Land Registry, please help!

Jeffthedog

I am hoping that the Land Registry will respond to this post. We are in the process of selling our house and have found that an error on the land registry record shows a small parcel of our land right in the middle of our garden still being owned by the previous owner. The previous owner put in the boundary fences which included this piece of land so it has been part of our garden for over a decade. (it was a new build) We understand that this can be rectified and approached the previous owner offering to pay all expenses for the transfer. The previous owner is not denying that we should own this land but is demanding a large amount of money. We are obviously being blackmailed and can't afford to pay a large amount of money, our conveyancer tells us that we have no other option other than trying to sell without this piece of land but we think that this would be very difficult due to the position of the land. Do we have any options? Please restore our faith in humankind.

moneyistooshorttomention

At a practical level - the last owner of your house presumably literally couldnt manage to access that bit of your garden anyway.

He would have to walk over that bit of your garden that you officially own to get to that bit of your garden he officially still owns and, without something like a "right of way" to do so = how would he physically manage to do that?

What a very odd thing for him to do - and it does sound like he lined this up hoping to blackmail you as you say some years down the line.

Is that bit of your garden surrounded on all 4 sides by the part of your garden that you officially own?

Does the previous owner live anywhere near you?

Flat_Eric

I feel for you. It all sounds very stressful. Has your solicitor contacted the Land Registry for you? Where is this land on your garden?

Mojisola

Jeffthedog wrote: »

We are in the process of selling our house and have found that an error on the land registry record shows a small parcel of our land right in the middle of our garden still being owned by the previous owner.

The previous owner put in the boundary fences which included this piece of land so it has been part of our garden for over a decade.

Why not apply to take over legal title of the land as it's been in your possession for over 10 years?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adverse-possession-of-registered-land/practice-guide-4-adverse-possession-of-registered-land

Asl77c

Mojisola wrote: »

Why not apply to take over legal title of the land as it's been in your possession for over 10 years?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adverse-possession-of-registered-land/practice-guide-4-adverse-possession-of-registered-land

my thoughts exactly

Davesnave

Why did you not notice this area within the garden on the title plan when you checked it on purchase?

You may apply for adverse possesssion on the grounds of established use, but be aware that if the land is shown on your title and the previous owner claims that he had your permission to keep it, the task of proving otherwise could be longer than your buyer is prepared to wait.

Tom99

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]A friend of mine was involved in an almost identical problem to this.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]They paid the previous owner of the land several thousand pounds plus their legal fees to sort it out in time to sell.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]You can go the route of adverse possession but that will take time and you will probably lose your buyer and the property you are hoping to purchase.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]If your purchaser does not intend to build over this bit of land and it genuinely is non accessible by the previous owner, they may just accept it if their mortgage co agreed.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I assume the bit of land is at the edge of your garden rather than in the middle otherwise it should have been obvious something was wrong as the title plan would be one red line within an outer red line.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adverse-possession-of-registered-land/practice-guide-4-adverse-possession-of-registered-land[/FONT]

Davesnave

Tom99 wrote: »

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I assume the bit of land is at the edge of your garden rather than in the middle otherwise it should have been obvious something was wrong as the title plan would be one red line within an outer red line.

[/FONT]

OP says:
"an error on the land registry record shows a small parcel of our land right in the middle of our garden still being owned by the previous owner."

moneyistooshorttomention

Tom99 wrote: »

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]A friend of mine was involved in an almost identical problem to this.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]They paid the previous owner of the land several thousand pounds plus their legal fees to sort it out in time to sell.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]You can go the route of adverse possession but that will take time and you will probably lose your buyer and the property you are hoping to purchase.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]If your purchaser does not intend to build over this bit of land and it genuinely is non accessible by the previous owner, they may just accept it if their mortgage co agreed.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I assume the bit of land is at the edge of your garden rather than in the middle otherwise it should have been obvious something was wrong as the title plan would be one red line within an outer red line.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adverse-possession-of-registered-land/practice-guide-4-adverse-possession-of-registered-land[/FONT]

Personally - if I were the buyer I'd probably go ahead anyway - figuring "that previous owner can't get at it ever anyway and are just playing silly b&ggers". If they ever tried to take access they don't actually have and walk across my lawn - they'd soon get fed-up with me deciding to get out my hosepipe and water the lawn whilst they tried to do so. Followed by getting the "official" situation sorted out with the Land Registry later.

I don't believe in adverse possession - but I wouldnt see this as being AP (as it is genuinely part of the garden). I would, however, want an official letter from OP (stating that they'd owned the house/garden for x number of years and been using/sole user of that part of my garden during the whole x years).

From the sound of it - new owner might have enough "time in" to be able to sort it out officially now. If they don't - then they will in only a year or two's time.

Sounds like what the previous owner is doing is demanding payment to go away and stop playing silly b&ggers (ie that blackmail) but it can be dealt with by either:
- waiting a year or two to sell if it's necessary to "get some more time in" and "claiming adverse possession" on that bit of one's own garden
- having a buyer who is prepared to do that themselves.

I would think it would only put off a buyer that was planning on adding an extension (and doing so immediately at that) - but not most buyers.

EDIT; I'm curious about just how big this "small parcel of our land" is - particularly with it being a new-build house (ie chances are that the garden is only pocket handkerchief size anyway - considering I'm trying to think of any new-builds of recent years that have a reasonable size garden in the first place).

That being the case - I'm guessing it might only be a few square feet? Small enough a new owner could always plant one or two thorny trees/bushes bang up against it in the garden (ie in a location where the second the branches started growing they'd overhang those few square feet anyway) - but the base of the trees/bushes would be on that part of OP's garden that OP officially owns.

Tiglet2

Personally - if I were the buyer I'd probably go ahead anyway - figuring "that previous owner can't get at it ever anyway and are just playing silly b&ggers".

The buyer might not be able to go ahead if their lender withdraws their offer until it is sorted out at Land Registry.

[QUOTEI don't believe in adverse possession - but I wouldnt see this as being AP (as it is genuinely part of the garden). I would, however, want an official letter from OP (stating that they'd owned the house/garden for x number of years and been using/sole user of that part of my garden during the whole x years). ][/QUOTE]

A lender still may not be satisfied by a Statement of Truth. Claiming adverse possession may be the only way to go, but this is not unregistered land, it does belong to someone and it sounds as though that someone will try and block the adverse possession application.

Seriously OP, you would be better off selling without the land or making an application for adverse possession/possessory title to Land Registry. Hopefully, your buyers will be patient and wait if you decide to go the Land Registry route (approx 3 months or thereabouts).

Land_Registry

Why is it an 'error'? Or are you saying there was a conveyancing error when you bought as you should have bought both titles, namely the property plus the excluded land?

I ask as you say the excluded land is still owned by the 'previous owner' so assume the error lies elsewhere - can you clarify?