Section 1391 — Servitude over subdivided allotment
Statutory text (Thai original)
เจ้าของสามยทรัพย์มีสิทธิทำการทุกอย่างอันจำเป็นเพื่อรักษาและใช้ภาระจำยอม แต่ต้องเสียค่าใช้จ่ายของตนเอง ในการนี้เจ้าของสามยทรัพย์จะก่อให้เกิดความเสียหายแก่ภารยทรัพย์ได้ก็แต่น้อยที่สุดตามพฤติการณ์เจ้าของสามยทรัพย์ต้องเสียค่าใช้จ่ายของตนเองรักษาซ่อมแซมการที่ได้ทำไปแล้วให้เป็นไปด้วยดี แต่ถ้าเจ้าของภารยทรัพย์ได้รับประโยชน์ด้วยไซร้ ท่านว่าต้องออกค่าใช้จ่ายตามส่วนแห่งประโยชน์ที่ได้รับ
Verbatim from the Royal Gazette / Office of the Council of State
คำแปลภาษาอังกฤษ
The owner of the dominant property is entitled, at his own expense, to do all that is necessary to preserve and make use of the servitude. He must, in doing so, cause as little damage as possible to the servient property. feedback (/form/1-samuiforsale-contact-form.html?tmpl=component) / He must at his own expense keep the work done in a state of good maintenance and repair. However, if the owner of the servient property benefits by the work, he must bear a share of the expenses in proportion to the benefit which he receives.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 1391 protects buyers in housing-estate developments. The developer's promotional brochures often mention shared roads, parks, security guards, swimming pools — once buyers purchase plots, those shared facilities become servitudes by operation of law. The developer cannot later sell off the road or convert the park to additional plots. SC decision 3718/2568 confirmed this principle even against subsequent purchasers of the developer's remaining land.
Why this matters in practice
Lawyers: the dominant owner has the right to carry out repairs and improvements to use the servitude — raising a sunken path, clearing drainage — but must minimise damage to the servient land and make good any damage. Laypersons: if the registered right-of-way across your neighbour's land needs repairs to stay usable, you can do that work yourself (at your own cost), but you must not damage the neighbour's land more than necessary and must fix anything you break.
Legislative history
Part of the original Civil and Commercial Code codification; no major subsequent amendment. This section is particularly relevant to subdivision-created servitudes under Khanabordihan (Revolutionary Council Announcement No. 286).
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 1217/2558 (2015)
A statutory subdivision servitude under Revolutionary Council Announcement No. 286 burdens the developer's retained land for the benefit of all allottees and cannot be unilaterally revoked.
The three defendants owned the five disputed plots, which were subject to a statutory servitude for public utilities and public services for the benefit of the thirty plaintiffs' lots under Revolutionary Council Announcement No. 286, clause 30(1); the defendants could not obstruct or terminate the servitude unilaterally.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 5273/2538 (1995)
Filling and raising a servitude path to match the level of an adjacent public road is a necessary preservation work permitted under section 1391.
The plaintiff (dominant owner) had the right to fill and raise the servitude path after a government road was constructed at a higher level than the path, rendering the path unusable. This was a necessary work for preservation and exercise of the servitude under section 1391.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.