Section 1299 — Registration of real rights in immovables
Statutory text (Thai original)
ภายในบังคับแห่งบทบัญญัติในประมวลกฎหมายนี้หรือกฎหมายอื่น ท่านว่าการได้มาโดยนิติกรรมซึ่งอสังหาริมทรัพย์หรือทรัพยสิทธิอันเกี่ยวกับอสังหาริมทรัพย์นั้นไม่บริบูรณ์ เว้นแต่นิติกรรมจะได้ทำเป็นหนังสือและได้จดทะเบียนการได้มากับพนักงานเจ้าหน้าที่ถ้ามีผู้ได้มาซึ่งอสังหาริมทรัพย์หรือทรัพยสิทธิอันเกี่ยวกับอสังหาริมทรัพย์โดยทางอื่นนอกจากนิติกรรม สิทธิของผู้ได้มานั้น ถ้ายังมิได้จดทะเบียนไซร้ ท่านว่าจะมีการเปลี่ยนแปลงทางทะเบียนไม่ได้ และสิทธิอันยังมิได้จดทะเบียนนั้น มิให้ยกขึ้นเป็นข้อต่อสู้บุคคลภายนอกผู้ได้สิทธิมาโดยเสียค่าตอบแทนและโดยสุจริต และได้จดทะเบียนสิทธิโดยสุจริตแล้ว
Verbatim from the Royal Gazette / Office of the Council of State
คำแปลภาษาอังกฤษ
Subject to a provision of this Code or other laws, no acquisition by juristic act of immovable or of real right appertaining thereto is complete unless the juristic act is made in writing an the acquisition is registered by the competent official. Where immovable property or real right appertaining thereto is acquired otherwise than by juristic act, the acquirer's right cannot be dealt with through the register unless it has been registered, nor can it, without registration, be set against a third person who has, for value and in good faith, acquired it and registered his right.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 1299 is the registration-binding principle for Thai land law — without registration, a real right binds only the parties who made the agreement, not third-party purchasers. This is why Thai-spouse "nominee" ownership of foreigner-funded land is precarious: the foreigner's contractual rights are unregistered and disappear the moment the spouse sells. The cure for the foreigner is to register a real right such as a usufruct (§1417) or superficies (§1410) on the title — a registered usufruct survives sale of the land.
Why this matters in practice
Lawyers: an unregistered transfer of land or a real right is enforceable between the contracting parties but cannot be set up against a subsequent bona fide registered buyer. Always register promptly. Laypersons: a private land sale agreement not registered at the Land Office does not make you the legal owner — you must complete registration to protect yourself from the seller selling again to someone else.
Legislative history
Part of the original Civil and Commercial Code codification; no major subsequent amendment.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 3061/2558 (2015)
Acquisition of possessory rights in NS.3 Kor land by gift requires registration to be complete under section 1299.
Even though the plaintiff acquired possessory rights to a portion of NS.3 Kor land by gift, that acquisition of an immovable real right by juristic act required registration and, without it, could not be enforced against the registered owner.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 1834/2553 (2010)
A completed dedication of land for a public religious purpose vests title without registration, as it is not an ordinary juristic-act transfer within the scope of section 1299.
Where the owner of land expressed an intention to dedicate it for the construction of a temple and the temple was duly built, ownership passed to the temple completely even without formal registration, since the dedication constituted a completed act rather than a mere juristic act of transfer.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 14884/2558 (2015)
A divorce settlement agreement to transfer land is a juristic act requiring written form and registration under section 1299.
An agreement recorded on the reverse of a divorce certificate by which the husband undertook to transfer land to the wife constituted a juristic act requiring registration; until registered, the wife's right remained personal only.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.