Adverse possession/possessory title & indemnity insurance

johnnydc

We are just in the process of buying a house. There is a narrow strip of land at the rear of the garden (about 6foot), which does not appear on the title, but is enclosed within the garden by a fence at the rear. Apparently, the same is true for the neighbouring house.

The plan for the title of the property to the rear (part of a large estate) also does not appear to include this strip of land either.

Those selling the property will at the very least provide us with a declaration that the property has been like this in their tenure and they have tended to this strip of land etc. This will give us around 7 years worth of possession so that we can apply for possessory title ourselves in a further 5 years.

We will also be given an indemnity insurance policy to cover for loss of this land, should someone lay a claim to it. This policy has not been purchased as yet.

My query is as follows: does indemnity insurance cover us if we apply for possessory title with the result that the 'owner' of the land makes a claim for it? Or will it only cover us if we leave the situation as it is at present and don't try to claim possession? Is it possible to get indemnity insurance that will cover you if you do apply for possessory title?

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Richard_Webster

Is this strip registered to someone else? Or is it still not registered at all?

If it registered to someone else then the rightful owner can take action to reclaim the land when he is notified of the application by you for a title


If it is not registered at all then there is no one to notify but you will only get a possessory tile and will have to wait another 12 yaers to upgrade it absolute.

As to the policy then you should be able to get a copy of the specimen policy wording which will tell you exactly what will be covered.

Unless the 6 fort strip gives you some extra advantage you wouldn't otherwise have had - like enabling a garage to be put in it will not be worth much as garden land so you could find that rather than fighting any case the insurers simply pay out a few hundred as the loss in value!