Adverse Possession

Soldato
Joined
2 Jul 2005
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Newcastle
Hi,

Just after a bit of advice as we find ourselves in a very tricky situation regarding our house sale and the title plan. As we reach the point of completion our buyers solicitor has pointed out the title plan does not match the land at the rear of the property. This is something we were not aware of when purchasing the property 6 years ago and it turns out the section of land in question was required for access to the rear of the property.

See below an outline of the current title plans between myself (22) and each neighbour;

Current-Incorrect-Title-Plans.png


Now see below the actual boundaries in place;

Historical-Border-Proposed-Title-Plans.png


When I purchased the property there was an outbuilding with steps down the side which were required for access to the property, highlighted below;

Historical-Access.png


Its this section of land which is causing the problem as it is not reflected in my title plan.

Our buyers will not proceed until this is rectified but after several discussions with our neighbours and an offer to cover all legal costs and compensation of £1000 they are still unwilling to cooperate.

They have been to see a solicitor who has told them to do nothing so we are faced with having to pursue an adverse possession claim with the land registry.

Just wondered if you guys have any advice or experience regarding this before we start proceedings.

Thanks, Sam.
 
Soldato
OP
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Newcastle
It was knocked down a few years after I purchased the property to create a driveway but is still documented from street view in 2009.

The original boundary wall still stands.
 
Can't type for toffee
Don
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So your wall is still in place? If so what are they adversely posessing if they aren't using the land?

surely with the historic photos, and the lay of the land at the moment (ie you using it)
Can land reg be notified that it's slightly off and needs to be adjusted?

Looks like 21 might have issues with 20 too tho
 
Soldato
OP
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Newcastle
Thats our neighbours issue because the boundary between themselves and number 20 isn't correct either on their plans so they just don't want to know.

I was under the impression because the land was registered to my neighbour I would have to pursue adverse possession for the plans to be adjusted.
 
Associate
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21 Jul 2008
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Outside the asylum
It might be worth a discussion with land registry; if the plans have always been wrong then they may have a way to correct them without going through the adverse possession process.
 
Soldato
OP
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Newcastle
Looking at the original deeds from the coal board when the house was purchased from them in 1973 they are so small and unclear. Its no wonder mistakes have been made but I doubt the LR will take the blame.

Any updates will follow.
 

mjd

mjd

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Llanelli, S.Wales
Is the buyers solicitor basing their advice solely On the title plan? Title plans fall under the 'general boundaries' rule and can't really be used to accurately map the actual boundaries. The scale makes it near impossible to accurately map what's actually on the ground. If the buyers are insistent, then they will need to be prepared for a long wait for it to be resolved. It could be a challenge to get the LR to accept there is an issue at all, and will probably involve hiring a surveyor yourself in the first instance.
I tried some years ago and apart from making a sizeable dent in my bank balance got absolutely nowhere.
This sort of nonsense is just a big money spinner for solicitors and surveyors
If your neighbours won't play ball then personally I would pull out of the sale. Your neighbours could oppose your claim for posession and it will just get totally out of hand.

Hopefully the next buyer won't have the same solicitor ;)
 
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Associate
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Cotswolds
Adverse possession is something I know quite a bit about. The Land Registration Act 2002 changed the process post 1991 - "the new rules" so to speak which made it much harder to possess. The general boundaries rules mentioned above isn't quite correct - those rules apply to the accuracy of the lines created by the OS, in this instance, the kine isn't anything like he plan shows so this isn't a case of a boundary error i.e. it being +/- 1m on the ground.

IF you can prove 12 years prior to 2003 i.e. realistically 1990ish, then the old rules are much easier to gain AP and likely, with the right evidence they will grant the land; the right evidence is photos, bills for maintenance of such, fencing in etc. If you have to go under the new rules, it is almost impossible to obtain AP. That being said, the test that you might actually be able to satisfy is that you thought (with good reason as the ground is laid out that way) that it was part of your property. The only issue is that you've offered to buy the land which means you've acquiesced to the fact you might not own it...

Happy to look at this further for you; I've got full LR access and basically live with title plans every day!
 

JC

JC

Soldato
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10 Dec 2003
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5,774
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Surrey
The original post says nearing completion, or did you mean exchange? If you have already exchanged contracts then your solicitor should be advising that either the seller or the buyer is legally on the hook. So you might want to check if its something you can escape from or not.
 
Associate
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24 Apr 2021
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Hi I have lived in my property for 20 years. There is a strip of land in front of my house that me and a couple of neighbours have maintained over the years. I replaced the broken fence around 13 years ago and kept it maintained, the gate was always unlocked so to use as a communal area but like i said above ,maintained by us,just keeping it tidy. 2 years ago my new neighbour moved in. She asked about the land and i told her it was communal land and mowed by a neighbour(never mentioned i maintained the fence).She started mowing the land and it didn't bother us as it was communal.By this time the gate stayed open wide as it was damaged.I still used the land ,drying tent out etc. Fast forward 2 years later, i decided i was going to put a bird table in the area but all of a sudden the day after my neighbour put a new gate on and a sign saying ' PRIVATE GARDEN Number 11'. She also put a padlock on ,stopping access. Nobody was informed before her actions. I checked her deeds online,and found out the land doesn't belong to her.Her boundry line is the same as mine. So there's a few questions i need to ask. Does she have the right to lock the gate and deny access? Have i got a better chance of claiming the unregistered land than her? I also found out the previous owner made a note in the sale that she had use of the land with no problems...(not sole use)she was there for 10yrs. And finaly...do i have a right to claim my area inline of my house(extend my boundry) by taking part of my fence down and putting a partition fence there and install another open gate on my side? I know its a long story but i need urgent help. Can i just also say.The mill near me said years ago that it was there land,but i doubt they can prove it.I'm doing a sip search of the land.If it comes back registered in there name i would leave it at that. So if it comes back unregisted,i'm hoping anyone could answer my 3 questions.Thanks
 
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