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Neighbour trying to claim our land as his own

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Hi,
Looking for some guidance on how to proceed. We purchased our property three years ago (it was built around 7/8 years ago). The purchase included a long driveway and land either side of this. Under legal contract that was already drawn up by the previous owner, our neighbour is allowed to use the driveway to access his property in exchange for 50% of any repair costs. The land either side of the driveway is ours, and does not adjoin his property in any way. The deeds to the land are also in our name at land registry. The legal documents clearly mark out the land that he is able to use and that which he is not.

Within a week of moving in, he told my husband that he owned all of the land and driveway- to which my husband corrected him and told him that we own the deeds and are the registered owners at land registry. He then stated that he had planted the trees and placed stones on the land (so has been using it as his own) - we have no evidence to prove that he did this, as far as we are concerned any landscaping (if you can call it that) was purchased with the property and laid by the previous owners. He also stated that he had paid the previous owners cash for the land (however again, no evidence was provided and nothing was found by my solicitor during searches regarding any such transaction).

Recently, our neighbour has started to use the land for storing fencing materials ( removed from another local area where he was trying to claim adverse possession). He has not asked our permission for this, and despite verbally raising (politely as he is know for aggression) he has not moved it. The amount of fencing is substantial and includes a large amount of barbed wire - which as I have small children, I am annoyed at. Knowing our upset by this, he has made no effort to move the fencing and simply states, the stone he has put the fencing on belongs to him.

Money is tight at the moment, and I feel it would be costly to hire a solicitor to deal with the matter- however I am increasingly concerned that he is now trying to gain adverse possession of our land.

I should also add that in the long term future, we do have plans for the land, so do not want to lose it.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Many thanks
Kelly
«1345

Comments

  • This sounds like its going to be expensive �� My neighbour went through the courts over a piece of land and it took years and thousands of pounds to prove it was theirs. Do you have any legal fees included with your home insurance? Might be worth a read through your policy documents.
    To be in your child's memories tomorrow, be in their life today.
  • sevenhills
    sevenhills Posts: 5,938 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Kellyg619 wrote: »
    Recently, our neighbour has started to use the land for storing fencing materials ( removed from another local area where he was trying to claim adverse possession).


    Fencing material for a future fence? If he gets a fence put up first, that could be complicated.
    Has 'your' land already got your fence around it?
  • stator
    stator Posts: 7,441 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Send him a letter giving him a fixed period to remove the posessions from your land. A couple weeks should be fine.
    Say in the letter that if he does not, you will pay for it to be removed and bill him.
    Follow through and then send him the bill.
    When he doesn't pay it, create a claim from him in small claims court.


    If you don't have the money for a solicitor you'll have to do it all yourself using online guides.
    Changing the world, one sarcastic comment at a time.
  • Do you or your neighbour have a copy of this contract that allows him access in exchange for 50% of maintenance costs? If so, then it it confirms he understands you own the land.

    If not, tell him to remove the fencing and stop behaving like a pr**k (perhaps phrased more diplomatically), else you'll consider this agreement null and void and start completely controlling access (fences gates etc.) to keep him out. Stick CCTV on it and if he does anything, involve the police for criminal damage.

    Your problem is the same endless numbers of people and businesses have with "travellers" - trespassing is a civil issue, damage is criminal. Make it so you can get the police involved to save yourself legal costs.

    I wouldn't waste time trying to be reasonable with him, people like this see being reasonable as weakness, don't let them perceive you as weak. Be demanding and relentless over the issue.
  • Thank you so much for all the advice.

    The land is partially fenced off, this was done by the previous owner. I never thought that he may be preparing to fence the rest himself, but now I think that could be a possibility.

    Stator- I think I will get my husband to sit down over Easter and write a letter as advised (I don’t think our insurance would cover it). I’ll include a copy of the deeds and his contract too. He has just been took to court by the council over the other piece of land he tried to claim, and he fought his case all the way- so I suspect that we will end up having to take it to small claims :(.
  • Sorry to hear you have such an awful neighbour!
  • FreeBear
    FreeBear Posts: 18,230 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Kellyg619 wrote: »
    so I suspect that we will end up having to take it to small claims :(.


    Unfortunately, most land disputes end up going through the High Court - Costs can very quickly mount.
    Her courage will change the world.

    Treasure the moments that you have. Savour them for as long as you can for they will never come back again.
  • FreeBear- that’s what I am trying to avoid. With little ones in full time child care, disposable income is limited. It’s so frustrating, since we have copies of everything. Legally the land is ours.
  • Mojisola
    Mojisola Posts: 35,571 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Kellyg619 wrote: »
    Recently, our neighbour has started to use the land for storing fencing materials
    Kellyg619 wrote: »
    Stator- I think I will get my husband to sit down over Easter and write a letter as advised (I don’t think our insurance would cover it).

    I’ll include a copy of the deeds and his contract too. He has just been took to court by the council over the other piece of land he tried to claim, and he fought his case all the way- so I suspect that we will end up having to take it to small claims :(.

    With someone like this you have to be very proactive - as well as following the advice about the letter, can you remove the fencing materials from your land?

    Film it before, during and afterwards to prevent any claims of theft or damage.
  • Fire_Fox
    Fire_Fox Posts: 26,026 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 29 March 2019 at 2:52PM
    Kellyg619 wrote: »
    Thank you so much for all the advice.

    The land is partially fenced off, this was done by the previous owner. I never thought that he may be preparing to fence the rest himself, but now I think that could be a possibility.

    Stator- I think I will get my husband to sit down over Easter and write a letter as advised (I don’t think our insurance would cover it). I’ll include a copy of the deeds and his contract too. He has just been took to court by the council over the other piece of land he tried to claim, and he fought his case all the way- so I suspect that we will end up having to take it to small claims :(.

    Welcome to MSE. :)

    Deal with this bully/ situation in writing only. Address what your neighbour has actually done, not what he has said verbally or what you think he might do. Stop letting him goad you.

    At this point there is no legal dispute over who owns the land. You know that you do, you do not need to prove that at this stage. You know he has no documentations to back up his assertions. You do not want to be the ones who start up a legal dispute over the ownership of the land.

    The current issue is limited to how your neighbour is using a space (as storage) that he only has access to. Quote the contract in your letter, not the title deeds.

    Note that there is no such thing as the 'small claims court', but rather a small claims action in the County Court. You may be able to get free advice on your draft letter from the Citizens Advice Bureau.

    HTH!
    stator wrote: »
    Send him a letter giving him a fixed period to remove the posessions from your land. A couple weeks should be fine.
    Say in the letter that if he does not, you will pay for it to be removed and bill him.
    Follow through and then send him the bill.
    When he doesn't pay it, create a claim from him in small claims court.
    Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️
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