Can you takeover abandoned property??

jason.lawrie

Any advice greatfully received. There is a bungalow I pass everyday, it is in a shabby state of repair and is really letting the area down - from what I can gather from local knowledge it has been abandoned some years ago and the council boarded it up. Whether it was owned outright and owner passed away with no will etc I dont know. Ive heard about squatters rights which obviously I dont want to do, I work for a company who looks after the community and might stump up some cash to repair it/renovate it. Is there a way to take possession?? Its an eyesore and luckily not burnt down by local yobs.

kinster_2

don't you have to squat there for a number of years (12?)

m00nie

compulsory purchase order i think is what the council apply for when they do this

Paul_Varjak

I think for unregistered property that full title can still be gained after 12 years of posession (in accordance with the Limitation Act 1980).

But, for registered properties, full title can only be gained by application to the Land Registry. I am not sure of the time constraints on this - the Limitation Act does not apply to registered properties. The Land Registry will then contact the registered owner and give them a certain time in which they can retain full title.

ducky2004

Yes. That is right. You will now have to possess it for 12 yars and then apply for landreg. If not contested and you remain there for another year, the house is yours. That applies to both registered or unregistred property.

Oh...and you cannot force entry as well, so you would have to find a borken window :-p

theGrinch

In general terms, I wouldnt place much hope in the local council. you need to assume the role of Columbo here.

check the land registry for details of the owner.

if its unregistered you can notify your intent to the registry and the 12 years will start from then. you should then make an effort to find the owner. I would suggest talking to neighbours and placing a notice in local rag. if no response, take possession, do it up and rent it out so that way you get an income for your troubles.

if the property is registered the procedure is slightly different re land registry, but the rest of the steps are as above. if there is an owner listed, you might want to check death and probate records.

the main change from the law previously is now c 10th anniversary you need to advise the owner of your intentions to claim title. i guess some people own so much property they might have overlooked it.

if the owner takes possession, all you can do is walk away, with the income you have gleaned. you can migitate the cost of works through insurance. and yes you can insure adverse possession properties. the initial premiums are high, but they decrease after the first years.

GDB2222

theGrinch wrote:

if the owner takes possession, all you can do is walk away, with the income you have gleaned. you can migitate the cost of works through insurance. and yes you can insure adverse possession properties. the initial premiums are high, but they decrease after the first years.

Sorry, are you saying that you can insure against the owner turning up after you have renovated the property and getting the benefit of all your hard work? Amazing! Who does this insurance, and very roughly what does it cost?

MyUserNamesTaken

I tried to take possession of an abandoned 4 bedroom detached victorian town house approx. 5 years ago. The neighbours told me it had been empty for over 10 years by that point. I contacted the local council to ask how I'd go about it, considering the property had been abandoned for over a decade and was an eyesore. I was even willing to pay the owner the market value of the property if anyone was able to find him. After a few initial conversations, the council stopped talking to me. I later found that they'd issued a compulsory purchase order for them to take possession. They've now got the house and yet it still stands empty and neglected.

My advice: don't talk to the local council about it!

Ted_Hutchinson

Property law


Adverse Possession Forum

Jay1b

Find out how long its been empty for, and pretend you've been squatting there for that amount of time already.