Squatting in Thailand
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Squatting in Thailand was traditionally permissible under customary law and
adverse possession Adverse possession, sometimes colloquially described as "squatter's rights", is a legal principle in the Anglo-American common law under which a person who does not have legal title to a piece of property—usually land ( real property)—ma ...
can occur after ten years of continuous occupation. As of 2015, the capital
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
had over 2 million
squatters Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...
, out of a population of around 10 million. A survey of
slums A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily in ...
across the country noted in 2000 that most were rented not squatted;
Khlong Toei District Khlong Toei (also Klong Toey, th, คลองเตย, ) is a district in central Bangkok, long known for its slum. It is bordered by the Chao Phraya River and contains major port facilities. It is also the site of a major market, the Khlong ...
in Bangkok contains both squatters and tenants. There are also squatters in rural areas. The 1975 Agricultural Land Reform Act aimed to redistribute land to poor people (including squatters) under the Sor Por Kor program and as of 2019, of land had been assigned.


Legal

In
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
,
adverse possession Adverse possession, sometimes colloquially described as "squatter's rights", is a legal principle in the Anglo-American common law under which a person who does not have legal title to a piece of property—usually land ( real property)—ma ...
was traditionally possible and was known as . The customary law regarding possession of land was called , in which all land ultimately belonged to the
king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
and people could farm land, thus gaining de facto rights. In 1901, King Rama V (also known as Chulalongkorn) introduced a system of modern land rights based on ownership which led to general confusion. A 1936 law aimed to clarify matters and the 1954 Land Code regulated land ownership, stating the maximum amount one person could own was . From 1925 onwards, adverse possession requires ten years of continuous occupation under Section 1382 of the Civil and Commercial Code. After he had seized power in 1957, the Prime Minister of Thailand
Sarit Thanarat Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat (also spelt ''Dhanarajata''; th, สฤษดิ์ ธนะรัชต์, ; 16 June 1908 – 8 December 1963) was a Thai general who staged a coup in 1957, replacing Plaek Phibunsongkhram as Thailand's prime m ...
cancelled the 1954 act with Proclamation 49. Following the
popular uprising Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
of 1973 and various
peasant revolts This is a chronological list of conflicts in which peasants played a significant role. Background The history of peasant wars spans over two thousand years. A variety of factors fueled the emergence of the peasant revolt phenomenon, including: ...
, the Agricultural Land Reform Act was introduced in 1975. It was intended to redistribute state land, including to those already squatting on it. The program was known as Sor Por Kor (SPK).


