How is boundary surveying performed to verify important boundary markers?
Land surveying, or demarcation, is essential for anyone owning vacant land. Regular checks of the land are necessary to prevent discrepancies such as land size increasing or decreasing, missing or inaccurate boundary markers.
Owning vacant land comes with various legal implications, including taxes, adverse possession, allowing the land to remain overgrown, and easements.
These are common problems for landowners and can lead to a loss of land ownership. What if a landowner's plot, once spanning acres, is reduced to just a few square meters? A frequent issue is when a landowner requests a survey and discovers the land has increased or decreased. What should they do?
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When should a land survey be conducted?
A land survey requires a request from the Land Department officials. Typically, most landowners who want to protect their land rights... Land surveys are typically conducted every 10 years (to prevent adverse possession claims). The process of requesting a survey involves procedures and costs related to land title deeds or land verification.
Many people may not know what a land survey is or why it's necessary, since the land title deed already shows the scale and dimensions of the land on a map.
Often, if the landowner doesn't have time to check the land frequently, the original boundary markers may be missing or moved by malicious individuals. Therefore, a new land survey is needed to verify and confirm the land size and boundaries as stated on the title deed.
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What should you start with when requesting a land survey to determine land boundaries and boundary markers?
The first thing to consider before submitting a request for a land survey... Before conducting a land survey to locate boundary markers, landowners should know the following:
1) What type of land title deed do they have?
• Land title deed (Chanod) or Nor Sor 3 (Nor Sor 3 Kor)
• Nor Sor 4 Jor (Nor Sor 4 Jor)
These land title deeds relate to the size and boundaries of the land. You can learn more about the different types of land title deeds at "Understanding Land Title Documents" to use as evidence when applying for a land survey.
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2) What type of land is it? Who are the neighboring landowners? And what are the adjacent properties?
In addition, it's important to know whether the land is vacant land, rice paddy, orchard, farmland, or residential land. A key point to understand to avoid problems is who the neighboring landowners are and whether the land is adjacent to public land. Once you understand the essential aspects of applying for a land survey, you can find the procedures and costs on the Department of Lands website.
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2 Potential cases that may arise after a land survey to locate boundary markers
Now that you understand what land surveying is and the procedures for applying for a land survey to locate boundary markers... Let's prepare to deal with potential problems that may arise during land surveying. A common issue is that the land size and boundaries after surveying do not match the original title deed. In some cases, the land area may increase, while in others, it may decrease.
Generally, there are about two main scenarios when land area does not match the title deed after surveying (excluding cases where holders of Nor Sor 3 or Nor Sor 3 Kor titles are having their land surveyed to obtain a new Nor Sor 4 Jor title deed, where some discrepancy is already possible).
1) The land survey is inaccurate and does not match the land title deed.
When land is bought, sold, or transferred, the original title deed obtained during the purchase or sale may have only been a preliminary inspection or based on boundary photographs, without a prior land survey. This results in a subsequent survey showing discrepancies between the land size, boundaries, and boundary markers as initially stated in the title deed.
In this case, the acquired land does not have the same dimensions, boundaries, or boundary markers as initially stated in the title deed. If this happens, A new land buyer or possessor can refer to Section 466 of the Civil and Commercial Code, which states:
"In the sale of immovable property, if the total area has been specified and the seller delivers less or more property than agreed upon, the buyer may reject it or accept it and pay a proportionate price, as they choose.
Furthermore, if the deficiency or excess does not exceed five percent of the total area specified, the buyer must accept it and pay a proportionate price. However, the buyer may terminate the contract if the deficiency or excess is of such a magnitude that, having known beforehand, the buyer would not have entered into the contract."
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2) Missing or Moved Boundary Markers
This occurs when, during a land survey, the boundary markers do not align with the boundary shown on the land title deed. This could be because a neighboring landowner previously requested a land survey, but the borrower failed to monitor the boundary or object. This could be due to a lack of notification or a failure to receive a notice to monitor the boundary, resulting in the loss of that portion of land to the neighboring property.
In this case, the initial step is to compare the borrower's land title deed with that of neighboring landowners to verify boundary alignment. This requires cooperation from the other landowners. If it is confirmed that an area is missing, the neighboring landowner must sign a new boundary certification to correct the area to match the deed.
If the neighboring landowner objects and an agreement on the boundary cannot be reached, the borrower can file a lawsuit within 90 days of receiving the notification. Failure to file a lawsuit within this period will be considered as the borrower no longer wishing to proceed with the land survey. (Both parties, the applicant and the objector, must be notified. Therefore, the 90-day period is counted from the date of the latest notification received from either party.)
If the lost land boundary has been breached for more than 10 years, and the person holding that land (defendant) claims adverse possession, a lawsuit can be filed to reclaim the land. However, this will be subject to the provisions of Section 1376, which states:
“If a possessor is unlawfully dispossessed, the possessor has the right to regain possession, unless the other party has a superior right to the property, which would entitle them to reclaim it from the possessor.”
The original landowner can file a lawsuit, but it must be filed within one year from the time the land was dispossessed by a relative or the date the relative registered the adverse possession with the court.
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Recommendations regarding land surveying and boundary demarcation:
While surveying and demarcating the land, it is advisable to take photographs of the boundary lines as evidence. This will provide evidence in case someone trespasses on your land or claims adverse possession, allowing you to fight the case.
Now that you know this, anyone who owns land should regularly check on it, because otherwise, one day you might lose your rights to your land without realizing it. However, this applies to those who have already had their land surveyed and sold it.
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Thank you for the valuable information from DD Property.
