Legal issue, property left empty - who owns it?

t8769

A friend went out of the country, leaving a garage empty for 20 years.
He would like to know who owns it now, and if he can legally take possession of the property again.

The car in the garage are now for sale on the internet, so someone's been in there and helped themselves.
Is there anything he can do about this?

He doesn't have money, I wonder if a lawyer would take this on, on commission, so far haven't found anyone.

Advice appreciated.


Thank you

silvercar

starting point would be to download the deeds from land registry and see if there has been a change of ownership. If your friend still owns it then they need to take possession. It may be that the current users will willing return it or they may try to claim adverse possession.

does your friend also own the car?

HampshireH

Does he know who is selling the car?

How did he come about this information?

Is the garage leasehold or freehold? These things matter 

If leasehold and repairs not paid for example the freeholder may have taken back possession.

Did your friend ensure all post was redirected to wherever they were living so he knows he hadn't missed anything important?

sheramber

Did your friend own the garage or did he rent it? 

Does he want to claim the garage property or the property or the property he left in it?

user1977

Bit confused by the story - your friend left the garage empty, but now there are car(s) in it which somebody else is selling? Any idea who owns the car(s)? Is somebody else claiming to own the garage?

Section62

t8769 said:

A friend went out of the country, leaving a garage empty for 20 years.
He would like to know who owns it now, and if he can legally take possession of the property again.

The car in the garage are now for sale on the internet, so someone's been in there and helped themselves.
Is there anything he can do about this?

He doesn't have money, I wonder if a lawyer would take this on, on commission, so far haven't found anyone.

You are talking about some form of 'no win, no fee' arrangement.

Typically solicitors wouldn't contemplate that kind of arrangement unless there is a very good chance of them winning.  The also won't take on a case which is so vague, nor one being considered on behalf of a 'friend'.

Your friend needs to speak to a solicitor to find out what his options are before doing anything else. Some will give a 'free' half-hour of their time to discuss the issue with a potential client.  If he can't do this himself (e.g. due to mental capacity issues etc) then there will need to be a hard conversation about his prospects of winning a legal case which depends on his ability to prove rights to something he's not had use of for 20+ years.

pinkshoes

t8769 said:

A friend went out of the country, leaving a garage empty for 20 years.
He would like to know who owns it now, and if he can legally take possession of the property again.

The car in the garage are now for sale on the internet, so someone's been in there and helped themselves.
Is there anything he can do about this?

He doesn't have money, I wonder if a lawyer would take this on, on commission, so far haven't found anyone.

Advice appreciated.


Thank you

If he owned the garage and hasn't sold it then it's still his. Download and check the deeds.

If the car is being sold then contact the police (assuming it belongs to your friend) as it looks like someone has broken in with it not being used.

As a friend why don't you go and put a sign on the door saying police aware of break in.

Ath_Wat

pinkshoes said:

t8769 said:

A friend went out of the country, leaving a garage empty for 20 years.
He would like to know who owns it now, and if he can legally take possession of the property again.

The car in the garage are now for sale on the internet, so someone's been in there and helped themselves.
Is there anything he can do about this?

He doesn't have money, I wonder if a lawyer would take this on, on commission, so far haven't found anyone.

Advice appreciated.


Thank you

If he owned the garage and hasn't sold it then it's still his. Download and check the deeds.

If the car is being sold then contact the police (assuming it belongs to your friend) as it looks like someone has broken in with it not being used.

As a friend why don't you go and put a sign on the door saying police aware of break in.

It's been 20 years.

If someone initially broke in and left it insecure (assuming it was left secure in the first place), there's no way of knowing that that is the same person who is currently using it.

Jonboy_1984

Round here it is not unusual for detached garages in blocks to be either leasehold, or rented annually from the council for small change (to local residents only, rather like allotments) rather than owned?

Is it possible this was similar and that by not paying the rent it has been taken back and re-let?

Section62

pinkshoes said:

t8769 said:

A friend went out of the country, leaving a garage empty for 20 years.

If the car is being sold then contact the police (assuming it belongs to your friend)...

The 'friend' left the garage empty, so the car isn't his.

theartfullodger

But if he owns it then surely he can change locks and negotiate with whoever is flogging the motor over price of providing access.  And the history of how he got in.

But leaving it empty for 20 years when out of country... Imprudent to say the least