History

The
Government of Thailand The Government of Thailand, or formally the Royal Thai Government ( Abrv: RTG; th, รัฐบาลไทย, , ), is the unitary government of the Kingdom of Thailand. The country emerged as a modern nation state after the foundation of ...
tended to evict urban squatters until 1977, when it set up the National Housing Authority (NHA). The NHA focused on community-led development and in 2003, the Baan Mankong
slum upgrading Slum upgrading is an integrated approach that aims to turn around downward trends in an area. These downward trends can be legal (land tenure), physical (infrastructure), social (crime or education, for example) or economic." The main objective of ...
project began, aiming to improve security of tenure for 300,000 households in 200 Thai cities. Squatter communities aided by Baan Mankong included Bon Kai in Bangkok, Book Kok in
Uttaradit The original name of Mueang district, Uttaradit, was Bang Pho. This district was under the control of Phi Chai District. Later, it was established as Uttaradit Province and Bang Pho District became the capital district. It was changed to Mueang ...
and various informal settlements in
Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to: * Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767 ** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom * Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locally ...
. The capital
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
(or Krung Thep Maha Nakhon) had an estimated 500,000 squatters in the 1960s, making up 24 per cent of its population. In the 1970s and 1980s, the city authorities negotiated with some squatters to develop the land they occupied without displacing them. Deals were made with 10,000 squatters. By 2014, there were over 2 million squatters in Bangkok out of a population of around 10 million. The squatters settlements were of three kinds: large occupations of land owned by the Port Authority or the State Railway of Thailand; smaller occupations of privately owned land; enclaves on land owned by the Crown. A survey of
slums A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily in ...
across the country noted in 2000 that most were rented not squatted. There were 125 squatted
informal settlements Informal housing or informal settlement can include any form of housing, shelter, or settlement (or lack thereof) which is illegal, falls outside of government control or regulation, or is not afforded protection by the state. As such, the inform ...
in Bangkok, 181 in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, 1 in
Nakhon Pathom Nakhon Pathom ( th, นครปฐม, ) is a city (''thesaban nakhon'') in central Thailand, the former capital of Nakhon Pathom province. One of the most important landmarks is the giant Phra Pathommachedi. The city is also home to Thailand's ...
, 10 in
Nonthaburi Nonthaburi ( th, นนทบุรี, ) is the principal city of the district and province of the same name in Thailand. On 15 February 1936, Nonthaburi town municipality (''thesaban mueang'') was established, which only covered Suan Yai ...
, 28 in
Pathum Thani Pathum Thani ( th, ปทุมธานี, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand, directly north of Bangkok. It is the capital of the Pathum Thani province, Thailand as well as the Mueang Pathum Thani district. As of 2005, it ha ...
, 13 in Samut Prakan, 4 in
Samut Sakhon Samut Sakhon ( th, สมุทรสาคร, Pronunciation is a City in Thailand, capital of Samut Sakhon province. It is a stop on the Maeklong Railway. Samut Sakhon is 48 km from Bangkok. It is part of the Bangkok Metropolitan Region ...
and 112 in other cities. One of the largest slums in Bangkok is in the
Khlong Toei District Khlong Toei (also Klong Toey, th, คลองเตย, ) is a district in central Bangkok, long known for its slum. It is bordered by the Chao Phraya River and contains major port facilities. It is also the site of a major market, the Khlong ...
, where there are 80,000 to 100,000 people, a total which includes tenants and squatters. The overcrowded houses are constructed on stilts above stagnant water and there is little access to running water, sewerage and trash collection. There are also squatters in rural areas. The Hmong people moved into northern Thailand at the end of the 19th century. The Thai government has attempted to resettle them into villages, aiming to stop deforestation and the production of opium. In 1986, 5,000 people were evicted from Khlong Hai in
Kamphaeng Phet province Kamphaeng Phet ( th, กำแพงเพชร, ) is a province in upper central Thailand. It borders the provinces of Sukhothai to the north; Phitsanulok to the northeast; Phichit to the east; Nakhon sawan to the south; and Tak to the west a ...
and the following year over 1,000 Akha, Lahu and
Lisu Lisu may refer to: *Lisu people, an ethnic group of Southeast Asia *Lisu language, spoken by the Lisu people * Old Lisu Alphabet or Fraser Alphabet *Lisu syllabary * Lisu (Unicode block), the block of Unicode characters for the Lisu language. *Lisu ...
peoples were deported to Burma. In 1981, farmers occupying land in
forest reserves A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
were offered land rights for up to 5 rai (or 2.4 hectares), known as STK licences. By 1987, at least 5.3 million hectares of land (that is to say 20 per cent of all land designated as forest) was being farmed by a million rural squatters. Even if the families had been living on the land for over ten years, they were still termed squatters, yet evictions were rare. The
Royal Forest Department The Royal Forest Department ( Abrv: RFD; th, กรมป่าไม้, ) is a department in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), part of the Government of Thailand. History On 18 September 1896 King Chulalongkorn establ ...
slowly began to legalize occupations by giving out individual certificates, then the program was taken over by the Agricultural Land Reform Office, part of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. STK licenses were replaced by SPK-4.01s (SPK being Sor Por Kor).


Sor Por Kor

Under the Sor Por Kor program, the government intended to distribute 40 million rai (or 6.4 million hectares) of land to poor farmers, some of them squatters. By 2019, 36 million rai (or 5.8 million hectares) had been assigned and 800,000 farmers were still waiting to receive land rights. The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives announced it would be investigating cases in which farmers had illegally sold their land or were not qualified to receive it. At
Phu Thap Boek Phu Thap Boek ( th, ภูทับเบิก) is a 1,768 m high mountain in Phetchabun Province, Thailand near the border with Loei Province. It is in the Lom Kao District. Description Rising in the western range of the massif this mountain ...
in Lom Kao District, Sor Por Kor plots were being built on by developers despite being supposed to be owned by the Hmong people. In Wang Nam Khiao District, an area which attracts tourism for its natural beauty, an investigation by the Royal Forest Department (RFD) discovered that luxury resorts existed on 21 Sor Por Kor sites. The RFD decided to take action against the wealthy encroachers but experienced opposition and the local police chief received death threats. After 22 resorts and holiday homes were demolished, resort owners welcomed new proposals in 2020 for them to rent their Sor Por Kor plots.


References

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Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
Law of Thailand