Has Anyone Ever Claimed an Abandoned House?

radderfire · 30 Jun 2024 at 13:03

Hi All

There's an abandoned house near me, and I'm wondering if it could be an affordable way into property ownership. It has been abandoned for at least two years. I know you can find out who owns it by making a request to the Land Registry. What I'm wondering is how affordable the proper legal procedure would be to take ownership of it. Has anyone ever done this? Does it actually represent a low cost way to obtain a house, or are there high expenses and risks involved? Do you end up having to pay a lot for the house anyway, e.g. the Land Registry would send it to auction? Is there potential for an affordable bargain or is this not a possibility?

Thanks

Hotwired · 30 Jun 2024 at 13:46

Adverse possession. Use the property openly without permission or challenge from the owner for a decade, collect proof for the entire time. Then ask to be made the official owner and still not have the owner challenge you.

Haze · 30 Jun 2024 at 14:32

If it was that easy loads of people would be doing it, i watch quite a few of these urban explorerer vids, and some of these properties have been empty for 30+ years

Hotwired · 30 Jun 2024 at 14:53

Haze said:
If it was that easy loads of people would be doing it, i watch quite a few of these urban explorerer vids, and some of these properties have been empty for 30+ years

Start openly squatting in those properties and see if the owners wake up just to kick you out.

CaNsA · 30 Jun 2024 at 15:05

radderfire said:
Has Anyone Ever Claimed an Abandoned House?

Pretty sure that someone, somewhere has.

radderfire · 30 Jun 2024 at 15:13

Hotwired said:
Adverse possession. Use the property openly without permission or challenge from the owner for a decade, collect proof for the entire time. Then ask to be made the official owner and still not have the owner challenge you.

I have done a little research, and I think the adverse possession laws have been changed now, such that you can't just squat in it and then claim it. I don't want to squat in it, I am just wondering if there is a proper takeover process available, hence me asking if anyone has done it. I get the impression no-one is ever coming back to this property. If there was a process that meant you could eventually get the house at low cost, I might be interested.

I know there are companies that will pay you a bounty if you report an abandoned house to them, and this makes me think there is a legal takeover process available.

radderfire · 30 Jun 2024 at 15:15

Hotwired said:
Start openly squatting in those properties and see if the owners wake up just to kick you out.

Thanks but I don't want to squat in it, just put in an application to take it over, if that's possible.

sparton_SPA · 2 Jul 2024 at 09:19

radderfire said:
Thanks but I don't want to squat in it, just put in an application to take it over, if that's possible.

There is a way from land registry you can find out the current owner.

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior · 2 Jul 2024 at 10:06

Its probably tied up in a probate dispute or something.

radderfire · 2 Jul 2024 at 11:04

sparton_SPA said:
There is a way from land registry you can find out the current owner.

Thanks, yes I saw that, you can pay a small fee and get some info back on the property.

What I haven't found out yet is the process after that. I'm interested to know if the current owner is deceased and no-one is ever going to claim it, how do you make an application, and who do you buy the property off? Would you be able to buy it at below market price, or does it go to auction or something?

radderfire · 2 Jul 2024 at 11:09

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior said:
Its probably tied up in a probate dispute or something.

Could be, but it has been empty for at least two years.

sovietspybob · 2 Jul 2024 at 11:17

radderfire said:
Could be, but it has been empty for at least two years.

2 years is nothing in terms of sorting estates out after a death unfortunately

these things can and do drag on for years and years and years.

About 20 years ago my parents were able to claim a small parcel of land next to our house but we had to prove uncontested usage of it for over 10 years, we changed our driveway so it went onto the land. we had to document it all with dates and stuff, i don't remember the finer details but i do remember it being a lot of faff and that was just for a 20m strip of waste land essentially.

petridish · 2 Jul 2024 at 11:22

I've often wondered this myself. Similar situation near me where an old farm house has been boarded up for at least 9 years, probably more like 15.

It would make a great home with a bit of money put into it but only really worth it if you could get it for cheap. If it went on the open market I'd guess it'd be north of £1M by the time it was habitable and in that price range it's very limited in target buyers. I did joke with friends a few years back we should start squatting with the aim of ownership longer term

I assume the farmland around it was acquired by a neighbouring farm as that still seems to be put to good use, so I guess from that point of view it may be leasehold? Or perhaps that's how it's always been and the owner decided letting the house wasn't worth the hassle compared to the value of the farmland. Maybe I'll look into it just out of curiosity...

Sin_Chase · 2 Jul 2024 at 11:32

petridish said:
I've often wondered this myself. Similar situation near me where an old farm house has been boarded up for at least 9 years, probably more like 15.

