A Question of Ownership in Thailand
By Jill Claflin


The first few Habitat for Humanity homeowner families in Thailand know they're fortunate. But even before the homes were built, they were thankful to have land on which to build.

They don't have to go far to see just how fortunate. Travel across town, and they can see other residents of Udon Thani trapped in squalid neighborhoods where land questions abound.

In one collection of about 30 ramshackle huts, families have spent decades being born, living, dying--but never knowing who owns the land or when they might be summarily evicted. Never mind the "investment" they have made in their homes--rickety, often precariously perched, and less than healthy to be sure, but the only homes they know. A visit from a landowner unknown to them could take even this existence away.

Not far away, in another of the neighborhoods within this generally flourishing city of some 200,000 people, families have used scrap timber, bamboo, cardboard and tin to build what housing they could afford on land they were renting. But the death of the longtime landowner--who had been satisfied with payments that were manageable for them--brought a new owner who saw upscale apartments as a far more lucrative use of the land. Suddenly, believing they lacked the standing in society to fight eviction, they faced a deadline to vacate the land--42 families with little hope of buying land near the city and close to their jobs.

"We're scared," says one woman, explaining that some families already have left and others will follow, even if they have nowhere to go. "We don't know what else to do. [They] already brought in a bulldozer once."

As is often true in the developing world, the complexity of land issues is staggering. Consider, for example, that there are several distinct types of deeds here, ranging from those that allow temporary occupancy and require taxes to be paid but grant no ownership rights, to those that grant full title deed with the right to pass on the property to heirs. Consider that the concept of individual land ownership didn't exist until the late 1800s (all land previously was owned by the king), and formal titles to land didn't exist until early in the 20th century.

Consider that accurate, detailed land surveying is an ongoing process in Thailand and that, until a few decades ago, Thais could simply stake a claim over a piece of land in some areas and begin developing it as their own without formal boundaries or official recognition. Consider that wills legally passing ownership of land from one generation to the next are far from common in many areas, making it difficult to prove legal ownership and making it impossible to use the land as collateral for a loan to build a house.

All of that adds up to one simple fact: For many in Thailand, acquiring land is the major hurdle to improving housing situations. People understand that a new home would benefit their families; they are willing to work long hours to help build a new house; and they have the resources to pay the mortgage on a modest home. They simply cannot buy the land, or prove ownership of the land they occupy.

Of the new Habitat homeowner families in Udon Thani, none is rich in terms of money. But three families--relatives who live in a small clearing on the edge of town--had land that was legally transferred to them by their parents. And three new houses now stand on the property, sturdy cinderblock structures replacing the tin sheet and thatch-covered homes their growing young families previously occupied.

Other new homeowners have a long-term lease-to-buy arrangement on a plot of land that allowed them to build their own homes. Without that land, their options had been extremely limited once they learned the dim warehouse they all previously called home was to be torn down. With the land, and with introduction to Habitat for Humanity's self-help housing program, three families today are starting lives that look a whole lot brighter than the warehouse ever did.


Jill Claflin is director of creative services for Habitat for Humanity International.




Reprinted from Habitat World Magazine, August/September 2000.
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©2000 Habitat for Humanity International