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If you think a neighbour's fence, wall or new building has moved onto your land in Thailand, the fix starts at the Land Office, not at the fence line. The title holder applies for a boundary-verification survey under the Land Code, neighbours are called in to sign off on the line, and if someone disagrees, a Land Officer tries to mediate before anyone goes to court. The Land Office itself never decides who owns a disputed strip of ground — only a court can.
In short
- The survey is requested by the title holder: the Thai owner, or the company whose name is on the chanote.
- An absent neighbour, or one who refuses to sign without raising an objection, is notified in writing and has 30 days from the date the letter is sent to sign or object.
- If a neighbour objects, a Land Officer first tries to mediate using the survey data; if that fails, both sides are told they can go to court within 90 days.
- The Land Office settles where the line sits on the map. It does not decide who owns the land on either side of a disputed strip — that is for a court.
- Moving or destroying a boundary marker to grab land is a criminal offence, not just a civil one.
Where boundary disputes come from
A boundary dispute can arise when an older title plan and the boundary marked on the ground do not match. Older plots registered as Nor Sor 3, and even many Nor Sor 3 Gor titles, were never fixed by precise satellite survey — Nor Sor 3 has no survey at all, and Nor Sor 3 Gor relies on an aerial photograph. A fence built "by eye" decades ago, a boundary post knocked out of place during construction next door, or two neighbouring plots whose old surveys simply do not line up on the ground: any of these can leave a gap between the paper line and the line people actually built to.
A dispute usually surfaces at one of three moments: a neighbour puts up a new fence or wall that looks like it crosses onto your plot, you order your own survey before building or selling and the measured area comes out smaller than your title says, or a neighbour orders a survey of their own and you receive the notice. A formal re-survey is usually the way to settle where the line actually runs, but check at once whether a separate time limit also applies to your situation — for a possession claim or a criminal complaint — rather than waiting for the survey result.
A Land Office re-survey: how to order one
Under the Land Code, the owner named on the title applies to the local Land Office for a boundary-verification survey. The Land Office notifies the neighbouring landowners and sets a date for everyone to attend. Officers walk the line with a survey instrument, and each neighbour present signs to confirm where the boundary runs.
If a neighbour does not come, or comes but will not sign and does not object, the Land Office sends them a letter giving 30 days from the date it is sent to sign the line or file a written objection. If that period passes with no reply, the survey can proceed without that neighbour's signature, provided the applicant confirms in writing that no neighbouring land has been encroached and agrees to any correction of the map or area the survey shows. If the neighbour instead files a written objection, the Land Officer tries to mediate before the matter goes further. Our lawyers usually recommend keeping dated photos and any earlier survey plans ready before the visit, since they help the officer and support your position if a neighbour objects later.
| Step | Who acts | Typical deadline | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| File the application | Title holder (owner or company) | — | A survey date set by the Land Office |
| Notify and attend | Land Office, with neighbours invited | Fixed by the notice | Neighbours present to walk and sign the line |
| Silent or absent neighbour | Land Office letter to that neighbour | 30 days from the date the letter is sent to sign or object | Survey can proceed without their signature once no encroachment and acceptance of any correction are certified |
| Objection raised | Land Officer, both sides | — | Mediation attempt using the map evidence |
| Mediation fails | Both parties | 90 days of receiving the Land Office's notice | Right to bring the dispute to court |
We advise asking the office in advance for a written breakdown of its fees for your plot, including any additional charges, the deposit and how any balance is returned, rather than relying on a figure quoted elsewhere.
When a neighbour objects: dispute and court
If a neighbour disputes the line the surveyor has drawn, the Land Officer does not simply pick a side. The officer first tries to mediate, comparing the old title plans, the new measurements and whatever evidence each side brings. Where the neighbours agree on the line, the Land Office records that agreement as part of the survey.
If mediation does not resolve it, the Land Office notifies both parties that they may take the matter to court within 90 days of receiving that notice. Under Land Code s. 69 bis, if no suit is filed within that period, the applicant is treated as no longer wishing to continue verification of the boundaries of that title deed — so do not let the 90 days lapse while you think it over, whichever side of the dispute you are on. The Land Office cannot award the disputed strip to either side; only a court can.
