neighbour taking over land I have looked after for 30 years

EachPenny

LondonRose wrote: »

Does anyone know would this be the estates manager?

It depends, you are probably best speaking to the property services department or whatever your council calls that team. They will be more interested in selling than the department (probably Housing) who are responsible for the land.

One way to find the right contact is to look for committee reports (usually published online) which deal with land sales (usually reported to committee or 'Delegated Powers'). These reports almost always have a Property Services author name, with contact details. Try phoning them and ask for the right person to speak to about buying some land.

Pandilex

If you want to know/prove who owns it, bung £3 to the land registry

G_M

The deeds of the house show that the land is council owned

LondonRose wrote: »

What's the next step to take if council are uncooperative .....

The Deeds of the neighbour's (council owned) house?
I assume you mean you have obtained the Title and Plan of that property from the Land Registry yes?
And the Plan includes the land in question yes?

How have you been'contacting' them? If by phone, you are wasting your time.

Write a formal letter, clearly identifying the land in question, and enclose a copy of the Title and Plan which prove the council owns it. They can then not deny ownership, can they?

They will also have to respond properly by letter to you.

davidmcn

If you are going to go hunting for titles in the Land Registry, bear in mind that (a) the council house title is likely not to be an individual one for the house, but one for the whole estate, and (b) the other bit of ground may well not be registered. In fact the council title might not be registered either, given it's unlikely to have been transacted with for some decades.

AdrianC

The deeds of your house may well say the land is council owned. But if the council have sold it since those deeds were produced, have they been updated?

The important bit is not YOUR deeds/LR registration, but the deeds/LR registration of the land in question. Your deeds/LR registration only say authoritatively about YOUR house.

You haven't met the time period to obtain possession, because you've not excluded others from the land. Your neighbour has just proved that.

The clock hasn't started for your neighbour, because they haven't excluded others, either.

So right now, you've each just been maintaining what's effectively common land. Very neighbourly of you...

teddysmum

Speak to your councillor at their next surgery. Times/places are usually on council websites.

LondonRose_2

Such wealth of knowledge on here thank you all so much for taking time to reply.

My next step will be to do an individual land registry search for the plot. I have thought about speaking to my MP but felt it was a trivial matter to bother them with.

It may sound ridiculous but when I approach land registry how will I search for the particular land as my property has an address so is traceable but this is a rectangle plot behind my home?

LondonRose_2

Just looking through the deeds of my house and it states that ----

The right in common with the council adjoining occupiers and all other persons entitled thereto to pass and repass with or without vehicles over the access way. or over such other substituted route leading to the premises as the council may from time to time determine and notify in writing to the transferee or his successors the transferee paying a proper proportion of the cost of maintaining and repairing the same.

So there is no way the neighbour could section of the area as its mentioned in the deeds.

ViolaLass

LondonRose wrote: »

My next step will be to do an individual land registry search for the plot. I have thought about speaking to my MP but felt it was a trivial matter to bother them with.

Contact your local councillor, not MP. I found mine useful when I had a similar-ish problem.

AdrianC

LondonRose wrote: »

My next step will be to do an individual land registry search for the plot.

It will almost certainly not be registered, since there's not been any transaction on it since registration became compulsory.

I have thought about speaking to my MP but felt it was a trivial matter to bother them with.

You don't currently have an MP, and won't have one until Friday.

It may sound ridiculous but when I approach land registry how will I search for the particular land as my property has an address so is traceable but this is a rectangle plot behind my home?

Yep. If it's there.