hi a little help on empty property

rach!_3

hi
sorry if this is in the wrong place, please feel free to move to appropriate section.
anyway, there is an empty property in our town, i tried to search land registry, but needed a postcode for it the number of the property is 33 but when i went to royal mails website it said it couldnt find that address but gave a list of others in the same street it went from 31 to 35a (this property also has a small shop attached to it) anyway i used to postcode that is used for 31 and 35a to put in land registry website and that said it couldnt find any such property.
now i arent interested but im asking for my B.I.L what i would like to know is why isnt it found? does this mean there is no owner? and how would someone go about claiming the property?
all/any help and or advice greatfully accepted
thanks rach

Doozergirl

The property hasn't been sold in a number of years, it is therefore 'unregistered' because it isn't on the computerised system. It doesn't mean that no-one owns it though! You would have to request a manual search by the Land Registry - there is reference to it on the website.

You can't claim property like that! You'd have to live in it unhindered for years before you could stake a claim.

rach!_3

oh i understand its not as easy as that, what he would like to know if possible is where to start, is there maybe a walk through guide or anything to take you through each step?

PasturesNew

rach! wrote: »

oh i understand its not as easy as that, what he would like to know if possible is where to start, is there maybe a walk through guide or anything to take you through each step?

Roughly speaking, so you know it's not going to be worth it really:

If you are talking of claiming what you think is an empty/derelict property, you have to, from memory, gain access. Then live in it, maintain it, look after it, for (up to) 10-15 years.

If during that time nobody has challenged you (said "Oi - that's mine") then you can write to Land Registry and put a claim in.

Somebody will own it. And they will know somebody who knows somebody who has spotted you there....

rach!_3

it has been like that for at least 10yrs, just been left to "rot"
so why is it necessary that someone will own it?
i actually found a guide for my brother in law so dont need any advice now anyway as this tells us all we need to know, but why do you say "
Somebody will own it. And they will know somebody who knows somebody who has spotted you there...."????? what if the person has died and had no family? then surely no one owns it

rach!_3

oh and its 10-12 years

Doozergirl

If someone dies and has no-one to leave their estate to, the money goes to the Crown eventually. The house generally won't just sit there in perpetuity.

People really do own houses that they choose to simply leave. Strange but true.

You need to start with the Land Registry and establish who is the registered owner and research from there.

danielle24

Oh, and friends working for a homeless charity have told me of people who can't bear to live in a place they own because of bad memories but can't bear to sell it either.

RabbitMad

If its been like that for 10 years their a good chance its owner will be up for parole soon. Would you want to answer their question "(crack knuckles in a menacing way) wot u doin' in my 'ouse?"

...but seriously claiming property / land like this rarely happens - the odd squatter or tramp. Plus gaining entry in the first place is likely to be B&E

Doozergirl

Yes, house next door to one from our project was owned by a convict, empty for years, boarded up even. They got well and truly shafted by the developer on that one!

The developer has subsequently shafted themselves, so what goes around come around

dellyburgs

if a house is truly unregistered, it doesn't just mean that its not on the computer - it means that the Land Registry do not have any details on it. This is because it hasn't always been compulsory to register property - although it is now once the land is mortgaged or sold. So just because it is not registered with the HMLR doesn't mean it's 'ownerless'. This is in fact very rare. And you can't just lay claim to it because you've seen it's been empty for a few years!