And the walls come tumbling down

Post by **parrot** » October 21, 2011, 6:37 pm

This is more of a legal question, but since it deals with houses/land, here goes:

A friend of mine build a fine home, nice landscaping, and a solid wall around the property. A few years after he settled in, some people bought the adjoining property, raised the level of ground above my friend's, and built a home.

It didn't take much imagination to see that trouble was brewing with the neighbor's property higher and graded slightly away from the street.....there was no visible way for the water to escape the neighbor's yard.

As he expected, the wall came tumbling down, about 20 sections of it, with this year's rains. The neighbor refuses to fix the wall, ruined landscaping, or tons of dirt that have settled down into his yard.

My friend intends to go to court.

I've seen similar situations where after building one's home, a neighbor decides to raise the level of his land higher than yours. Back in the US, I don't think you'd get away with that.

What's the recourse here? Should something have been done right at the start, when the neighbor began filling in his property? If so, what do you do?
At this point, what are my friend's chances of winning in a court?

Surely he's not the only one this has happened to. Is there a law? Is it enforceable?

Post by **KHONDAHM** » October 21, 2011, 6:51 pm

You're correct that the neighbor would not get away with it in the US because we have ordinances and inspections which are enforced. In a US court, your friend would likely prevail in a claim for actual damages and could likely get an order or at least an injunction against the neighbor to correct the cause.

Is there an existing law on the books in Thailand? Very likely yes. The challenge would be to find a lawyer who could be bothered with finding it (#1) and aggressively pursuing a favorable and immediate remedy (#2). (Hence my desire to be able to read Thai lawbooks - so frustrating to know there must be a law or remedy, but unable to point to it)

Good luck.

Post by **maaka** » October 22, 2011, 3:26 am

yes in most english law countries you would be able to file a case for slippage under Common law I think, as for Thailand, the Building Control Act 2522 ( 1979) should have some remedy re discharge of water on neighbouring properties..

[i]Building Control Act B.E. 2522
This Act was provided for Building control. This Act authorizes the Interior Minister and the local official to issue the Ministerial Regulation and total regulation respectively to control building, construction, alternation, removal, mobilization, and usage. [/i]

you can peruse Thailand Acts on Thailands Law Reform Committee website

Post by **KHONDAHM** » October 22, 2011, 6:43 am

Good feedback, Maaka. If Parrot can find that in Thai and point it out to the neighbor, he may be able to get some action rather quickly. My experience is Thais generally move if shown the printed law. Otherwise, he can show it to the BIB who, if shown the written law, will make them perform without further "motivation".

Post by **maaka** » October 22, 2011, 10:17 am

good one KD..
Yes I was thinking along the same lines re Parrot reading and translating the Building Control Act, as it is in Thai, and then his neighbour might find some recourse..

I do recall bringing this matter to another members attention awhile back, when he complained of a neighbours stormwater was coming onto his land, and he wishing to take some action..I wonder how he got on...

I dare say the " Local Offical" is the one to collar as he, or someone in his office would have issued a permit for the next door neighbour to build in the first instance..

take photo's of the damage, time and dated, as litigation for neglience or damages maybe another avenue, but thail courts loves the actual evidence..

This is all merely just my opinion and should not be taken as any kind of legal advice. Siam Lawyers Com, or Isaan lawyers com will give you the correct rundown..

Post by **wazza** » October 23, 2011, 5:00 pm

Spot on Maaka ( lucky they missed eh ?? ) lol

get a lawyer , from another province, so the defendants dont get cosy with the other side , as many do.

Post by **parrot** » November 15, 2011, 8:01 pm

"Is there an existing law on the books in Thailand? Very likely yes. The challenge would be to find a lawyer who could be bothered with finding it (#1) and aggressively pursuing a favorable and immediate remedy (#2). (Hence my desire to be able to read Thai lawbooks - so frustrating to know there must be a law or remedy, but unable to point to it"

I wish I could say I translated it myself.....but that'd be fodder for the next Republican debate. Instead, I found the Civil and Commercial Code, Book IV, Thai Property English version quite by accident today at:
http://thailaws.com/law/t_laws/TCCC-book4.pdf
There's lot of applicable stuff there....from the apples that fall on your property from a neighbor's tree to the pig sty he sets up within spitting distance of your fence.

Post by **KHONDAHM** » November 17, 2011, 9:41 am

Excellent find! I've book marked the site. Never know when it will come in handy...