Locating owner of unregistered land

topoftherock

Hi all, I’m trying to find out who owns a piece of unregistered land I’m interested in. I’ve followed the advice online which says one option is to buy the title register/plan of an adjacent property. I’ve done this and I found the following note in the title absolute : RESTRICTION: No disposition of the registered estate by the proprietor of the registered estate is to be registered without a written consent signed by ....,.. (name of person) of (details of person’s address).  Could this be related to the adjacent land I’m interested in? E.g the unregistered land may have been part of the same title register/plan many years ago or perhaps the house and land were part of the same boundary many years ago? Many thanks 

AdrianC

It's simply impossible to say.

All you know for sure is that the unregistered land hasn't changed hands for at least 30 years or so.
But the registered land probably has, hence it being registered on that transaction.

We have some unregistered land next to us, a track that leads to four houses including our back gate.

Three houses are registered, having changed hands in the last decade.
One house is unregistered, not having changed hands for nearly two-thirds of a century. But it's being sold currently, so will be registered shortly.

None of the four own it. Nobody has the first clue who does, probably including the actual owner. It's maintained by the householders.

topoftherock

AdrianC said:

It's simply impossible to say.

All you know for sure is that the unregistered land hasn't changed hands for at least 30 years or so.
But the registered land probably has, hence it being registered on that transaction.

We have some unregistered land next to us, a track that leads to four houses including our back gate.

Three houses are registered, having changed hands in the last decade.
One house is unregistered, not having changed hands for nearly two-thirds of a century. But it's being sold currently, so will be registered shortly.

None of the four own it. Nobody has the first clue who does, probably including the actual owner. It's maintained by the householders.

Thanks for the reply. I just did a quick google search of the name and address of the person/people regarding the written consent. It seems it’s completely unrelated to the adjacent land I’m interested in.  It’s either  related to a creditor or insolvency practitioner.

I would like to purchase this land as it would be perfect for one or two houses. Therefore, If I’m unable to find the owner, would “adverse possession” be the only way of becoming the owner of it? 

AdrianC

topoftherock said:

I would like to purchase this land as it would be perfect for one or two houses. Therefore, If I’m unable to find the owner, would “adverse possession” be the only way of becoming the owner of it? 

Probably, yes.

But bear in mind you'll need to ensure you have documented exclusive occupation and use of it for 12 years before you can apply.

user1977

Some context would help us provide more advice. What does the land look like? Has it ever been used for anything? Have you checked old maps? Asked the neighbours?

If it's large enough for two houses, it seems less likely that it's simply been forgotten about. Or that you're the first to think about it.

topoftherock

AdrianC said:

topoftherock said:

I would like to purchase this land as it would be perfect for one or two houses. Therefore, If I’m unable to find the owner, would “adverse possession” be the only way of becoming the owner of it? 

Probably, yes.

But bear in mind you'll need to ensure you have documented exclusive occupation and use of it for 12 years before you can apply.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, it’s something that I don’t really want to get involved with to be honest. How else could I find the owner? 

AdrianC

There is no other way.

The owner may not even know they're the owner.
The owner is the person in possession of the paper title deeds.
Maybe they've been lost.
Maybe they're in a solicitor's vaults.
Maybe the last person who knew they were the owner has died and they've been inherited by somebody who doesn't know the estate they inherited included that land.
Maybe they died intestate with no heirs and the estate is bona vacantia.
Maybe they were owned by a company that went bankrupt and whose assets were passed to their main creditor, the tax man.

topoftherock

user1977 said:

Some context would help us provide more advice. What does the land look like? Has it ever been used for anything? Have you checked old maps? Asked the neighbours?

If it's large enough for two houses, it seems less likely that it's simply been forgotten about. Or that you're the first to think about it.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I don’t think I’m the first person  to think about it. But where I live (South Wales valleys), you’ll be surprised how much land is still unregistered.

I think a lot of the land  owners (usually trustees of an estate that practically owned all the local land when almost all houses had original 99-year leases)  abandoned bits of land scattered around these valleys; after the vast majority of people bought their freeholds in the 80s and 90s. 

I don’t think this land has ever been built on, but I’d need to check old maps to confirm. Where would be the best place to find old maps?

I don’t want to ask the neighbours, just in case they take my idea. (In this the case, there are only two cottages next to the land). 

The land is relatively flat, rectangular  and I know it’s never been used for at least 30 years. There is a bus stop directly in front, but I see this is an advantage and can’t see why this would prevent building. 

topoftherock

AdrianC said:

There is no other way.

The owner may not even know they're the owner.
The owner is the person in possession of the paper title deeds.
Maybe they've been lost.
Maybe they're in a solicitor's vaults.
Maybe the last person who knew they were the owner has died and they've been inherited by somebody who doesn't know the estate they inherited included that land.
Maybe they died intestate with no heirs and the estate is bona vacantia.
Maybe they were owned by a company that went bankrupt and whose assets were passed to their main creditor, the tax man.

Thanks for the reply. I’m pretty sure the two adjacent cottages had 99-year leases with the estate, before buying their freeholds. Almost everyone I speak to locally bought their freeholds from the same estate (including mine). 

I actually contacted them a couple of months ago, and they told me about land that they still own locally (which didn’t include  this land).

They said they’ve abandoned little bits of scattered land many years ago.  

Therefore, I’m fairly confident they are the owners.

But if they’ve abandoned this land (just like many parts) does that mean it’s highly likely they’ve disposed of the paper title deeds or simply lost them? 

Section62

topoftherock said:

I don’t think this land has ever been built on, but I’d need to check old maps to confirm. Where would be the best place to find old maps?

Try here -

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/

topoftherock said:

I don’t want to ask the neighbours, just in case they take my idea. (In this the case, there are only two cottages next to the land).

So what exactly is your idea?  And how would you stop your neighbours doing the same thing as soon as you start doing it?  You have no more entitlement than they do, so if you fear they will steal your plan then it has to be something they will never find out about.

topoftherock said:

The land is relatively flat, rectangular  and I know it’s never been used for at least 30 years. There is a bus stop directly in front, but I see this is an advantage and can’t see why this would prevent building.

Depending on the circumstances, a bus stop might be a barrier to getting a dropped kerb put in, and without that you won't be able to have a vehicular access and off-street parking.  That, often, is a condition of getting planning consent - particularly on busier roads (which might be inferred by there being an existing bus route on this one).

Section62

topoftherock said:

I actually contacted them a couple of months ago, and they told me about land that they still own locally (which didn’t include  this land).

They said they’ve abandoned little bits of scattered land many years ago.  

Therefore, I’m fairly confident they are the owners.

But if they’ve abandoned this land (just like many parts) does that mean it’s highly likely they’ve disposed of the paper title deeds or simply lost them? 

(BiB) Sometimes people will deny owning land because they are fed up with people asking if they can buy it.

(BiI) Nothing can be inferred from them saying they have abandoned land (or don't own it).  It is just as likely they don't want to discuss their private land ownership with you.

In reality, for a big estate, there won't necessarily be deeds or registrations for individual plots of land unless they have previously been sold away from the estate's ownership. If a plot of land is surrounded by land which was/is (previously) owned by the estate then it is a fair assumption that the estate still owns this bit - unless someone can prove otherwise.


"Abandoned" doesn't mean 'no longer owned' - if there is development potential for the land you can be fairly sure ownership rights will be reasserted swiftly, if challenged.