Three layers of records will tell you whether land sits in an expropriation corridor, and most people check only one
The layer people check is the Land Office, which shows whether anything has been noted against the title.
The trouble is that a great many project corridors have not yet reached the stage of appearing on a title, while they already exist in the records of the agency running the project and in the town plan.
So nothing unusual from the Land Office may only mean not yet, rather than no project.
This article covers what those three layers are, how to check them, the signs visible on site, and what happens if the land really is in a corridor.
How expropriation works
The governing statute is the Act on Expropriation and Acquisition of Immovable Property B.E. 2562.
It permits expropriation for public utilities, national defence, obtaining natural resources, and other public purposes.
It also allows local administrative organisations, including provincial administrative organisations and Bangkok, to initiate expropriation rather than only central agencies.
That matters greatly to a buyer, because the project affecting your land may come from local government in your own province rather than from a national department.
The sequence generally runs:
- An agency has a plan or a project study.
- A royal decree defining the land to be expropriated is issued.
- Officials survey the land and structures within that area.
- Compensation is assessed and owners notified.
- Compensation is paid and the land taken into use.
The most dangerous stage for a buyer is the earliest, because the project already exists on paper while nothing yet appears on the title.
Layer one: the agency running the project
The most accurate layer, and the least often checked.
Because a corridor does not come from one place. It comes from whichever agency is building that particular thing.
- Main highways: the Department of Highways.
- Secondary and community roads: the Department of Rural Roads.
- Metro and rail: the Mass Rapid Transit Authority and the State Railway.
- Canals, reservoirs and irrigation: the Royal Irrigation Department.
- Transmission lines: the Electricity Generating Authority.
- Local roads and projects: municipalities, subdistrict administrative organisations and provincial administrative organisations.
What works is taking the title number and the plot location to the local office of whichever agency is relevant to that area.
Land on a main road, ask the local highways district. Land near a rail line, ask the railway. Land near an irrigation canal, ask the local irrigation project office.
Layer two: the town plan and the Land Office
The town plan does not show expropriation corridors directly, but it shows something close: planned future roads.
Many comprehensive town plans mark roads that do not exist yet, which is an excellent clue as to which plots lie on a line the state has in mind.
At the Land Office two things are checkable.
One, the registration record, for anything noted against the title.
Two, the cadastral sheet, where a corridor crossing neighbouring plots is sometimes far more visible than looking at one plot alone.
Remember: nothing noted does not mean no project.
Layer three: local people
Informal, and usually the fastest.
The municipality or subdistrict organisation usually knows what is coming, because they coordinate it and are sometimes running it themselves.
Neighbours and local shops often know first, because they see the survey teams arrive.
The question to ask is whether officials have been round surveying, when, and from which agency.
Signs visible on the ground
- Survey pins that are not boundary markers, especially in a long straight line crossing several plots.
- Coloured cloth tied to trees or stakes in a line, the temporary marking method of survey teams.
- Neighbouring land left unusually vacant despite a good location, which sometimes means the owner knows something.
- Houses left unmaintained for years in a street where others are cared for.
- Poles or utilities recently relocated, which often precedes roadworks.
- A price unusually low for that location, the most direct signal of all.
Treat that last one as a rule. Well-located land that is unusually cheap always has an explanation, and finding it before transfer is the buyer's job.
What happens if it really is in a corridor
Not necessarily the end, because two quite different cases exist.
The whole plot taken: you receive compensation and the land becomes the state's.
Part of the plot taken, which is more complicated and affects more than people expect.
Because what remains can change entirely: the shape of the plot, the setbacks, the access, and sometimes the remainder can no longer be used for what it was bought for.
A common example is a plot losing six metres of frontage, leaving a remainder too shallow for the house that was planned.
Compensation and owners' rights under this statute have their own detailed procedures, which deserve a lawyer or a direct enquiry to the agency once you are notified. Do not rely on second-hand accounts.
What you can do immediately on learning you are in a corridor is document everything: photographs, records of improvements, and evidence of use, because all of it bears on the assessment.
Is buying land in a corridor ever worth it?
Some people buy deliberately, expecting compensation above the price paid.
What to know before thinking that way:
- The timing is uncertain. A project may take years to reach payment, and some slip indefinitely.
- Your use of the land is limited meanwhile, because anything you invest carries risk.
- It is hard to resell, because other buyers find the same thing.
- It is hard to finance, because lenders are cautious about that kind of security.
For anybody buying to live in or to run a business from, land in a corridor is almost never a good choice.
What to put in the contract
If you are buying and want protection, state it explicitly:
- The seller warrants that the land is not within any expropriation or project corridor so far as they are aware, and has received no notification from any agency.
- If it emerges before transfer that it is, the buyer may terminate and recover the deposit with damages.
- The seller must hand over every document received from any government agency, if any exist.
None of this makes a project disappear, but it gives you a way out if you discover it after paying a deposit.
What to read before signing is in what to read in a sale and purchase contract.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I check for an expropriation corridor?
Three layers: the local office of the agency running the project, the town plan and the Land Office, and the municipality or subdistrict organisation. The Land Office alone is not enough.
The Land Office says there is nothing. Am I safe?
No, because many corridors have not yet reached the stage of appearing on a title while already existing in the project agency's records.
Who can initiate expropriation?
Under the Act B.E. 2562, local administrative organisations including provincial administrative organisations and Bangkok can initiate it, not only central agencies.
What should I look for on site?
Survey pins in a long line across plots, coloured cloth tied in a line, neighbouring land unusually vacant, unmaintained houses, recently relocated poles, and a price unusually low for the location.
How does partial taking differ from whole?
Considerably, because the remainder may change in shape, setbacks and access until it can no longer be used as intended, which affects more than people expect.
Is buying in a corridor to collect compensation worthwhile?
High risk. The timing is uncertain, use is limited while waiting, resale is hard and financing is hard. For anybody buying a home it is almost never a good choice.
In short
- Check three layers, not just the Land Office.
- Many corridors are not on the title yet but already exist in agency records.
- Take the title number to the agency relevant to that location.
- Local government can initiate expropriation too, not only central agencies.
- The most direct signal on site is a price unusually low for the location.
- Partial taking affects more than expected, because the remainder may become unusable.
- Write warranties and a termination right into the contract before paying a deposit.