5 Essential Things to Know When Owning Adjoining Property in Cambodia

• 9 June 2021
• Property Focus
• 9522 Views

Did you know that according to the Civil Code, the owner of a landlocked property/land can demand to build an access route passing through neighbouring lands? And if the neighbouring landowner does not agree to the request, you can file a complaint to the court? This is just one of the rights for adjoining property owners. Let’s find out what more about owning a joint-border property in Cambodia.

To avoid disputes, owners of adjoining land/property should be aware of legal perspectives as follows:

1. Dividing fence
Before building a dividing fence, both owners of the adjoining lands are responsible equally for the cost of construction, repair, and maintenance. However, one of the owners may refuse to pay the expense, so then the other owner will have full rights over the dividing fence. In case, the fence interferes with other people’s land, compensation must be paid. Thus, to avoid disputes during the construction of the fence, both parties may request the local authorities and cadastral officials to draw the fence line.

2. Dividing wall
Similarly, both owners of the adjoining land shall share the cost of building the wall. However, in case the wall has already been built by only one owner, another owner must first request permission when they want to use the wall as part of their new constructions. They must pay for half of the initial wall building expense. (Article 220 of Civil Code).

3. Rules for Planting Tree
The owner of adjoining land can plant trees along the border, but the trees must not be taller than 2 metres. However, if the tree is more than 2 metres, it must also be planted at least 2 metres inside from the border. (Article 154 of the Civil Code)

4. Right to Request Access Route for Landlocked Property
The owner of the landlocked property has the right to request the owners of the surrounding land to build an access route. However, they must pay compensation according to the size of the route. (Article 144 of the Civil Code). If negotiations requesting to build an access route fail, the landlocked property owner can file a complaint to the court for further action.

5. Beware When Doing the Land Registration
Both landowners must participate in the land registration procedure done by cadastral officials. In case something goes wrong, owners can file a complaint to the Cadastral Commission for a solution. (also known as the procedure for changing from soft title to hard title)

During the procedure, after the authorities draw the border, before making an official hard title, land details such as the name of the landowner, size, location and boundaries will be displayed at the local authority’s offices for 30 days. During that time, owners can complain in case there are mistakes.

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