It would make a great home with a bit of money put into it but only really worth it if you could get it for cheap. If it went on the open market I'd guess it'd be north of £1M by the time it was habitable and in that price range it's very limited in target buyers. I did joke with friends a few years back we should start squatting with the aim of ownership longer term

I assume the farmland around it was acquired by a neighbouring farm as that still seems to be put to good use, so I guess from that point of view it may be leasehold? Or perhaps that's how it's always been and the owner decided letting the house wasn't worth the hassle compared to the value of the farmland. Maybe I'll look into it just out of curiosity...

Probably waiting for an opportunity for a change in law/policy around use so it can be sold at profit to a developer.

Hotwired · 2 Jul 2024 at 12:09

Sin_Chase said:
Probably waiting for an opportunity for a change in law/policy around use so it can be sold at profit to a developer.

There's some massive old music halls around here which have been boarded up for over a decade. Every now and again various groups break in, get kicked out and its boarded up again.

Heard about 3rd hand that the owner didn't get permission for what he wanted so he'd rather let them rot.

sovietspybob · 2 Jul 2024 at 12:23

Hotwired said:
There's some massive old music halls around here which have been boarded up for over a decade. Every now and again various groups break in, get kicked out and its boarded up again.

Heard about 3rd hand that the owner didn't get permission for what he wanted so he'd rather let them rot.

That's a classic thing to do if its a listed building or there's some restrictions on what you can do to it. Board it up and don't try too hard to keep kids out and it'll deteriorate to such a state that they can say they need to demolish it on safety grounds then they can apply to build whatever new build they want.

There was a very well known building that happened to in Llandudno which was linked to the Lewis Carroll and the writing of Alice in wonderland which ended up getting demolished despite it being of historic significance.

DarrenM343 · 2 Jul 2024 at 13:12

radderfire said:
Thanks, yes I saw that, you can pay a small fee and get some info back on the property.

What I haven't found out yet is the process after that. I'm interested to know if the current owner is deceased and no-one is ever going to claim it, how do you make an application, and who do you buy the property off? Would you be able to buy it at below market price, or does it go to auction or something?

Now imagine you were living abroad for 2 years, or in prison and someone tried to steal your house

. 2 years is nothing. I've left a place empty for longer than that.
You can start by enquiring with companies house and if you want to buy the house you could potentially engage with a solicitor to contact the current owner, or try to find them (if still alive etc) and make an offer.
Ultimately, council tax needs to be paid otherwise the property I think would be claimed by the council and they'd then sell it. Nobody truly owns their home even if fully paid for as if you don't pay the bills you'll be kicked out.
Anyway, you can assume that someone is paying the bills although 2 years is probably not enough time for all the warnings to be given before it's repossessed.

I don't think you'd be just able to apply to take ownership of it especially in this property obsessed country where a home is someone's castle and investment. Likely outcome is it'd be repossessed, sold off, proceeds used to pay the outstanding bills and the remainder goes to the Crown if the owner cannot be found (dead/no next of kin etc)

radderfire · 2 Jul 2024 at 13:30

DarrenM343 said:
I don't think you'd be just able to apply to take ownership of it especially in this property obsessed country where a home is someone's castle and investment. Likely outcome is it'd be repossessed, sold off, proceeds used to pay the outstanding bills and the remainder goes to the Crown if the owner cannot be found (dead/no next of kin etc)

I will look into it a bit. I agree it would not be an easy process, and would probably take years, because I think there is now a procedure in place which makes sure there are no current owners or inheritors first, which takes years. It's probably not worth it but I just wondered if anyone had any firsthand experience. However, I do think it's possible because there are companies that do it.

SpellowHouse · 2 Jul 2024 at 14:25

sovietspybob said:
That's a classic thing to do if its a listed building or there's some restrictions on what you can do to it. Board it up and don't try too hard to keep kids out and it'll deteriorate to such a state that they can say they need to demolish it on safety grounds then they can apply to build whatever new build they want.

There was a very well known building that happened to in Llandudno which was linked to the Lewis Carroll and the writing of Alice in wonderland which ended up getting demolished despite it being of historic significance.

Yep. The other way is to burn it down. Very illegal, of course, but it happens all the time.

robfosters · 2 Jul 2024 at 14:41

There’s a 3 bed semi a few doors down from me, it’s been abandoned for about 15 years. The owner is an older man who lives out of London and for some bizarre reason he has no interest in it whatsoever. It’s just standing there, dilapidating.

It’s a crying shame as it’s a £475k house and would make a lovely family home for someone. I’m surprised the council is allowing it tbh.

Has Anyone Ever Claimed an Abandoned House?

Has Anyone Ever Claimed an Abandoned House?​

Has Anyone Ever Claimed an Abandoned House?