unused and unregistered garage next to our house full of stuff and how can clear it out an own it?

Debbie9009

The garage being next door to you and the other houses all having a garage doesn’t mean it belongs to the house you are in.  There is a garage attached to the house opposite me, it doesn’t belong to the house, it did at one time, but the current owners who rent the house out, sold it off a few years ago, notes were put through all our doors asking if we wanted to purchase it.  No one in the street did, so it’s now owned by someone who lives elsewhere.  So it’s possible the same thing has happened with the garage next to you.  

Maybe the person who owns it is now elderly and can’t get there, maybe they have forgotten about it, but I would be very cautious about emptying it and using it yourself, what will you do if the owner or their family decide to visit it, find your items in there and hold you responsible for the lost of their items including the car ?

Grumpy_chap

redlandrabbit said:

The reason we think the garage should belong to us ( and the flat below us) is that the flat we own is half a house and every other house on the street has the garage next to their house! (we have checked up and down the street and no one is saying they own the garage next to our conversion).

Are you saying that there is a street of houses and each house has a garage attached that belongs to the house?

The house you live in has been converted into two flats?

You own the upstairs flat?

Someone else owns the downstairs flat?

If the answer to all of the above is "yes", would it not be more logical that the garage is demised to the downstairs flat?  Downstairs is ground floor.  The garage is ground floor.

redlandrabbit

Hi RLR. Could you confirm, please;

1) Your flat used to be part/half of a house? YES There are only two flats?YES Is the property detached?semi

2) When was the house divided into flats? 1989 and registered as one house from 1979 (no mention of a garage at that initial registration...yet its next door with shared wall and all the other houses have theirs)

3) Who owned/sold your flat? What info do you have of them? Was it probate?previous owner had flat from 2010 and no idea who owned garage. Searches our solicitor made were only as far back as electronic records. No idea if ever it was a probate property

4) What does the owner of the flat below think and say about this flat? Did they know the previous owner of your flat? Can they confirm that your previous flat owner used that garage? no one will say they are using the garage or owning the garage

5) How will you manage the fact that two flats probably have an equal entitlement to this garage?! Its a large garage and in some disrepair....we thought demolish it and split land

we have tried every possible means to determine ownership and who is currently storing the Mercedes benz and a lot of rubbish in it. No one has seen or heard anything for years and land registration and car registration have drawn a blank.

I am currently seeking information prior to 1979 but doubtful I will be able to access non electronic records. We wondered if it just was never registered

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user1977

redlandrabbit said:

2) When was the house divided into flats? 1989 and registered as one house from 1979 (no mention of a garage at that initial registration...yet its next door with shared wall and all the other houses have theirs)

It sounds more plausible that the garage was deliberately omitted from the title for the house, and if it that was the case for at least 10 years prior to the house being subdivided, it doesn't seem likely that it was meant to belong to either flat.

Any clues from the car (e.g. tax disc?) or other contents of the garage of the latest provable date the garage was being used? If the house/flats have changed hands several times (and the garage has simultaneously been in use), it's less likely that you're the first person to have spotted the garage "missing" from the title.

You might be able to go down the adverse possession route, but I can't see that you've got any better right to do so than anybody else.

Grumpy_chap

Have you purchased the title register for your flat and the downstairs flat?

redlandrabbit

we have the title registers for both flats as they were in the sale pack
in reply to USER 1877, we are not trying to claim unjustly but would like to know who owns it/is using it and if no-one owns it we feel we do have a better claim than other people  (along with our downstairs neighbours) as its next door with shared wall to the back yards/garden. More particularly it needs work to maintain it going forward specifically at the moment to stop water pouring into our garden area from the rotten guttering and the door of the garage has graffiti on it. It would benefit therefore from being painted. Neighbours thought it was ours and were hoping we would paint it up as its an eye soar, apparently!
If it was ours along with the downstairs flat it would be great some point to knock it down and share the land as a bigger garden for both flats.
we just want to know and its interesting its so difficult to ascertain....there really must be loads of garages unregistered with unknown owners

ThisIsWeird

No idea what to try to locate the 'true' owner, any more than what you are currently doing.

It may be a waiting game, after all you have only just moved in.

But, by all means fix the rear guttering to protect your property - take before and after photos - and paint the front to make it more attractive/blend in to the house.

Ie, treat the outside as if it belonged to the house - no-one could reasonably or legitimately tackle you over this - but hold off on the insides for the time being...