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

yakface77

Thanks so far everyone, and yes silvercar ill check out the indemnity insurer and write.
Apparently the tenant of my parents house now recalls the land being fenced off in 1997 and not 1999,when he was renting somewhere else locally, prior to him moving their was a family living and renting from my parents between 1996-1997.
So sounds like he has fenced it and waited the 12 years :-(

hethmar

Bit of a blow. But not definitive - does the bloke have proof he did that in 1997?

yakface77

Hi,
sorry for delay, yes he has some officially signed documents from a local magistrate stating the dates of fencing off and commencment of single access.

Basically Ive spoken to him and had a sit down, he was suprisingly calm and pleasant, and told me his situation, and how the whole matter arose. saying that the land was overgrown and becoming a nusinance, so thats why he maintained and is now the 'possesorry title holder' its now registered in his name.
He is standing tight, saying that in the laws eyes he has a title to it, albeit not 'absolute title' but the indeminity cover will assist him to defend someone elses claim to it. He is not atall bothered by going to court and he is very confident of it going his way. :-(

so it goes on, land registry have acknowledged and agreed that hes the named registrant to the land. and have simply advised on me using a solicitor speciallising in the area.
They have all said (LR) that if i was to fight it, it could cost a fortune and take many many months'years.

hethmar

So they expect you just to let him have what clearly wasnt his in the first place. Did he admit he knew it belonged to your parents?

Davesnave

yakface77 wrote: »

land registry have acknowledged and agreed that hes the named registrant to the land. and have simply advised on me using a solicitor speciallising in the area.
They have all said (LR) that if i was to fight it, it could cost a fortune and take many many months'years.

This is sound advice, which needs heeding, before you involve yourself in what could become a very expensive and, ultimately, fruitless battle, occupying your time & emotions for longer than it may be worth. If the land has no potential, other than as 'garden land,' then it may not be worth that much in monetary terms anyway. It may have other kinds of value to you, however, and only you can decide how much it is worth fighting for. Sometimes, people fight even when they know they will lose, because they feel better fo having done so!

The specialist solicitor they mention will cost from about £175 an hour.

Your cheapest first step would be to see CAB, who will be able to put you in touch with a chartered surveyor who deals with boundary/land issues, and who will give a free half hour consultation and a brief assessment of your chances.

You could also look at this web site for similar cases and/or advice:

http://www.gardenlaw.co.uk/

I haven't checked exactly what's there, but there's stuff on adverse possession.

Frankly, having claimed rights on unregistered land myself (not from an individual, but from a large organisation, which couldn't have cared less) I can see two sides to this. Land left idle and untended in built-up areas can become an eyesore and a nuisance for those living close by. It is an emotive issue, so I'd caution against allowing those who will express outrage from clouding your vision. As with so much law, rights, wrongs and common sense are not necessarily much of a guide, nor in this case the fact that you are largely an 'innocent' party.

Sorry if this sounds negative. I'd prefer to be considered 'realistic.'

yakface77

Yes, he had a good idea it was theirs Hethmar, but as dave said it was proving an eyesore, so he felt he should be 'paid' for his maintaining of the land.
Yes i know what you are saying dave, and i think it will surely be expensive, time consuming,and TBH a waste of my time and only lining the pockets of a specialist solicitor, who will probably smokescreen the fact that i will be lucky to get it in the end .
thanks to all who have helped.

owitemisermusa

terryw wrote: »

Sorry that this is off-topic but I hope the OP will not mind.

If anyone owns registered land or property and they live elsewhere, it is essential to update the address at the Land Registry so that notices are sent to the correct address. This particularly applies if property is let as it is not unknown for tenants to purport to be the owner and try to sell the property.

It is also worthwhile to use the voluntary system for land registration if the property is not yet registered as this will save fees in the long run and avoid the position that the OP is in.

OP, really feel sorry for you and I don't know the answer but I think specialized legal advice is required.

bw


terryw

Hi there, thanks for this post. How does one do this?

EDIT: So sorry yakface, didn't read your last post before posting mine. I hope you are happy with whatever path you choose. As an aside, did the guy hint that he might be open to being paid for the title?

terryw

Sorry mate but I am on holiday in Spain at the moment and at 1 euro for 15 mins I cant check it out for you. but a quick google or phone call to the local LR will find the procedure for updating the address for service on existing registered land, or registering land voluntarily. In fact with the letter, they are actively encouraging this as their aim is to have all land registered. Personally, I am looking forward to the final "mopping up process" just out of curiousity to find out who does own thee 50% or more of land that is not registered.

bw

terryw

terryw

OP, probably not of any real relevance to your problem, but this change of mind on the part of the powers-that-be regarding the claiming of someone´elses land is puzzling. The thought struck me last night that perhaps it is connected to EU law and the situation In North Cypress in particular. Just a thought and I could be well wrong anyway.

bw

terryw

Pee

The sworndocument signed by the magistrate would be his stat dec. To swear a stat dec you take it to someone authorised to take a statutory Declaration - Solicitor, JP, Court official - sign your name, confirm that you have read it and the contents are true, hold the bible as you say this and then they fill their bit in, they may ask for ID. I think the process is supposed to work with God providing bolts of lightening to the liars, but I am not sure that anyone has properly explained the system to God or maybe he just has a bit of a backlog.