Land ownership

dukebryson

Hi

I purchased a flat freehold in October 16. It is a converted house with a garden & parking at the rear of the property. I have been made aware that the sellers solicitor mistakenly drew up the plans with myself owning both parking spaces. I have been contacted by my solicitor telling me the sellers solicitor wants to redraw the plans so the upstairs apartment owns one of the spaces.

Having completed with the current plans both of which shows I own the land, is there any legal obligation for me to give up the land?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[Deleted User]

Whether there is a legal obligation or not is it really worth the hassle of having an irate upstairs neighbour that you have deprived of a parking space.., knowingly now? And if they take legal action to remedy the situation who will be paying extra court costs (at least initially) but you? For a maximum 4m2 bit of outside parking space?

Unless you enjoy long drawn out hassles and lots of noise and difficulty with an upstairs neighbour.., I'd be a bit more 'moral'.

I am pretty sure, that just by showing original plans, they will be revised whether you want them to be or not.., eventually.

Why not ask your solicitor? Why come on here to ask this question?

moneyistooshorttomention

Sellers solicitor "deserves shooting" for making a mistake like that. :shocked:

However, it will doubtless be down on the Land Registry's title plans as to what the actual position is. Your space will be on your title plan and the neighbours space will be on their title plan. If you try to take the neighbours space - then they Land Registry would doubtless notify your neighbour that you were trying to "adversely possess" that bit of their land and it wouldnt happen.

But what might happen is another thread from you in a year or two's time saying "My neighbour is SO noisy - is there anything I can do about it?" (ie from the neighbour deliberately not bothering to keep the noise down because of an attempt to take their land from them).

Add that you two will need to co-operate with each other about communal maintenance matters - and you wouldnt get any co-operation from them if you try and nick their space.

Don't do it.

A more appropriate question now would be "Do I have any redress against the sellers solicitor? - as its their fault that I've bought less than I thought I had".

Land_Registry

Your solicitor should advise you on the law re such things as much will depend on the contract and the end legal deed (Transfer) as to whether the mistake was set in stone legally or not.

If for example the contract and Transfer included both parking spaces then it seems more than likely that you are the legal owner and under no legal obligation to give up the parking space. That is something to confirm with your solicitor.

The issue of morals, noisy future neighbour etc are quite separate considerations although of course valid.

If the neighbour sought to use the parking space, as the seller could not now transfer it to them, then they might seek to claim it in the future. Unsure re the adverse possession advice provided though as you are the owner so presumably both spaces are now registered to you.

If that is the case then re drawing the transfer plan would not be sufficient. If you are the registered legal owner you would now be the one to transfer the ownership. Re drawing a deed plan tends to occur where there is a lease involved which then needs to be varied to only include the one parking space for example.

If the freehold was indeed transferred as you state then you can't usually just tirn back the clock and replace a plan for example. If it was completed by way of a Transfer then you'll need another one to put it right.

I would strongly recommend confirming the registered details, including what you are registered as owning and then seeking legal advice

AnotherJoe

deannatrois wrote: »

Whether there is a legal obligation or not is it really worth the hassle of having an irate upstairs neighbour that you have deprived of a parking space.., knowingly now? And if they take legal action to remedy the situation who will be paying extra court costs (at least initially) but you? For a maximum 4m2 bit of outside parking space?

Unless you enjoy long drawn out hassles and lots of noise and difficulty with an upstairs neighbour.., I'd be a bit more 'moral'.

I am pretty sure, that just by showing original plans, they will be revised whether you want them to be or not.., eventually.

?

All this seems a bit tough on the OP if they paid extra when they bought because they thought they were getting two parking spaces. Suppose they paid an extra £5k for it? In that case, I'd say they should look at sellers solicitor to make this good at that solicitors own expense and pay compensation for the extra OP paid.

Now, if they didn't know at purchase, and have just discovered they 'accidentally' own it, then probably the best position is as above but no compo and for the sellers solicitor to make this good at that solicitors own expense.

p.s. were OP to think they could pull a fast one and get the extra parking space 'for free', next step is legal dispute, and need to declare that when selling, and reduce price of flat accordingly, probably moire than the extra space is worth.

davidmcn

dukebryson wrote: »

I have been made aware that the sellers solicitor mistakenly drew up the plans with myself owning both parking spaces.

"Mistakenly" in what sense? I presume you mean you and the seller only thought you'd be getting one space? Is the "wrong" plan only in the deeds, or also in your contract? It is possible for errors in contracts to be corrected, if the aggrieved party can show that they don't reflect what the parties intended.

Having completed with the current plans both of which shows I own the land, is there any legal obligation for me to give up the land?

Reply to your solicitor and ask them? Have they suggested that you do have an obligation?

steampowered

It is not clear to me from your post whether you actually own the second space or not?

My understanding is that ownership does not depend on the plans, it depends on what is registered with the land registry.

If you own the space, you do not have any obligation to transfer that space to your neighbour. Neither legal nor moral. It was up to your neighbour's solicitor to check what the neighbour was buying and ensure that was reflected at the land registry. If your neighbour thought he was buying a space but this was not reflected in the legal paperwork, he should take it up with his solicitor.

If you do not own the space, then that is the end of the matter. Though if you thought you were buying a flat with two spaces you could possibly have a legal claim against your solicitor for failing to check.

If you are not sure whether you legally own the second space, you need to get clear confirmation from your solicitor.

davidmcn

steampowered wrote: »

My understanding is that ownership does not depend on the plans, it depends on what is registered with the land registry.

I presume the OP means a wrongly-drawn plan is what is being registered at the Land Registry, and is providing him with one space more than the seller intended. As I said above, the seller might have a case for being able to rectify that via courts as a last resort. But we don't have much information to go on!

downhillfast

I'm no expert at all but what isn't clear is if the second parking space was the seller's land to sell in the first place? Does the seller own the upstairs flat as well? If so then surely this makes a massive difference as:

1) if the seller lives upstairs then it's their own fault (albeit their solicitor's fault) that they now don't have a parking space...

2) if they own it but let it out then it's still their problem...

3) if they don't own it then it wasn't their's to sell so should still belong to the owner of the upstairs flat and the land registry needs to be updated to rectify the mistake - and any recompense for mis-sold land issued.

G_M

It's all guesswork till the OP comes back. But my guess is

* builder/developer converted house into (2?) flats
* builder sold 2 leases, plus share of freehold
* builder's solicitor drew up plan (Lease Plan? LR Plan? Both?) which included both spaces for OP's flat (and no space for upstairs?)
* OP purchased lease and registered the purchase.

I have been made aware that the sellers solicitor mistakenly...

Suitably ambiguous!

* OP did not previously know he owned both spaces but is now aware?

* Or OP knew he had 2 spaces, but is now aware it was a mistake.......

dukebryson

G_M wrote: »

It's all guesswork till the OP comes back. But my guess is

* builder/developer converted house into (2?) flats
* builder sold 2 leases, plus share of freehold
* builder's solicitor drew up plan (Lease Plan? LR Plan? Both?) which included both spaces for OP's flat (and no space for upstairs?)
* OP purchased lease and registered the purchase.

Suitably ambiguous!

* OP did not previously know he owned both spaces but is now aware?

* Or OP knew he had 2 spaces, but is now aware it was a mistake.......

Appreciate all the comments - so indeed it is a converted house into 2 flats which I own the freehold for. The sellers solicitor drew up the plans which shows I own the plot of land, this is clear on both property plans. I was aware the entire plot was mine but have just been told that this was a mistake & it should have been split between the two properties. I contacted my solicitor & have left it with them to advise.