Land Registry questions

Suseka97

Land_Registry said:

Suseka97 said:

We are not sure quite what to do at this point, so any suggestions would be gratefully received.  Do we purchase and then see where we get with an adverse possession application?  Does the fact they've looked after this bit of land and encased it in their garden for some 20 years matter?  Or does the clock reset if we purchase, are these things time bound in anyway?

The law re adverse possession is a complex one and it’s that you need to understand before you then consider our registration requirements
The registration requirements, which also answer some of your Qs are covered by our PGs 4 and 5 
Your Qs are for your conveyancer to answer and if you have a mortgage then your lender may insist that the seller registers their claim before you buy. 

You can purchase and then make your own application based on the seller’s evidence re their actions over the years to take possession of the land. What the6 have done matters. The clock only resets only if you don’t rely on their evidence. 

The online service will only confirm registered details. I’d suggest you do a postal search of the index map instead to confirm it’s unregistered or otherwise. 

However you are buying so in most cases you’d be asking the seller to confirm title for you and if they don’t have it providing evidence to confirm legally that they’ve taken possession 

Thank you so much for this advice.  I followed the 'search of index map' link and was able to access the title deeds which confirm the extra land they have taken possession of is not currently registered to them.  With that knowledge my conveyancer advises I would have to declare this to the mortgage provider and they will insist that lender registers before they will agree a mortgage offer.  What the EA was suggesting is that we could simply choose not mention anything about this and proceed with the purchase because no-one would know, and that of course would be so until at some point we might want to sell and we would have had to register or replace the boundary to its original position.  I don't feel comfortable either way so we've decided not to proceed.

GDB2222

Suseka97 said:

Land_Registry said:

Suseka97 said:

We are not sure quite what to do at this point, so any suggestions would be gratefully received.  Do we purchase and then see where we get with an adverse possession application?  Does the fact they've looked after this bit of land and encased it in their garden for some 20 years matter?  Or does the clock reset if we purchase, are these things time bound in anyway?

The law re adverse possession is a complex one and it’s that you need to understand before you then consider our registration requirements
The registration requirements, which also answer some of your Qs are covered by our PGs 4 and 5 
Your Qs are for your conveyancer to answer and if you have a mortgage then your lender may insist that the seller registers their claim before you buy. 

You can purchase and then make your own application based on the seller’s evidence re their actions over the years to take possession of the land. What the6 have done matters. The clock only resets only if you don’t rely on their evidence. 

The online service will only confirm registered details. I’d suggest you do a postal search of the index map instead to confirm it’s unregistered or otherwise. 

However you are buying so in most cases you’d be asking the seller to confirm title for you and if they don’t have it providing evidence to confirm legally that they’ve taken possession 

Thank you so much for this advice.  I followed the 'search of index map' link and was able to access the title deeds which confirm the extra land they have taken possession of is not currently registered to them.  With that knowledge my conveyancer advises I would have to declare this to the mortgage provider and they will insist that lender registers before they will agree a mortgage offer.  What the EA was suggesting is that we could simply choose not mention anything about this and proceed with the purchase because no-one would know, and that of course would be so until at some point we might want to sell and we would have had to register or replace the boundary to its original position.  I don't feel comfortable either way so we've decided not to proceed.

Is there a halfway house here, where your mortgage provider values, and lends against, just the registered bit of the land? You could have a separate conveyance of whatever entitlement the vendor has to the extra land. I assume the property is perfectly usable without the extra land? You'd obviously reduce your offer accordingly.

Suseka97

GDB2222 said:

Suseka97 said:

Land_Registry said:

Suseka97 said:

We are not sure quite what to do at this point, so any suggestions would be gratefully received.  Do we purchase and then see where we get with an adverse possession application?  Does the fact they've looked after this bit of land and encased it in their garden for some 20 years matter?  Or does the clock reset if we purchase, are these things time bound in anyway?

The law re adverse possession is a complex one and it’s that you need to understand before you then consider our registration requirements
The registration requirements, which also answer some of your Qs are covered by our PGs 4 and 5 
Your Qs are for your conveyancer to answer and if you have a mortgage then your lender may insist that the seller registers their claim before you buy. 

You can purchase and then make your own application based on the seller’s evidence re their actions over the years to take possession of the land. What the6 have done matters. The clock only resets only if you don’t rely on their evidence. 

The online service will only confirm registered details. I’d suggest you do a postal search of the index map instead to confirm it’s unregistered or otherwise. 

However you are buying so in most cases you’d be asking the seller to confirm title for you and if they don’t have it providing evidence to confirm legally that they’ve taken possession 

Thank you so much for this advice.  I followed the 'search of index map' link and was able to access the title deeds which confirm the extra land they have taken possession of is not currently registered to them.  With that knowledge my conveyancer advises I would have to declare this to the mortgage provider and they will insist that lender registers before they will agree a mortgage offer.  What the EA was suggesting is that we could simply choose not mention anything about this and proceed with the purchase because no-one would know, and that of course would be so until at some point we might want to sell and we would have had to register or replace the boundary to its original position.  I don't feel comfortable either way so we've decided not to proceed.

