legal cost due to failed Adverse Possession jj

HappyChappy99

Someone has tried to take my land through adverse possession and failed.
Long story short, they lied on the application form, the main lie being the the length of time they were on my land which we proved to be a lie. This was just one of many small points as to why their application failed. Their whole application to Land Registry was untrue.

Unfortunately this has cost me a few thousand in unnecessary legal costs. Can I claim this back from the person who applied to take my land? Do I sue? Do I used small claims? Do I have a chance?
The form they lied on was ST1 (Statement of Truth). Does it matter that they blatantly lied on a government document?

I think its terrible that I own this land and have have to prove I own it at a great cost to myself due to solicitors fees. The law is all wrong when it comes to adverse possession in my opinion.

When searching the internet, all the advice seems to be "how to take" someones land. There is not a lot of advice out there to help protect your own land. Most of the advice seems to be 1 sided in favor of the squatter.

(side note- this person was invited to use my land many years ago. They were never a squatter and it looks like they were trying the long con. They always intended to try and take my land. Thankfully I found out early enough to stop them, hence all the lies to try and make it look like they qualify for adverse possession)

I just want my money back that I had to spend on solicitors to prove the lies.
Please help. Thank you

Comms69

I don’t see why you needed a solicitor thoufh

G_M

Soundslike fraud, which is a criminal matter. Though a conviction would not get your money back.


I'm not sure if you could claim via small claims process - suggest you get a half-hour free advice from a solicitor, or ask the one you've ben using. No need to employ them further though.If they say yes, you can claim, then do it yourself.

AdrianC

Of course you can launch a claim for your costs - sub £10k, it's just a standard small claim.

Would you win? Perhaps. Perhaps not. It's all down to how good your case is, and how good their defence is.
Would winning get you the money? Perhaps. Perhaps not, without a lot of work and further expense.

Is the land registered? If so, it's a lot easier to defend than where the land is unregistered.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adverse-possession-of-registered-land/practice-guide-4-adverse-possession-of-registered-land

HappyChappy99

Thank you for the replies.
I didnt think i needed a solicitor either, but he had one who did the application for him, very legal mumbo jumbo so I wanted to make sure my defence was watertight.
I fought the application on my own at first thinking it would be a clear cut case, but then land reg advised i seek legal representation due to what he wrote on his application (lies, but i had to prove it)

Whats right and whats wrong, and what the law says are very different things.

The land has been registered to our family for many years.We have all the correct paperwork. We let all our friends use it without rent, this person was a close friend until we discovered his true intent. This is another reason his application was rejected. He said he had sole and exclusive use of the land when many people use this land every day. It was just lie after lie. His lies made his application look legit, but they were very easy to prove as lies- CCTV, witness statements off the other land users, historic photos etc

He never stood a chance, but as i was fighting his solicitor who obv has a history and knows what to write. I had to get my own solicitor involved to make sure I didnt miss anything and that all the right boxes were ticked.

It just seems an unnecessary expense. My first child just arrived and we're nearly broke due to solicitors costs. I wanted to use this money for my family, for memories of him growing up. I'm really annoyed at the whole situation. Do I phone the police about the fraud on his application now i can prove the lies? I dont mind going to small claims if that is what has to be done, but i'm pretty much skint now. I just want my money back. I dont want the fear of possibly losing and it costing me more money, but i'm so angry- i have literally done nothing wrong and he has put me and my family in this financial situation

davidmcn

HappyChappy99 wrote: »

I dont mind going to small claims if that is what has to be done, but i'm pretty much skint now.

And how about him? There's no point taking someone to court if they don't have the cash to pay you even if you win.

HappyChappy99

davidmcn wrote: »

And how about him? There's no point taking someone to court if they don't have the cash to pay you even if you win.

I know he has the money, but on paper- he does not. Hes a "cash in hand" sort of person.

But as he was a family friend, I know some of things which he owns, and where they are.
Again, its trying to prove it. He's a very sneeky person.
Even if it was £10 a week, i'd accept to to get anything out of him.

AdrianC

HappyChappy99 wrote: »

The land has been registered to our family for many years.We have all the correct paperwork.

I think you misunderstood my question.

Is it registered at Land Registry? Or is it still unregistered, and you simply have the deeds?

HappyChappy99

AdrianC wrote: »

I think you misunderstood my question.

Is it registered at Land Registry? Or is it still unregistered, and you simply have the deeds?

Sorry, yes this is registered with Land Registry and has been for a number of years under our name. We also have deeds in our name and proof of purchase.
Unfortunately, even though Land Registry could see this, due to the amount of lies on his application, Land Registry had to give each side an equal opportunity to explain their side of the story as his ticked all the boxes.

The guy said he had sole use for over 15 years and excluded everyone else, as well as erecting a fence to stop people entering and cultivating the land. This was all lies which we proved with picture of other people using it, and picture of my family erecting the fence many years before he stepped foot on the land. His story was perfect and obviously set out step by step by his well informed solicitor. It was then down to both sides to prove the facts, which we could. It cost him, but at the end of the day he had no evidence to back up his claims.
We did, so we won. But at a cost.

G_M

As I recall, on the Small Claims Track, legal costs cannot be claimed.


If the only costs OP is claiming is his legal costs from the original dispute, would the court award these.....?

D_M_E

G_M - if legal costs cannot be claimed, why do we see here on the forums tales of solicitors claiming such costs through the courts and obtaining a CCJ against the defendant as a result?

Think legal costs in terms of the small claims track means that if you employ a solicitor to do it for you in small claims their costs cannot be added to claim but the cost - about £60 I think - of making the claim can be added to the claim.

So i think a small claims court action could be the way to go but the decision is up to the OP.