Adverse possession of unregistered land

jaz8park

We have lived in our property for 8 years and have shared a 2 car space, 'lay-by' parking area with our previous neighbour, in a friendly and neighbourly manner.  The property was sold 8 months ago and the new owners have decided it will become theirs.  Land Registry and local searches show the area, which lies adjacent to the lane into the village, as being unregistered.  The neighbours are now parking in the middle of this area and preventing us, or anyone else to use it.  We believe they are taking control to enable them to apply for adverse possession and have displayed a Private Parking sign.
As the land is unregistered, can they legally prevent us from using it?  If not, what can we do about it without incurring huge legal costs?
Any help is most welcome.

tacpot12

Even if the land is not registered it could still be owned by them. They may have deeds that show that they own the land. Do you have any evidence that they don't own the land, or that you do? 

If you have home insurnance, check to see if you have legal expenses cover. If you do, you could call the legal help line for further advice. If you don't, you might want to speak to a solicitor. Most will give you a free initial consultation, where you can at least find out how much using them might cost. 

thegreenone

Do you have a Parish Council or village residents association?  They may be able to help you to find out who owns the layby or if it is common land.

Doozergirl

thegreenone said:

Do you have a Parish Council or village residents association?  They may be able to help you to find out who owns the layby or if it is common land.

I think that is what the Land Registry was designed for.

  

Section62

jaz8park said:

Land Registry and local searches show the area, which lies adjacent to the lane into the village, as being unregistered.

Is the 'lane' a public highway?  If so, there's a good possibility the land isn't registered because it is highway land.  Although legally the land might be part of the freehold of the adjoining properties, over time its use as highway can result in it being forgotten about as the properties are sold on.  Much of the historic highway network is unregistered land in this way.

jaz8park said:

If not, what can we do about it without incurring huge legal costs?

If it is highway, contact the local highways department and ask them to get the unauthorised 'private parking' sign removed.

Stopping the neighbour parking in the way they are will be harder, but it is possible (if the layby is highway) that they are committing a motoring offence by parking in a way which inconveniences other members of the public. It might be a situation in which the local police neighbourhood/community officer could have a gentle word with the neighbour and remind them of the need to be nice and share public space.  (but the neighbour could respond by buying a second car and there's not much you could do about that)

The only other option is to make your own off-street parking, if practical.