no mans land?!!

shykins

i and my neighbours (approx 10 of us) back onto a small field about 100foot deep, which has not been used for anything for years, it used to get cut once a year up until about 18months ago but i have now heard that the owner has died and his estate is in probate

after talkin to neighbours they tell me that 10foot behind our gardens and into the field actually belonged to the builder who built our houses, apparently he went bust many years ago (our houses were built in 70's).

so it would appear that this 10foot is no mans land altho as i say the decesed farmer has cut it for years.. we dont want to jus leave it cos if the trustees sell the land off they will assume they have all of it

so suggestions please,, can we jus appropriate it, can we check the status somehow, what else could we do ??

many thanks for any suggesions
x

linlin_3

You can go to the planning department of your local council and make enquiries there. If your house is part of an estate, it may be that the land belongs to that estate for "recreational" purposes, even tho not everyone has access to it.
As to the rest of the land, if you have the full address you should be able to find the title number and download the charges register from the land registry website. That will tell you who owns it and what restrictions (if any) there may be.
As for taking over the land, I would try and get all the neighbours to move their fences back by six feet at a time.

itsakidsworld

This may help you.

When we built six houses after buying the land, we located all the boundaries and contact all the legal people to confirm sizes, etc. We told them that the land we had purchased from the council was in fact smaller than they had avdertised it at.

When the council carried out their own enquiry, it was found that three properties which ajoin the land had increased the gardens by about 10-15 foot outwards each!!! Quite alot of land when it comes to construction believe me!!

It was confirmed by trees which were mature that the land had been grabbed at least five years ago so it was legally theirs now!! You could buy a set of nice mature trees and say they have been planted for 5 or more years and the land could end up yours!! Crazy I know but lets face it we live in a crazy world!!

So that could be an idea for you.

seven-day-weekend

linlin wrote:

You can go to the planning department of your local council and make enquiries there.QUOTE]

They will not be able to tell you anything about land ownership (other than Council owned or privately owned) or boundaries.

ben500

itsakidsworld wrote:

This may help you.

When we built six houses after buying the land, we located all the boundaries and contact all the legal people to confirm sizes, etc. We told them that the land we had purchased from the council was in fact smaller than they had avdertised it at.

When the council carried out their own enquiry, it was found that three properties which ajoin the land had increased the gardens by about 10-15 foot outwards each!!! Quite alot of land when it comes to construction believe me!!

It was confirmed by trees which were mature that the land had been grabbed at least five years ago so it was legally theirs now!! You could buy a set of nice mature trees and say they have been planted for 5 or more years and the land could end up yours!! Crazy I know but lets face it we live in a crazy world!!

So that could be an idea for you.

Are you suggesting the op should conspire with their nieghbours to steal land by deceptive means?

shykins

it wouldnt be stealing if it doesnt belong to anyone .. anymore then one could say the farmer is stealing it by cutting it

problem is i doubt it has an address other than 'a field'.. i spose icould look at the original estate plan assuming they still keep them at the planning.. how would i find out OS numbers?

many thanks everyone for the replies

clutton_2

go to the landregistry site, pay £2 and find out what the boundaries of the whole row of houses look like.

Xbigman

I thought it was 12 years of use to gain ownership. In any event be carefull trying to prove things by using mature trees or hedges. If on a slope they will move. My grandfather had this problem when a hedge drifted downhill about 14 inches over a ninety year period. He woke up one morning to find builders trying to put a wall down the middle of his garden path!
Regards





X

Ambr1

linlin wrote:

As for taking over the land, I would try and get all the neighbours to move their fences back by six feet at a time.

On no account should you do this. You won't get away with it. It may come to light when you've all built on it!

Your best bet is to download an application form OC1 from the site (landreg.gov.uk). Include a clear plan (handrawn if you want). Outline the area of land in colour and send it to the relevant office with a cheque for £4 made payable to Land Registry. You will receive a copy of the register of the land in question if it's registered giving details of ownership. If it isn't you will get your cheque back.
Good luck.

shykins

many thanks everyone for your advice and assistance

a chance conversation at a party last night extracted the of info that this person knows the widow of the builder and they will put us in contact with her to see if she still owns or is willing to sell the land.. at least we will get more info that way and it wil be clear cut
just goes to show u never know who knows who lol

thanks againx

mike41

Hi all,

Be aware that from 7 August 2006 the cost of obtaining an official copy of a Register or title plan from the Land Registry has gone up to £6.

Copies of deeds £10 per title, but copy of Lease, £20 per lease.

Mike