As a landowner, you may not realise that someone can claim ownership of your land if they’ve occupied it for a certain amount of time without your legal consent.
But what are the criteria? And how can you protect your land?
In his first article for the firm Commercial Property Trainee Solicitor, Jack Phillips covers all of this and more.
What is adverse possession?
Adverse possession is a legal principle which allows a person to claim ownership of another person’s land if they have occupied it for a certain amount of time. This amount of time required varies between registered and unregistered land.
Is adverse possession 10 or 12 years?
It is different for registered and unregistered land.
What is the criteria for adverse possession for registered land?
If a person has occupied a piece of registered land continuously for at least 10 years they can become the legal owner of the land.
As long as they
- occupy the land without the owner’s legal consent;
- have factual possession of the land which means they must have taken a significant degree of control over the property (i.e. by putting up a fence.) and;
- intended to possess the land as their own and had reasonable belief of ownership. (i.e. by paying utility bills on it and maintaining it).
If these requirements are met, and the landowner doesn’t have a strong objection to the claim, the occupier will then be able to register themselves as the new legal owner of the land with the Land Registry.
What is the criteria for adverse possession for unregistered land?
For unregistered land, if a person has occupied the land for 12 continuous years they can also become the legal owner of the land.
These claims have a much higher success rate as well because proving ownership (as the actual legal owner) is much more difficult.
What is the criteria for adverse possession?
This principle has come into the spotlight recently following the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Brown v Ridley where the Court of Appeal’s previous decision in Zarb v Parry was overturned.
The case was brought in front of the Supreme Court to obtain a final decision on whether, for registered land, an applicant’s 10-year period of occupation where they are required to have reasonable belief of ownership had to be the immediate 10-year period before the application was made (as per the decision in Zarb v Parry) or could instead be any 10-year period within the overall period of adverse possession.
The Supreme Court’s verdict was that the 10-year period of occupation did not have to be the immediate 10-year period before the application. This meant that in Brown v Ridley, despite a lack of belief immediately before their application, the Supreme Court still considered this belief to be reasonable and awarded ownership of the land to the Ridleys.
How will this affect you?
This decision has provided some clarity to the previously vague 10-year period of reasonable belief. However, it has also increased the risk of facing an adverse possession claim, stressing the need for diligent boundary monitoring.
How to protect land ownership
With the Supreme Court’s decision in this case, the likelihood of a successful adverse possession claim has increased significantly.
To reduce the risk of a claim, landowners should check their title plans and ensure their land isn’t being occupied without consent.
“We would always advise speaking to a specialist if you find yourself in a situation involving adverse possession, either as the respondent or even the applicant” – said, Partner & Head of Frettens’ Commercial Property Department, Oonagh McKinney
Specialist Commercial Property Solicitors
We offer a free initial chat for all new clients where we can identify whether adverse possession may affect you and what can be done regarding this.
If you have any queries following this article, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our bright Commercial Property team by calling 01202 499255 or by filling in the form.
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