How easy is it to apply for Adverse Possession?

Slithery

housebuyer143 said:

Seeing as no one backs onto my house and there is a road behind

So quite possibly highways land then which cannot be adversely possessed.

Slithery

@Land_Registry do you have any input please?

housebuyer143

babyblade41 said:

Once you have secured adverse possession then if you sell then an indemnity policy will usually be the course of action

It wasn't costly for me because it was our vendors who had to get it done , but it was costly to them & they had to change solicitors as their cheap online one couldn't do it & it kept getting bounced back by LR as they hadn't filled out the basics correctly 

Thanks - any reason your vendors did it and didn't get an indemnity policy? 

babyblade41

housebuyer143 said:

babyblade41 said:

Once you have secured adverse possession then if you sell then an indemnity policy will usually be the course of action

It wasn't costly for me because it was our vendors who had to get it done , but it was costly to them & they had to change solicitors as their cheap online one couldn't do it & it kept getting bounced back by LR as they hadn't filled out the basics correctly 

Thanks - any reason your vendors did it and didn't get an indemnity policy? 

They did for us to purchase, I don't think anyone would proceed without one no matter how unlikely it is for it to be claimed later on down the line 

Ours was pretty straight forward as it was an error in registration & picked up straight away.

If I was in your position I really wouldn't bother with the process 

housebuyer143

babyblade41 said:

housebuyer143 said:

babyblade41 said:

Once you have secured adverse possession then if you sell then an indemnity policy will usually be the course of action

It wasn't costly for me because it was our vendors who had to get it done , but it was costly to them & they had to change solicitors as their cheap online one couldn't do it & it kept getting bounced back by LR as they hadn't filled out the basics correctly 

Thanks - any reason your vendors did it and didn't get an indemnity policy? 

They did for us to purchase, I don't think anyone would proceed without one no matter how unlikely it is for it to be claimed later on down the line 

Ours was pretty straight forward as it was an error in registration & picked up straight away.

If I was in your position I really wouldn't bother with the process 

Thank you - So you think I should expect an indemnity policy request to be coming my way, rather than us having to apply for this strip of land?

babyblade41

When you get an offer your buyer will have a copy of the title showing the boundary.

If the title boundary is different to what's on the ground then your buyers solicitor will question this &  want to know why.

You can't sell what doesn't belong to you.

You can say that this strip of land isn't part of my title but I've fenced it off for X amount of years & let your buyer apply for AP

I'm not sure of the legalities if there is little  to distinguish  what is on the official title & what is physically there but if there are nearby properties that can clearly show that you have more land in reality than what is visible on neighbouring properties legal title  then expect to be questioned 

housebuyer143

babyblade41 said:

When you get an offer your buyer will have a copy of the title showing the boundary.

If the title boundary is different to what's on the ground then your buyers solicitor will question this &  want to know why.

You can't sell what doesn't belong to you.

You can say that this strip of land isn't part of my title but I've fenced it off for X amount of years & let your buyer apply for AP

I'm not sure of the legalities if there is little  to distinguish  what is on the official title & what is physically there but if there are nearby properties that can clearly show that you have more land in reality than what is visible on neighbouring properties legal title  then expect to be questioned 

Thank you - I answered the question honestly.. Guess I will just see what they come back with  

Tiglet2

housebuyer143 said:

The land is a small strip of wasteland at the end of my property and I fenced it in 13 years ago. The Land Registry report the wasteland that I have adopted to be unregistered so I want to claim possession of it and add it to my title. I believe this should be fine considering 12 years have passed and the land is unowned. 

Is this easy enough to do myself or should I get a solicitor to submit this for me? 

I had this in a previous property.  My buyers/their solicitor queried why the title plan didn't match what was on the ground at the viewing.

My buyers solicitor insisted that they and the lender would not proceed unless I applied for adverse possession and got Land Registry to approve it before they would exchange.  I had been living in the property for nearly 15 years, so was able to submit a claim on this land, which was unregistered but owned by the local water company.

My buyers were insistent that they wanted to be in the property by Christmas, but the adverse possession delayed it by 3 months, including it being expedited.  Expedition means that Land Registry will look at the application quickly (i.e. within 10 days ish).  However, there are certain steps you have to do and expedition doesn't make those steps any quicker.

An Ordnance Survey man comes to visit the property (on behalf of the Land Registry).  The Ordnance Survey man writes their report and Land Registry writes letters to all neighbouring properties and/or any utility companies that have pipes and service cables under the land.  Land Registry gives all these people around 20 days in which to respond/object.  If no objections are raised, then Land Registry will grant the adverse possession.  I also had to get a Statutory Declaration sworn at a local solicitor's office (not my conveyancing solicitor), enclosing various pieces of evidence showing the length of time the land had been incorporated into my property, which was submitted to the Land Registry.  

I paid around £250 for my solicitor's fees and Land Registry fees for the adverse possession in 2013.

theartfullodger

housebuyer143 said:

Bookmark

How easy is it to apply for Adverse Possession?

Very easy: No trouble.

However unless you are trained or practiced in such claims you are likely to make mistakes.

Bit like asking how easy is it to apply to be Archbishop of Canterbury (or such faith as you favour...).

housebuyer143

Tiglet2 said:

housebuyer143 said:

The land is a small strip of wasteland at the end of my property and I fenced it in 13 years ago. The Land Registry report the wasteland that I have adopted to be unregistered so I want to claim possession of it and add it to my title. I believe this should be fine considering 12 years have passed and the land is unowned. 

Is this easy enough to do myself or should I get a solicitor to submit this for me? 

I had this in a previous property.  My buyers/their solicitor queried why the title plan didn't match what was on the ground at the viewing.

My buyers solicitor insisted that they and the lender would not proceed unless I applied for adverse possession and got Land Registry to approve it before they would exchange.  I had been living in the property for nearly 15 years, so was able to submit a claim on this land, which was unregistered but owned by the local water company.

My buyers were insistent that they wanted to be in the property by Christmas, but the adverse possession delayed it by 3 months, including it being expedited.  Expedition means that Land Registry will look at the application quickly (i.e. within 10 days ish).  However, there are certain steps you have to do and expedition doesn't make those steps any quicker.

An Ordnance Survey man comes to visit the property (on behalf of the Land Registry).  The Ordnance Survey man writes their report and Land Registry writes letters to all neighbouring properties and/or any utility companies that have pipes and service cables under the land.  Land Registry gives all these people around 20 days in which to respond/object.  If no objections are raised, then Land Registry will grant the adverse possession.  I also had to get a Statutory Declaration sworn at a local solicitor's office (not my conveyancing solicitor), enclosing various pieces of evidence showing the length of time the land had been incorporated into my property, which was submitted to the Land Registry.  

I paid around £250 for my solicitor's fees and Land Registry fees for the adverse possession in 2013.

This is so helpful. Timescale really sucks though 🙄 
Let's hope my buyers solicitor doesn't require it to be done. Mine definitely didn't when I bought it and I have to question if there would be any change in the property value if this small piece of land was removed. 
How did you find out the water board owned it?