Section 1349 — Way of necessity over surrounding land
Statutory text (Thai original)
ที่ดินแปลงใดมีที่ดินแปลงอื่นล้อมอยู่จนไม่มีทางออกถึงทางสาธารณะได้ไซร้ ท่านว่าเจ้าของที่ดินแปลงนั้นจะผ่านที่ดินซึ่งล้อมอยู่ไปสู่ทางสาธารณะได้ ที่ดินแปลงใดมีทางออกได้แต่เมื่อต้องข้ามสระ บึง หรือทะเล หรือมีที่ชันอันระดับที่ดินกับทางสาธารณะสูงกว่ากันมากไซร้ ท่านว่าให้ใช้ความในวรรคต้นบังคับ ที่และวิธีทำทางผ่านนั้นต้องเลือกให้พอควรแก่ความจำเป็นของผู้มีสิทธิจะผ่าน กับทั้งให้คำนึงถึงที่ดินที่ล้อมอยู่ให้เสียหายแต่น้อยที่สุดที่จะเป็นได้ ถ้าจำเป็นผู้มีสิทธิจะผ่านจะสร้างถนนเป็นทางผ่านก็ได้ ผู้มีสิทธิจะผ่านต้องใช้ค่าทดแทนให้แก่เจ้าของที่ดินที่ล้อมอยู่เพื่อความเสียหายอันเกิดแต่เหตุที่มีทางผ่านนั้น ค่าทดแทนนั้นนอกจากค่าเสียหายเพราะสร้างถนน ท่านว่าจะกำหนดเป็นเงินรายปีก็ได้
Verbatim from the Royal Gazette / Office of the Council of State
English translation
Where a piece of land is so surrounded by other land that it has no access to a public way, the owner of that land may pass over the surrounding land to reach the public way.
Where a piece of land has access, but only by crossing a pond, a swamp, or the sea, or where there is a steep slope such that the level of the land and that of the public way differ greatly, the provisions of paragraph one apply.
The place and manner of the passage must be chosen so as to suit the necessity of the person entitled to pass, while causing as little damage as possible to the surrounding land. If necessary, the person entitled to pass may construct a road as the way of passage.
The person entitled to pass must pay compensation to the owner of the surrounding land for the damage arising from the existence of that passage. Apart from compensation for damage caused by constructing a road, the compensation may be fixed as an annual payment.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
The 'way of necessity' under §1349 is a statutory easement that arises automatically when land becomes landlocked. Unlike a contractual easement, no agreement is required — but the route, width, and compensation must be agreed or set by the court. Practical pitfalls: (a) the right does not arise if the landlocked condition results from a voluntary subdivision (§1350 applies instead), and (b) compensation is one-off, not periodic.
Why this matters in practice
Lawyers: a way of necessity is not a servitude; it is a statutory right arising by operation of law and does not require registration. Where a plot is landlocked, the court will determine the route and compensation, not the parties alone. Laypersons: if your land has no road access because other plots surround it, the law gives you the right to cross your neighbour's land to reach a public road — you must pay them reasonable compensation and choose the shortest, least damaging path.
Legislative history
Part of the original Civil and Commercial Code codification; no major subsequent amendment. Section 1350 extends the right where land becomes landlocked through subdivision.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
-
Supreme Court Judgment No. 13760/2556 (2013)
A water route that is no longer practically usable as a public way does not defeat a claim for a way of necessity over surrounding land.
Although the plaintiff's land bordered a canal on its western side, the canal was no longer used as a transit route — only fishing boats passed and it dried up in the dry season; the court held this did not constitute adequate access to a public way, so the plaintiff was entitled to a way of necessity over the surrounding land.
-
Supreme Court Judgment No. 11428/2556 (2013)
When determining the route of a way of necessity, the court must identify the path causing the least damage to all parties while giving adequate access to the public way.
The adjacent plots were entirely covered with buildings and could not practically be used as a passageway without causing very significant damage; the court therefore directed the route through the defendant's land, which caused the least damage while giving adequate access.
-
Supreme Court Judgment No. 7775/2552 (2009) ★ Landmark
Utility easements (pipes, cables) over neighbouring land are governed by a separate legal provision, not by the way-of-necessity provisions of sections 1349–1350.
Laying water pipes, electricity cables, water supply pipes, telephone lines, or similar utilities under neighbouring land is not a way of necessity under sections 1349 and 1350; it falls instead under the separate provision requiring landowners to permit utility easements, for which compensation is payable.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 136 Supreme Court decisions (1950 to 2024)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 8003/2567 (2024)
- Decision 1706/2567 (2024)
- Decision 313/2567 (2024)
- Decision 220/2567 (2024) Way of Necessity (Section 1349) Must Be Strictly Construed — A Navigable River Still Counts as a Public Way
- Decision 4907/2566 (2023)
- Decision 3638/2566 (2023)
- Decision 1468/2565 (2022)
- Decision 2621/2559 (2016)
This list is selected automatically, weighted towards judgments that turn on this section rather than ones that merely recite it when passing sentence. It has not yet been reviewed by the firm.
Most often cited alongside
Sections that appear in the same judgments as this one most often. The figure is the number of decisions.
Counted across the firm's corpus of 83,652 Supreme Court decisions, 1921 to 2026. The count is complete; the stated year range trims rare outliers so it describes where the citations actually sit. These figures are computed by us and are not official court statistics.
Frequently asked questions
Does the right to a way of necessity require registration or any formal agreement?
No. A way of necessity arises directly from sections 1349–1350 by operation of law whenever the conditions are met. It does not need to be registered as a servitude. If the parties cannot agree on the route or compensation, the court will determine both.
My land became landlocked when the original large plot was subdivided. Can I still claim a way of necessity?
Yes. Section 1350 specifically addresses this situation: where land becomes landlocked as a result of subdivision of a single plot, the owner of the landlocked portion may exercise the right of passage only over the land that was part of the original plot, not over unrelated neighbouring land. In this case no monetary compensation is payable.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
-
Plain citation
Civil and Commercial Code, s. 1349 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Civil and Commercial Code (Thailand), s. 1349. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-civil-code/section-1349/ (accessed 8 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.พ.พ. มาตรา 1349 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-civil-code/section-1349/ -
Embed on your site
<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-civil-code/section-1349/"><p>Where a piece of land is so surrounded by other land that it has no access to a public way, the owner of that land may pass over the surrounding land to reach the public way. Where a piece of land has access, but only…</p><footer>Civil and Commercial Code, s. 1349 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-civil-code/section-1349/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.