption Certificate
A Nor.Sor. 2 certificate is an official document issued to an individual as evidence to the fact that they have the temporary right to possess the land. Note, the certificate can only be issued by the Government and in accordance with the provisions of the Land Code that permit this type of certificate to be issued.

Some things to be aware of,

- if issued a Nor.Sor. 2, you must occupy the land within 6 months of its issuance.
- a Nor.Sor. 2 can only last 3 years from the date of its issue
- a Nor.Sor. 2 cannot be transferred to any third party
- a Nor.Sor. 2 can be inherited (which the only legal way it can be transferred)
- once you have occupied the land for 3 years under a Nor.Sor. 2 certificate, you can apply for a Nor.Sor. 3 certificate to be issued. That said, there is no guarantee that the Nor.Sor. 3 certificate will be issued!

(iii) Nor.Sor. 1
Simply put, the Nor.Sor. 1 is the “weakest link” – it’s evidence of that the relevant authorities have been notified of a right of possession. There are certain legal issues surrounding a Nor.Sor. 1, but the fact remains that as a foreigner this type of certificate of usage should be avoided (if possible). If this is the only evidence you can get hold of, and you really want to live there, make sure you speak with an independent lawyer!

Other evidence of land possession right
Aside from the above, there are three ways you can evidence a land right in Thailand:

(a) evidence of land taxes paid
(b) being on the land
(c) after a period of (b), adverse possession, which shall not include state land (which cannot be adversely possessed). However, as you may recall from an earlier article, foreign nationals cannot adversely possess land in Thailand, so this really is useless to you!

Additional land right usages
Failing any of the above, you may acquire land right usage privileges in one of the following ways:

(i) Lease: Under Title IV (Hire of Property): Chapter 1 of the Civil and Commercial Code of Thailand (the “CCC”) it is possible for a foreigner to lease land in Thailand; subject to two qualifications:

(a) if the lease agreement is for more than 3 years, then the lease needs to be made in writing and registered at the Land Office (Section 538 ); and
(b) if the duration of the lease exceeds 30 years, the period will be reduced to 30 – which period may be renewed, but not for a period in excess of 30 years from the time of renewal (Section 540).

(ii) Habitation: under Sections 1402 – 1409 of the CCC, a person inhabiting land has certain rights to that land, notwithstanding the fact they may not own the land.

(iii) Usufruct: the CCC allows the possessor of the land to posses and enjoy the land and to manage the land – the ‘usufruct’.

(iv) Easement: it is possible for a Thai national (indeed Thai law itself) to provide a foreign national with an easement over the land – such as a right of access / right of way.

Conclusion
Finally, all that’s left to say is that land title deeds in Thailand are nothing if not confusing. A simple way to remember this is to play “trumps” and remember that the [Nor.Sor.] 4 trumps all comers!

© Copyright ownership of this article belongs to William Jarvis. You are free to copy this article at liberty and you are also free to quote from this article in full. In either case you are asked, as a matter of courtesy, to make reference to the author as being just that. To this end, while not being particularly fussy, the author views the act of ‘passing off’ as being a particularly repugnant act done by those too stupid to work things out for themselves. Please respect my views on that – it’s not asking a lot!

If you have any questions relating to this article, please feel free to PM me or email me. I cannot promise that I’ll be able to answer your questions, but I’ll do my best.