Servitude in Thailand and its Implications



Posted: Friday, December 04, 2009

by
Siam Legal International

You and your Thai spouse have just bought a house and lot in Thailand. Beforehand, you made it very clear to the previous owner that you want the house and lot fully fenced and secured. This is an imperative condition for you because you value your security and privacy. Assurances are made and cash funds have changed hands. Consequently, you took possession of the property and feel good about yourself for such a good deal.

Everything is perfect until you discovered some men digging a hole on your backyard. To your biggest consternation, they claim that they are legally allowed to do so. WHAT?! They showed you a photocopy of your own Land Title Deed and they pointed at the unintelligible writing at the back that they have a registered servitude to dig a well on your land. You did not believe them, so you consulted a Thai lawyer only to hear the exact same thing. I know it is mind boggling, but if you are not careful, you might end up with this same nightmare.

A registered servitude in Thailand follows the land and is not affected by the change of ownership. This means that a transferee of the land is bound to follow and observe the servitude although such he is or she is not apprised of the servitude's existence upon purchase of the land. Moreover, the owner of the servient property (the property subjected to servitude) is prohibited from doing any act that may diminish the utility of the servitude or to make it less convenient for the dominant property (the property in whose favor the servitude is created).

I know you are interested in how to extinguish these registered servitudes. Unfortunately, in the absence of agreement between the parties, servitude may be extinguished only by the total destruction of the servient or dominant property or by non-usage for 10 years. Definitely, total destruction is not an option and 10 years of non-usage is a stretch to hope for.

What do you do then? Well like any other maladies, prevention is always better than cure. You have to make it sure that proper due diligence is carried out before you actually sign the deed of sale and turn over your payments. Due diligence is an investigation of the pertinent facts surrounding the subject land or property and the extensive examination of title deeds to uncover any liens and encumbrances.

Engage the services of a Thailand lawyer who practices Thailand Real Estate law to conduct due diligence. This will ensure that the due diligence is judiciously conducted in consideration of the pertinent Thai laws and regulations.

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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Colin Neilson
 2 years 50 days ago.
12 fans. Follow Colin Neilson on twitter!
Any time you buy land in a foreign country you have to get used to the different rules. Thank you for this informative article describing a possible problem with a land purchase that people outside the country may no be aware of.
» left by Dennis Ramm 2 years 37 days ago.
2 fans.
no problem.
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