Land Disputes

Although it is possible to sell a property which is subject to an ongoing dispute (e.g. a boundary dispute) as a seller you will need to disclose this dispute during the pre-contract stage of the conveyancing process. It is possible that this can lead to wider commercial considerations and could make the property harder to sell or a sale more likely to fail.

Adverse Possession claims are complicated.

If you can show continuous occupation or use of land without permission since 1991 you may have the basis of a potential claim that could lead to you being able to ask the Land Registry to give you ownership of the land.

After that date the starting position for adverse possession is a minimum period of 10 years of factual possession of the land. You must show intention to possess the land and this must be without the registered owner’s consent. Under the new adverse possession rules, just using or occupying land for 10 years is not enough to obtain ownership if the person with Land Registry or paper ownership serves a counternotice, unless one of the exceptions apply. The exceptions include: (a) you can show the registered owner encouraged or allowed you to believe that you owned the land and that, to the knowledge of the registered owner, this caused you to act to your detriment (for example spending money to upkeep and improve the land) to the extent that it would be unconscionable for the owner to deny you the rights you believed you had; (b) you have some other reason to think you were entitled to the land (because of an agreement or actions of others or such as under a Will or the rules of intestacy) and (c) you have been in adverse possession of the land adjacent to your own for at least 10 years under the mistaken but reasonable belief that you are the owner of it.

An example of (c) would be that if you purchased a property and the boundary fence/hedge was in the wrong place, throughout more than 10 years you were unaware of the error and reasonably thought the fence or hedge delineated your boundary.

For more information please see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adverse-possession-of-registered-land/practice-guide-4-adverse-possession-of-registered-land

We represent clients in the courts, property tribunals, in adjudication and use alternative dispute resolution procedures, including mediation, to resolve disputes. We understand your concerns to avoid the expense and distraction that disputes can bring and we will work with you to find a solution to your problem.