question for the Land Registry

cypher007

if a property title is registered to a person, is that person effectively the owner? if a squatter lived at the property unopposed how long before he acquires rights if any over the property?

Land_Registry

The registered proprietor is the legal owner of the registered property

The law of adverse possession is a complex matter but our Practice Guide 4 explains the essentials needed to support such a claim, including the 10 years required before such a claim can be made

cypher007

ok. read some of it.


so if someone applies for the adverse possession, the registered owner is notified? and can deny the application presumably?


otherwise I could foresee a situation where a squatter could move into a property of someone who had moved abroad and after 10 years try and claim it?

Land_Registry

cypher007 - that is correct re notification to the registered owner and an opportunity to object exists

The scenario is a possibility but yu need to understand the current law around such matters as these have been the subject of change in recent years - it is a complex area of the law and the practice guide covers the registration aspects only

AdrianC

cypher007 wrote: »

otherwise I could foresee a situation where a squatter could move into a property of someone who had moved abroad and after 10 years try and claim it?

Why would somebody just "move abroad" and apparently abandon the property, with nobody monitoring it, nobody managing it, nobody letting it?
Is this a real case, so some more details might be useful, or some hypothetical homework?