Land Upgrades in Thailand - dealing with the Nor Sor 1 land documents
Source: Bangkok Post 09 02 2010
Holders of Sor Kor 1 land documents nationwide have been flocking to local Land Department offices. Yesterday was the last day they could apply to upgrade the documents into land title deeds without seeking court approval. A Sor Kor 1 document shows its holder occupies land in a particular location. Holders of this document have the right to ask for the issuance of a land deed. However, individuals can ask a court to approve an upgrade but this will only be done on a case-by-case basis.
The Land Department says those who failed to seek the upgrade of their Sor Kor 1 documents to land title deeds by yesterday would have to process the upgrading in court. They will have to prove to the court that they occupy the land indicated in their Sor Kor 1 form.
The Land Department has been inviting Sor Kor 1 holders to apply for the upgrade of their land documents into land utilisation certificates (Nor Sor 3), or land title deeds, since 2008.
Land Department chief Anuwat Metheevibulwut said it was estimated that there were about one million land plots with Sor Kor 1 documents nationwide.
He expected holders of about 50% of them, or 500,000 plots, to apply for the Sor Kor 1 upgrade.
At Nakhon Ratchasima Land Office, land officer Thanaiphon Sidet said there were about 30,000 Sor Kor 1 holders in the province. Over 20,000 people had applied for the upgrade to Nor Sor 3.
In Buri Ram, a land officer at the province said that up until yesterday 146,000 of a total of 170,000 Sor Kor 1 holders in the province had applied for the upgrade.
In Ayutthaya, land officer Sutham Noo-ngam said only 1,200 holders of the total 9,000 Sor Kor 1 holders had applied for land title deeds.
In Phitsanulok, senior land officer Phromsap Mekmongkhol said many holders of Sor Kor 1 documents might not know about the Feb 8 deadline.
Only 799 of 16,373 Sor Kor 1 holders in the province had applied for the document upgrade. But about 500 Sor Kor 1 holders turned up at his office yesterday to see that they received an upgrade.
In Yala, land officer Phanida Yusoh said 76% of Sor Kor 1 holders, or 7,496 out of 9,823 holders in the province, had applied for the upgrade over the past two years.
In Pattani, land officer Sujira Awae said up until last Friday, 25,913 Sor Kor 1 holders of 26,014 land plots in the province had applied for the upgrade to land title deeds.
