Land registration- who owns the la d?

Barnman007

I have a piece of land ( very small) at the front of my house ( I moved in 3 years ago) that according to land registry I have tittle to. However there is a fence and shrubs planted in it and maintained by my neighbours. I have said that the land is mine on land registry, but they said they have maintained it for 22 years, so they have rights to the land. Can anyone clarify if they have rights of ownership? Many thanks

Mickey666

If you have title to the land then it belongs to you.  period.

If someone else has occupied it, to the exclusion of everyone else including the legal owner, then they MAY have a right to CHALLENGE the land ownership.  But, as far as I'm aware, there is no AUTOMATIC transfer of title simply because someone has occupied a piece of land for a period of time.

But, I'm not a lawyer, so if your neighbours have physically annexed the land then I think you'll need to seek formal legal advice.

Did this issue not arise during your house purchase three years ago?

Barnman007

Hi, No it didn’t arise until I was looking at options to change the frontage of the house and I checked to see what I owned. 

Barnman007

Also I did check the land registry again and mine is clear that I own it and theirs is clear they don’t, so they are relying on the fact that they thought it was there’s and have maintained  and fenced it for 22 years. 

yksi

I would advise you to either remove the fence completely or if it's tall enough to stop people getting in, change the locks and stop their access to it. Then begin using it in a visible way, for example remove the shrubs and mow it, etc. If you don't, they can claim it via Adverse Possession as they have had exclusive use of it and stopped you using it, without permission. They think they've already gained it by fencing it off and using it and preventing the owner using it - they haven't - they have done Step One, and if they do Step Two you will lose it.

Mickey666

. . . or they know it's not their's and they've 'adversely possessed' it for all that time.

I can't see a way out of this without some sort of confrontation.  The aggressive approach would be to physically remove the fencing - assuming it's totally on your land - and re-fencing around what you believe to be your land as defined in your title.  Be very careful not to place any of the new fence on their land!  Then wait for the fireworks!

A less aggressive approach would be to take legal advice first - maybe from the solicitor who conveyed the property for you.  You could complain they didn't spot the problem (though to be fair, if no one mentioned it, how could they know?).

But whatever you do, be prepared for the neighbour to also take legal action to claim ownership of the land they say (and would have to prove) they have been occupying for 22 years (actually, I think they only need to prove 12 years to claim adverse possession).

Might also be worth asking for legal advice about whether you have any claim against the seller of the house and whether they misrepresented the property if they knew the neighbour had occupied their property for a long time.  Probably a long shot, because they could simply denied any knowledge of it (which might even be true) and caveat emptor probably applies anyway.

greatcrested

Print off both your and their Title documents and Plans, and then have a chat and show them.

Be friendly and maybe even compromise by asking what landscaping they'd like to see there (whilst still making clear it's your land and your decision).

Try to minimise any neighbour dispute......

AdrianC

If you have the land shown on your registered title, then it's yours.

If they've exclusively maintained it for 22yrs, they could claim adverse possession - but that's not straightforward with registered land.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adverse-possession-of-registered-land/practice-guide-4-adverse-possession-of-registered-land
And, until it's done, it's still your land...

You've spent three years thinking that land belonged to your neighbours... Didn't you go through the title plan with your solicitor when buying?

ProDave

Offer to sell it to them for £1  Then when they accept the offer, withdraw it.

By accepting the offer they have acknowledged that they don't own it and blown any chance of an adverse possession claim.

Davesnave

Mickey666 said:

A less aggressive approach would be to take legal advice first - maybe from the solicitor who conveyed the property for you.  You could complain they didn't spot the problem (though to be fair, if no one mentioned it, how could they know?).

They could know by placing the title plan in front of the OP and saying "Is this a correct representation of the plot you hope to buy?"

That's what ought to happen, because the solicitor usually has no idea if the land being conveyed is actually as shown on the deeds. If that didn't happen and the OP wasn't using a cheap, on-line, conveyancing factory, the solicitor ought to be very willing to help.

davidmcn

Davesnave said:

Mickey666 said:

A less aggressive approach would be to take legal advice first - maybe from the solicitor who conveyed the property for you.  You could complain they didn't spot the problem (though to be fair, if no one mentioned it, how could they know?).

They could know by placing the title plan in front of the OP and saying "Is this a correct representation of the plot you hope to buy?"

That's what ought to happen, because the solicitor usually has no idea if the land being conveyed is actually as shown on the deeds. If that didn't happen and the OP wasn't using a cheap, on-line, conveyancing factory, the solicitor ought to be very willing to help.

Even if that did happen, I'm not sure how obvious it is that the neighbours have been "maintaining" the land in question, so maybe the OP reasonably assumed it was occupied by the vendors. And how small is "very small"?