The limits and boundaries
Over the last month, the Department of Natural Recourses and Environment have begun closely examining land acquisitions on Samui, particularly those involving foreign investors.
Land plots issued with certificates of possession or Sor Kor 1, are now being investigated around the island. And as this report went to press, the authorities had already discovered over 100 Rai at the top of the Duang Kok Mountain improperly granted with the Sor Kor 1 certificates, and around 10 Rai of illegally acquired land in other areas.
Further investigations found several other plots within protected areas where roads have been cut without permission from the local authorities and land has already been divided up into small plots, ready to be sold and transformed into holiday villas.
Most foreign investors purchase property via a Thai limited company, and this practice is yet to be fully investigated. For now, it is the acquisition of the right to possess land, and the actual certificates issued that are under heavy scrutiny. Apart from edging into protected forest areas, many developers have also encroached onto royal reserves.
One such property on the northern coast of Samui, for example, which is now worth up to 15 billion baht, has already been transformed into holiday villas and sold off to foreigner customers,
On 14 th July, an inspection team led by Khun Yongyut Tiyapairat, the head of the Natural Resources and Environment Department visited Samui following allegations of encroachment in the Kao Dang forest reserve area. Yongyut has since setup a co-ordination office on the island so as to facilitate checks on land ownership throughout Samui. Suratthani's vice CEO, Khun Thawatchai Turdpaothai, will also form a special team to run a thorough check on land certificates, especially those which are believed to have encroached onto reserved areas.
Using an Arial map of the island, it was found that a total of 29,811 plots have been issued with land title deeds; an area of 47,182 Rai (18,872,800 sqm), another 6,233 plots have been issued with certificates of possession, while 94,718 are reserved for public use. Khun Yongyut vowed to bring all those involved in encroachment to justice.
'I personally despise investors, foreign investors in particular, who inconsiderately purchase the land, develop it and move to another piece of land with absolutely regards to nature,' he said. ‘These investors are not only possessing and earning huge benefits from the property in their possession, but they never give anything back to this country. Instead, they take the profits from within the Kingdom back to their home country, this has deep impact on the Thai economy and the country as a whole'. Said Yongyut.
Most properties have been bought and sold several times before ending up with their current owners. However, it is the present owners of the land who bear the risk of being charged either with illegal possession or encroachment into the reserved areas. There have been several complaints about unlawful acquisition of properties on Samui's hillsides, with are both forest and watershed areas. Some of these plots have already been granted title deeds while the rest are still in the process of acquiring one from Samui's land department.
Having received all the information on current land encroachment and its effects, Suratthani CEO, Khun Vijit Vichaisarn, has divided the task of inspection between the Samui District Office and independent bodies who will jointly run a thorough check on the acquisition of ownership certificates. The team will focus not only on the land titles, but also on properties, as many have been sold without official permission from the authorities.
‘The team will focus specially on foreigners' purchase through a company,' said Deputy CEO Khun Thawatchai. Adding that many development projects run by foreigner investors have been sold without ownership clearance. This, he said, will result in many buyers facing legal problems as the authorities intend to crack down on all such illegal activity.
