Boundary dispute, advice please.

looneyleo

I would check out the land registry site on adverse possession as I think that the time span has come down to 10 years now. As I understand it, it has to be your neighbour who has to claim adverse possession of your land, if it is indeed "your land". You then get an opportunity to object as land owner. He has to show that he has had exclusive access to and use of the land with no-one else being able to use it.. is that the case? I do tend to agree with other posters that you have left it an awful long time, and is it worth the hassle/money???

princeofpounds

It is very likely that you do still own this land, yet also very likely that there is nothing you can do about the situation.

Given that the neighbour uses the strip of land for access they probably have an easement (a 'right') of access written in the deeds of either property or established through long usage.

The neighbour using this land for access does not mean that they actually own it. To qualify for adverse possession of the land, they would need to enclose it, occupy it, and do all that without ever getting agreement from the owner of your property. It's possible, but no means certain, that they have fulfilled all the requirements.

I don't know the detail of your exact situation, but given what you have described this is the most probable scenario.

You can see that it's probably better off being a fenced-off area rather than incorporated into your garden. Unless you want your neighbour passing through your garden at all times.