Land left to me, someone has registered themselves on it !

yakface77

Hi
I have recently been left a plot of land on the outskirts of my parents hometown.
I have discovered that the land was unregistered by them as it was bought in 1982, a neighbour to them has registered the land and apparently got a 'possesory title' claim to it.
THe land is approx 1/4 of an acre, and i cannot access the area as its all fenced in.
My parents emigrated in 1999 and haev leased their old property out, and this neighbour has fenced the area off and used it.
Ive approached him and he says to speak to land registry !!!

I am so upset, this was part of my inheritance, and its now in his name with a possesory title as well.
any ideas as to my rights and how do i get it back ??
thanks so much if someone can help just a little.
craig

Debt_Free_Chick

Speak to the Land Registry.

It sounds as though he is "playing by the book" and therefore you must "fight fire, with fire".

Speak to the LR .....

googler

Honestly, you should just google this stuff rather than ask here; definitions at one site; sorry about the formatting; that came with the cut 'n' paste - as long as the offender hasn't occupied your land for 12 years, it appears all you have to do is satisfy LR that YOU have 'title absolute and good leasehold title.' - which shouldn't be difficult if you have some proof that your parents bought it, etc.

Get your documents together and speak to Land Registry

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Possessory title

The mortgage definition for Possessory title:

The description given by the Land Registry to the title or ownership of a property where the registry is not entirely satisfied as to the vendor's ownership of the property due to a discrepancy. It is satisfied only that the person is lawfully in possession of the property, as opposed to title absolute and good leasehold title.


Similar Matches

Adverse possessory title

Adverse possessory title
If a piece of land is occupied without permission for at least 12 years, the occupier can become the legal owner.

googler

..and from the website of a personal injury solicitor; italics are mine;

"

It has long been part of our law that if I take possession of land which belongs to somebody else, and, if I hold it long enough, and he does nothing to object, then I will come eventually to own the land. There are in fact many people who are in this position in one way or another, and whilst sometimes this appears to be dishonest, many times it is a genuine dispute which is left unresolved.
There have been murmurings from the government (April 2000) to suggest that this law may eventually be changed. Just what would happen, and how, may be unclear for many years, but it appears that there could come a point where people who might wish to make such a claim will find that the law has changed in such a way as to defeat that claim. Such murmurings are small, but once the idea takes hold, who knows where it will end.
What we believe should be done is that those clients who assert such a claim should consider now making a formal application to the Land Registry for possessory title to the land. The title obtained would, at this stage be only limited in value, but time will help.

The grant of a possessory title is not a decision by the Land Registry that you have a perfect title, a title "good against the world", but it does say that anybody else who wishes to assert a better claim will have to prove it.

The law on this is not always straight forward, and depending upon the situation, there are often things which can be done at an early stage which will improve substantially, the chances that the claim when finally submitted will be successful.
We are happy to discuss with clients what might be done to strengthen a claim in such circumstances and, if appropriate, to prepare and submit an application to the Land Registry.

This issue has now moved on, and claiming possessory title againt registered land is now and in particular very much more difficult. Each case is different, and the Land Registry now require applications to contain much more detail. We are happy to have an initia;l discussion with you about whether a claim may be worth a full assessment before submission. "

Crystallady

Do you have the deeds to the land? You need document that the people who left it to you are the owners - a solicitor will be able to asist you with this.

yakface77

Thanks for your trouble googler, i too am a self confessed googler, so have seen some of your cut and pasted bits, but thanks for your effort.
Apparently the failing in this is the lack of registration and obvious 'concern and maintinence' on the land in question.
Ill give LR a good shot though, its my land and he can get off it.

googler

Sounds like you have more documentation than he has, so shouldn't be toooooo difficult, I would have thought.

Best o' luck, and let us know how it goes.

hethmar

Do you mean that it was never registered at all?
How long ago did this man fence in the land? Do you know when he claimed it? The latest regulations make it very difficult for someone to squat and steal land.

As everyone has said, the LR is the first stop here.

yakface77

hethmar wrote: »

Do you mean that it was never registered at all?
How long ago did this man fence in the land? Do you know when he claimed it? The latest regulations make it very difficult for someone to squat and steal land.

As everyone has said, the LR is the first stop here.

Hi, yes i mean the land was not registered by them.
He has had the opportunity to fence it off since 1999, and has succesfully had 'possesory title' granted by land registry. he claimed it in february this year.

hethmar

Sickening for you. However, check out the new rules and contact LR - if you have all your documentation and no effort was made to find you you may be on to a winner. Was no one paying any rates or anything on the land during that period?

lincroft1710

Unless it is commercially used storage land rates are not payable, garden and agricultural land are exempt from payment of business rates.