A separate question is what happens when a building, not just a line, crosses the boundary. Under Civil and Commercial Code s. 1312, if a neighbour built in good faith — genuinely believing the land was theirs — a building that sits partly on your plot generally stays with the builder, who must compensate you for the use of the land it occupies and register a servitude over it. This rule is about buildings; a fence or garden wall straying over the line is a separate question, below. If the neighbour knew the land was not theirs and built anyway, you can ask the court to order the building removed at the neighbour's expense.
A typical example (a hypothetical case, not a real file): an owner who bought a villa on a 30-year leasehold notices that the neighbour's new garden wall sits roughly a metre inside what the chanote shows as the leased plot. We would first recommend ordering a verification survey rather than asking the neighbour to move the wall. If the survey confirms the encroachment and the neighbour disputes it, the Land Office mediates; if that fails, the 90-day period to bring a court action runs from receipt of the Land Office's notice. Because the land is held on a registered lease, the application itself is normally filed by the Thai landowner, with the leaseholder's input on what to measure and why.
A few related rules often come up alongside a boundary case. A fence standing exactly on the line is presumed to belong to both neighbours jointly (Civil and Commercial Code s. 1344), though this presumption can be rebutted. Tree roots crossing the line may be cut without asking; overhanging branches may only be cut after asking the neighbour to do so, giving a reasonable time, and only if the neighbour then fails to act (s. 1347). A landlocked plot with no access to a public road has a right of passage over a neighbour's land against compensation, but the route and manner chosen must fit the need and cause the least damage to the land crossed (s. 1349). A claim over a mere disturbance of possession must be brought within one year of the disturbance, and a claim after being dispossessed within one year of the dispossession (ss. 1374–1375). Ten continuous years of open, peaceful possession with the intention to own can create ownership under Thai law (s. 1382) — though this never lets a foreigner acquire land outright.
The title matters: chanote or Nor Sor 3
How precisely your boundary can be fixed depends heavily on what kind of title the land carries. A chanote (Nor Sor 4 Jor) is tied to a GPS-surveyed point, which gives it the most precise registered boundary. A Nor Sor 3 Gor is based on an aerial photograph — close, but not as exact as a chanote, so it is worth checking this type of title carefully if a re-survey turns up a gap. A plain Nor Sor 3 has never been formally surveyed at all; registering certain actions on it calls for a 30-day public notice so that neighbours have a chance to raise an objection — ask the Land Office whether this applies before you plan on upgrading or registering anything.
As a foreigner you cannot hold a chanote in your own name under the Land Code. Your rights to a house or plot normally come through a registered lease, usufruct or superficies recorded against the Thai owner's title; the land itself may instead belong to a Thai spouse in his or her own name, or to a lawfully structured Thai company, but in neither case does the foreigner hold the land directly, and holding it through a nominee is unlawful. Buying a villa on a leasehold is a standard and lawful way to use land here, and the type of title behind it is exactly what determines how reliable the boundary will be. Our lawyers check which title a property carries, and whether it has ever been re-surveyed, before we advise on any boundary question.
Avoiding a boundary dispute when buying
The best time to deal with a boundary problem is before you sign anything. Ask for a certified copy of the chanote or Nor Sor 3 Gor and have it checked against the Land Office's own record, not just the seller's paper copy. Walk the plot and look for physical markers, and ask the seller directly whether the land has ever been re-surveyed or whether a neighbour has ever raised an objection.
This is exactly the kind of check we build into our land due diligence in Phuket: comparing the registered title, the physical markers on the ground, and the seller's own paperwork before you pay anything. If you are weighing a leasehold, a usufruct or superficies, or a lawfully structured company, our guide to buying land in Phuket as a foreigner sets out the lawful routes side by side.
What to do next
A boundary problem rarely gets simpler by waiting. If you suspect a neighbour has built over your line, if a recent survey came up short, or if you have received a neighbour's own survey notice, send us a copy of your chanote and a sketch of the plot, and our lawyers will tell you where to start — whether that is ordering a survey, preparing a response to a notice, or simply confirming the title is clean before you act. For villas and land held through a leasehold or a Thai company, we also work alongside the Thai landowner or director to prepare the application itself. If the dispute is already with a neighbour, a property lawyer in Phuket from our team can walk you through mediation before anyone talks about court.