Is there a halfway house here, where your mortgage provider values, and lends against, just the registered bit of the land? You could have a separate conveyance of whatever entitlement the vendor has to the extra land. I assume the property is perfectly usable without the extra land? You'd obviously reduce your offer accordingly.

Thank you for taking the time to comment.  The vendors were not inclined to accept any lower offer and if the boundary had to be reinstated it would create a rather odd shaped garden space.  It would have been helpful to have seen its original look, but we don't have photos of that.  I do have to wonder why the vendors have not applied for possession, if what they say is true - in that they claim to have tendered to that portion for 20 years +, but just hadn't gotten around to applying for it.  Sounds a bit odd to me, but then again - if they intended to live there forever I guess it would have been a non-issue.  Their possession of this space really isn't visible to anyone else.. so I may well have done the same in their position - its not harmed anyone else's possible claim.   An added issue is that they don't know if that area is registered to the local authority or unregistered land.  It's a large wooded/copse/overgrown open space in the middle of various houses on its boundaries.

poshpalace

Hi,

I am in the process of buying a house and it transpires that an essential part of the land connected to the property is held on a "possessory title".

The current owners are now taking steps to change this to "title absolute" as the land in question was first registered at the Land Registry more than 12 years ago.

Could you advise if such an application to change the status of the title is usually a straighforward matter and, if so, how long is it likely to take for the Land Registry to make a decision?

Many thanks in advance. 

Borusa3001

I sold a part of my back garden to a neighbour 4 years ago. I had used a solicitor and received payment for the land via escrow, , so saw no reason to check that the buyer's solicitor had registered the transfer. I had reason to check a year ago and he had not. The title plan and title extract for my remaining property remained the same as they were before the transfer.
I informed my neighbour about this and a year later he has still not done anything. I'm now trying to sell my house but I'm fining it impossible to find an agent willing to take me on because of the potential boundary dispute on my land. I believe that my neighbour is using this as a device to prevent my from selling my house.
What are my rights in this matter and how do I force him to register the land he bought from me?
 

Borusa3001

This is probably a stupid question - but who should I contact to report a neighbour's persistent breach of restrictive covenants on his land?

Land_Registry

poshpalace said:

Hi,

I am in the process of buying a house and it transpires that an essential part of the land connected to the property is held on a "possessory title".

The current owners are now taking steps to change this to "title absolute" as the land in question was first registered at the Land Registry more than 12 years ago.

Could you advise if such an application to change the status of the title is usually a straighforward matter and, if so, how long is it likely to take for the Land Registry to make a decision?

Many thanks in advance. 

If the 12 years has passed since possessory title was granted then it’s usually routine. 

Wait times are around 4/5 weeks 

Land_Registry

Borusa3001 said:

This is probably a stupid question - but who should I contact to report a neighbour's persistent breach of restrictive covenants on his land?

There’s nobody to report it to as if you want to take action over the breach then it’s legal advice as it’s a court that passes judgement and enforces the covenants. 

The key point to consider is that in order for you to follow that legal process you need to own the land which has the benefit of the covenant(s). 

So I’d suggest taking the details of the covenants and breach to a conveyancer and seeking their advice on how best to proceed. Legal action may only be necessary if the breach continues or the landowner takes no notice? 

Land_Registry

Borusa3001 said:

I sold a part of my back garden to a neighbour 4 years ago. I had used a solicitor and received payment for the land via escrow, , so saw no reason to check that the buyer's solicitor had registered the transfer. I had reason to check a year ago and he had not. The title plan and title extract for my remaining property remained the same as they were before the transfer.
I informed my neighbour about this and a year later he has still not done anything. I'm now trying to sell my house but I'm fining it impossible to find an agent willing to take me on because of the potential boundary dispute on my land. I believe that my neighbour is using this as a device to prevent my from selling my house.
What are my rights in this matter and how do I force him to register the land he bought from me?
 

You’ll need legal advice here on what your rights are and how to force him to register. 

That may mean legal action or it may mean threatening to sell the land/title as registered as he has failed to complete the legal transfer by registering it. 

I’m afraid we can’t force him to so very much down to your own legal efforts 

darylsummers

Hi Land Registry,

RE: New build property, plot 110, High Penn Park, Calne SN11 8GQ - WT430086

We are all ready to exchange contracts in our chain as of last Friday, but my solicitor stalled at the last minute as there was an error with the neighbouring property (plot 111) as the developer submitted the wrong plan to LR on the sale, meaning our boundaries are incorrect. The solicitors are getting no information back from the LR and I believe they have asked for this to be expedited, but I am not getting any information back. Apparently the solicitor is waiting on a letter before we can exchange?

Every day we are now being delayed, adds an extra day to the two-weeks the developer requires to complete and is causing so much tension in our chain with every day that goes by. Any help you could provide urgently would be greatly appreciated.

Daryl