Claiming land

shan81

Hi, first post here. Not sure if anybody can help but cant find much detail anywhere else ! My property has a council owned disused public footpath running along the side of it and across the rear to allow rear access to neighbouring houses. However before I bought the property the previous owners blocked off the entry and paved the driveway over the public footpath, built a porch and has been the same ever since. I would estimate the driveway has been in place for over 15 years, maybe even 20 odd and the footpath unused in all that time. I have neighbours who have brought this to the councils attention and are now reinstating the path themselves without the council even getting in touch with me. This means neighbours will be using what I believe is my driveway to access their homes. I have owned the house for 8 years. Do I have the right to contest this and claim the land if necessary. Thanks

G_M

:shocked:

So some members of the public are very public-spiritedly re-instating a public footpath so that it can be used by the public?

What a cheek!

I suspect that if you had made a claim under adverse possession and attempted to register the footpath as yours, you would probably .... have failed as the owners would have been informed, and contested the claim.

But as you didn't, you have even less claim.

stator

What are they actually doing on your land, or are they doing stuff to the part of the path that is not on your land? Is it still blocked off?

shan81

I thought there may have been a time limit in place for the council to object to the driveway before it could be claimed by the homeowner ?

P.S sarcasm is always helpful

shan81

@ stator. They are clearing the entry and replacing the fence blocking it with a gate. Whoever will be using the entry will have to walk down my driveway for access

patman99

But it is not your driveway. It is the Council's path. You can claim adverse possesion and provide evidence that the path has been un-used for 15-20 years. However, you need to do this now and with the help of a proper legal representative.

Davesnave

shan81 wrote: »

I would estimate the driveway has been in place for over 15 years, maybe even 20 odd and the footpath unused in all that time.

How long can you prove the land has been fenced-off and used exclusively by the owners of your property? That is a key question when claiming adverse possession.

Possession is one thing, but even if you wrest ownership of the land from the council, you will be unable to close off the footpath if they, and others, decide it should be open. Rights of way are not extinguished by non-use, so it's highly likely now that you will face a demand for the reinstatement of the footpath.

princeofpounds

You need to see a solicitor and look into an adverse possession application ASAP and also an injunction to stop the neighbours interfering. You should also have recorded evidence as of, well, weeks ago, as to the state of the land, but do what you can now.

If you had sorted this out earlier, you may have had a good adverse possession case. It is now much more doubtful.

Bear in mind that even if you achieved adverse possession, depending on the status of the footpath it may still legally be a footpath! That is a whole other legal issue.

shan81

It has been closed off and exclusively used by myself for 8.5 years. I do suspect it has been closed for more like 20 years but I probably cant prove this other than by accessing old public aerial photos if avaliable

stator

Even if you can claim adverse posession of the land that wouldn't extinguish a public right of way, which can often run across private land.

Are you sure who owns the old pathway or whether it's just a public right of way?

Davesnave

It's not clear here if this is a true public footpath, or a right of way for other residents which just happens to be on council land. It sounds like the latter:

"My property has a council owned disused public footpath running along the side of it and across the rear to allow rear access to neighbouring houses."

This would be the more likely if it only goes to those neighbouring houses.

If it is a RoW, it's likely to be mentioned on those properties' title documents, so something like a fence or locked gate will not extinguish it.

In that case, the ownership of the land is irrelevant.