To rat out these CFs

[gerbalgreen]

Two family members, who I used to think were very nice, gleefully told me two years ago that they have been moving back their fence every year and have been stealing land.

But it's ok because their neighbours are elderly and haven't noticed. 😱

They live in the country side and you cannot see the neighbours house from their garden. Their neighbours land covers all three sides of their house and is a wooded area. They have tripled the size of their garden.

They were smug when they mentioned that if they used the land for a certain number of years the rightful owners couldn't take it back due to some law.

After this conversation I can't see them in the same light and now every time I meet up with them I realise they just aren't good people. I also feel so guilty knowing this and not doing anything.

I also know that either at the end of this year or some point next year the time will have passed that the neighbours can't do anything.

I am considering sending them an anonymous letter. Should I? I could find them on google maps. A big part of me doesn't want to get involved then another just wants justice to prevail.

I also live abroad. So any letter sent from my country, should the neighbours show it to said family members, would obviously be from me. I don't want this family to know how I feel as it would cause chaos with the rest of the family. I would rather make it anonymous. How would I do this? Would this give me bad or good karma?

YANBU : Write the letter
YaBU : Don't get involved

Please do write to them and let them know!

Simialr happened to us with our woodland.

Took ages to get resolved and still have one section which we cannot get resolved because some CFs built on it

A snitch is worse than a thief?

I'd send the letter to their children if they've got any might be too much for them if they are elderly vulnerable

So you're happy with brazen theft are you?

Wow - they’re so misinformed it’s almost funny. They are stealing the land and the 12 year rule won’t protect them because it only applies if you tend to land adjoining yours which is untended and unfenced. The rule is that if no one claims it within that time then it’s yours. If your relatives are hoping to get away with it because the neighbours are elderly, they’re on a hiding to nothing because when they pass away any sale of the property will clearly define the boundary records held with land registry and they’ll have to explain their actions. It’s theft. Plain and simple. Report it.

Ahh - wondered what had happened to you and your wood!

How fucking old are you? Grow up.

The council will only get involved if includes their own land. They have more important things to do these days. If you use someone else’s land without permission and the landowner doesn’t do anything you can claim adverse possession after 12 years. If they give permission during that 12 years, there’s no claim

So if you were in Tesco and you saw a thief dipping in to an elderly ladies bag and steal her purse, you’d keep quiet? If you knew who who killed little Olivia in Liverpool, you’d ‘keep your snout out’? There’s honour amongst culprits

Definitely get in touch with the people to tell them what's going on.

These family members are horrible people and whilst it's disappointing to find out they weren't the nice people you thought they were, it's good really that you now know their real natures.

Definitely do something. Either contact the council or relatives of the neighbours.

NOTHING worse than a "snitch"? How about the scenarios below...

You see someone you know knock down an old lady & steal her handbag, putting her in hospital.
You see someone deliberately damaging a Blue Badge car, making it unusable by the disabled driver.
Your security cameras or Ring doorbell catch someone breaking in to your neighbour's house & stealing all their kids presents from under the Christmas tree.
You see a drunk flashing kids at the bus stop in the middle of the day, and realise you know him.

I've very carefully NOT listed various appeals by the police for witnesses to murders so I'm not giving very extreme cases (e.g. Liverpool last week)

I would send a letter to the true owners. And report your family members.

Send me the address and I’ll send them a letter.

They’re stupid as well. A fence doesn’t necessarily show a boundary. I could put a fence 1mtr inside my boundary it doesn’t mean I’ve given a meter of garden away.

when the neighbours house is sold the new buyers will have the deeds and maybe wonder why they have a fence in the middle of their garden and knock it down and reinstall a new fence.

LampLighter414 · Today 15:39
Nope. Nothing worse than a snitch. Keep your snout out. Just don’t talk to them anymore if you don’t agree with them

And attitudes like that are keeping the killer of a 9 year old child in Liverpool hidden.

Are your family related to the Mitchell's or the Crays?

Your parents way of thinking is ridiculous, please do the right thing and ignore the Tea Leaf telling you not to grass.

You don't need to do anything if you feel too worried to do so.

As several pp have now said, adverse possession recently changed.

They will have to claim possession. The rightful owners are contacted and say yes or no. If they say no, they have to move the fence back.

It’s depressing not only are they doing this but telling you all about it as if it’s somehow ok behaviour.
As for “snitching” how utterly ridiculous to suggest someone calling out low life behaviour is a snitch

Gaining adverse possession of registered land is very hard now, but there is a possibility it's an unregistered property (if they are old and have lived there for a very long time).

It would also be a right pain in the event the neighbours needed to sell for example to pay for medical or other care. These family members are the worst type of people. CF is too good a description for them. Please do write to the neighbours.

🙄

My understanding is that the law about the certain number of years to gain squatters' rights has changed. It is now based on title deeds. They would have to demonstrate, using their title deeds, that the land is indeed theirs. Don't bet on the elderly neighbours not having younger relatives who enforce it when they die.

Land registry will have the map of the boundaries so it will be noticeable that your relatives don't owe the land

www.ageuk.org.uk/

Or another UK based elderly charity.

There is a risk though - enclosing the land, treating it as of right as if it's theirs, is the first step in establishing adverse possession. That's why it would cause a problem in conveyancing if either party tried to sell. Enquiries and the survey would reveal that the physical boundaries don't match the title plan by a significant amount according to OP.