You've heard of adverse possession but what are the facts?
You may have heard of adverse possession before. It is a relatively rare legal circumstance, but it often comes up during discussions about boundaries and land.
You may have heard of adverse possession before. It is a relatively rare legal circumstance, but it often comes up during discussions about boundaries and land.
If there is an area of land that no one seems to look after, it doesn't appear to belong to anyone, often termed 'no man's land', it is possible to claim ownership by way of adverse possession.
There are strict criteria that you must meet for this to happen, but, say there is a strip of land down the side of your driveway, it may make sense for you to claim ownership of it to increase the width of your drive, as an example.
So, what are the criteria?
To claim land, you or any of your predecessors at your address must have had uninterrupted use of that land for 10 years or more. This means you must demonstrate that you possess or intend to possess the land without anyone else disputing or claiming ownership. This means you must have treated or intended to treat the land as your own when no one else, including the present owner, was doing so.
You can't just claim a patch of grass that belongs to the council because you have cut it. The land must seemingly belong to no one, and no one must lay claim to it or ask you why you are maintaining or using it.
To make a claim, you must apply to the Land Registry, which will notify the registered owner of the land. If the land is registered with the Land Registry, a notice will be served on the registered owner, at which point they will have the opportunity to either object or serve a counter-notice.
Suppose the land is not registered with Land Registry. In that case, they will likely not know the owner's identity and won't be able to serve notice. If the land is unregistered, then proof of ownership will probably only exist in the original deeds. If deeds have been lost or destroyed, proving who owns the land or property can be difficult, if impossible. In such cases, applications are often successful simply because the owner may never know about them.
The basic premise behind the often controversial legal principle of adverse possession: use it or lose it.
This often comes up when a property is sold because the title deeds are scrutinised by the purchaser's solicitor. Boundaries are brought into question, and perhaps there is a small area of land that you have always used and thought you owned, but maybe it isn't registered on your title.
If you have successfully claimed some land, it is wise to ensure that your title deeds reflect this correctly before selling your property to prevent delays further down the line.
If you have any questions about the boundary at your property, get in touch with our property experts to see if they can help to shed any light for you.