Neighbour has built on my land, what to do?

donglefan

Thank you for all the replies about what to do.

I have removed the details just in case anyone should recognise the case, as you could identify it if you happened to know the village.

I am going to look into it.

clutton_2

phone up your local land registry office they are very helpful in matters such as this

to claim compensation you have to prove a monetary loss - how have you/will you have lost money here ?

did he get planning permission to do this extension ? you can look on the local council website to see if he did

epz_2

clutton wrote: »

phone up your local land registry office they are very helpful in matters such as this

to claim compensation you have to prove a monetary loss - how have you/will you have lost money here ?

did he get planning permission to do this extension ? you can look on the local council website to see if he did

i would imagine losing a big chunk of your garden which will affect the reasale value of the house and your enjoyment of the property wis enough, that said if he has claimed it for over a certain number of years(7 i think) its his. i would screw them to the wall and demand it knocked down, should get them to up the compensation offer, dont need to be reasonable if your in the right.

guppy

I think if you are serious about this you need some professional advice. Very tricky area.

If he's had the land long enough, he could have acquired the land through adverse possession. But on the other hand, if not, he could be trespassing with the extension.

Get copy of his planning application from the council. He will have to show the boundary of his property, and certify that he owns all the land.

Whatever you do, you need to find out exactly who owns what before doing anything else, and I imagine only a professional will be able to help you do that. Even then, it may prove impossible to prove conclusively.

eldowardo

As I have only just arrived at your post and you have removed the details, I can only ask... did you not notice him building on your land? and if so why didnt u stop him before he got going??

clutton_2

i believe you can only claim adverse possession over land which is not registered.

reehsetin

^you can adversely possess registered land but the registered owner has to be notified and possession can only take place if the registered owner doesnt object

[FONT=&quot]ADVERSE POSSESSION IN REGISTERED LAND[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]New rules were introduced under the Land Registration Act 2002. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]A person in possession of registered land may, after completing 10 years of adverse, apply to the Registrar to be registered as proprietor (i.e. owner) of the land – Schedule 6 para 1.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]This application will trigger notice to the current registered proprietor, who has 65 days in which to object - paras 3-4. If there is no objection, the squatter can be registered immediately – regulation 189 of the Land Registration Rules 2003.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If there is an objection by the registered proprietor, the registered proprietor is given two years in which to evict the squatter, who cannot be entered on the register as the new proprietor until the expiration of that time if they are still on the land, unless[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Sched.6, para 5:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1. ‘It would be unconscionable for the current proprietor to dispossess the adverse possessor because of an estoppel and the circumstances are such that the adverse possessor ought to be registered’ (This leaves open the possibility of the discretionary remedy of proprietary estoppel – although really estoppel is based on a permission rather than an adverse possession); or[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2. ‘Where the adverse possessor is “for some other reason” entitled to be registered as proprietor’ (e.g. the owner has agreed to this or money has been paid for purchase); or[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3. ‘Where there is a boundary dispute concerning adjoining land and for at least 10 years the applicant reasonably believed the disputed land to be his, provided that the disputed land had been registered land for more than one year prior to the application’. (This is intended to ensure that the Register reflects the reality of the situation: the consequence would be that the boundaries will be changed on the Register, s.60(3).)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]In any of the above circumstances, the adverse possessor may be registered as proprietor without waiting an additional two years. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If these circumstances do not exist, and if, after the expiration of two years, the registered proprietor has made no objection, the adverse possessor may apply again to be registered as proprietor of the land, and this time the new registration will be automatic.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If the registered proprietor obtains a possession order, but takes no steps to evict (eviction need not be complete) the adverse possessor within the two-year period, the adverse possessor may apply again to be registered as proprietor of the land, and the new registration will be automatic.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If the adverse possession is successful, the squatter’s name will be substituted for the original owner’s on the Land Register. This effectively transfers the estate to the squatter.[/FONT]

PasturesNew

Yeah, details removed.... wish I knew what the situation was originally.

Debt_Free_Chick

I am guessing that this is effectively a boundary dispute? With the neighbour building an extension which donglefan now believes has transgressed his boundary ...?

If that is the case, these are incredibly difficult to resolve, as it's near impossible to transpose a line on a map to a line on the ground. Usually, there are no physical features to reference the boundary line to. And where there are physical features, they are usually temporary and could have been moved since the boundary was originally established e.g. a fence put up 40 years ago could have been removed and replaced in a slightly different place.

It sounds as though the extension was built before donglefan bought the house, though? If so, then one would have thought that the owner at the time would have had something to say about the extension being built on his land ....? But maybe that person, was right - and the boundary hasn't been transgressed - and donglefan is mistaken?

As this is, essentially, a boundary dispute, then you might find the Land Registry's guide to boundaries useful.

takoo

Hi Donglefan
I could not get to the original thread so I am new to your situation. You may be interested to consider the following:
1
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has a boundary dispute resolution service.

takoo

Hi Donglefan

(Please ignore my earlier post - I lost the post before finishing it and then lost the edited post)
1 The RICS offer a service for settling boundary disputes.

2 The Land Registry have or will have a service to "fix" boundaries - it is provided in the Land Registration Act 2002. (The boundaries shown on many registration documents are indicative only.)

3 If you bought recently your solicitor or surveyor may be able to confirm or not that the boundary situation was looked into and is "regular" or was "regularised" at the time of purchase.

Takoo