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Original poster

Land dispute!! Cheeky offer?!

307 replies

NewHere77 · 06/01/2024 20:41

It has recently come to light due to neighbours pending house sale, that our neighbour has around 20 square metres of land at the top of her garden that legally belongs to our boundary. She has asked us to sign over the land to her for £200.

AIBU to think she is being a CF offering £200 for the land, as I think it likely adds a lot of value to neighbours house? (She initially wanted us to sign over land for free)!

The land adds about a third to neighbours garden and has a pretty view which isn’t overlooked.

Neighbour is playing down desirability of land but has also said that buyers will pull out if land is not included and has said she is willing to go to court to claim land.

If we disagree, she is threatening to use adverse possession claim but neither parties have been in either property long enough to claim adverse possession, although neighbour is talking about getting accounts from relatives of now deceased previous occupants of our house.

Part of me feels bad that we bought the house not knowing the extra land was ours so feels a bit rich asking for more money for it, the other side of me is thinking why should our neighbour profit from land that is not legally theirs. Interested to hear others perspectives and what land could be worth.

Thanks!

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
BlueMongoose · 07/01/2024 14:40

Psychonabike · 07/01/2024 13:36

I bought a house where 1/4 of the garden was technically owned by a neighbour but in practicality was fenced off and used as though it belonged to the property I was buying.

The neighbour who owned it had bought land to build a house and then not included a section when it came to the practicalities of putting up their fencing.

There was a time limit on it. When I bought it there was 5 years left for the original owner to stake their claim. It expired in my ownership and I later sold the property with the land now unequivocally included.

It was all very amicable (I'd asked the neighbours before I bought if they were interested in the land, they were not) and uneventful with no cash changing hands.

Personally I think some people suggesting larger sums of money here might be unrealistic. You aren't being asked to sell land in use that is currently incorporated into your physical boundary. You're being asked to sign away a legal technicality to make it easier for your neighbour to sell their property (presumably before your right to claim it expires) and you've been offered a goodwill gesture. My guess is that if you say no, you'll not only risk their sale but you'll also have the responsibility to correct and make good all the boundaries asap.

You've been offered a gesture of goodwill for something you weren't aware of or were using. Is there good reason to make everyone's life harder?

A gesture of goodwill? Offering a tiny fraction of the value of the land (if the experience of myself and others is anything to go by). Not what I'd call goodwill. More what I'd call CF-ery
If they want to sell, it's easy. They put in a fence where the actual boundary is, and sell only the land they actually own. Sorted.
Nah, this is the neighbour trying to take advantage - big time.

porridgeisbae · 07/01/2024 14:58

If you can put in a fence I'd do it straight away. You can prove it's your bit. If anyone's used it differently, previous owners etc, it's presumably because they didn't know, it was somehow sneakily done.

NoTouch · 07/01/2024 15:18

I think we will need to bite the bullet and pay for a survey

I wouldn't be paying for a survey until you speak to your mortgage company (for free) to find out what is involved in selling and you are very keen to sell.

I would also investigate getting the neighbour to pay upfront for your survey to determine the value as they are ones who want to buy it. There is no point spending £500 on survey if they are not interested if it comes back as £5k-£10k or even more. Them paying for the survey shows their commitment. You could perhaps say you will refund half the survey costs if they go ahead with the purchase.

ClumsyNinja · 07/01/2024 15:24

Westernesse · 07/01/2024 08:40

How could it possibly be worth that? It’s a sliver of garden. There is absolutely no possibility of it being developed.

there is some wild greed on this site.

Show quote history

£200 a fair price?? 😂 Add at least an extra 0 on there and times by 5.

You clearly have no experience in this area do you? Either that or your the greedy neighbour. 🤔

We paid 20k to our neighbours around 10yrs ago to remove their right of way over our drive (they had another access point to their field). Land is the most expensive bit of a house purchase, not the bricks and mortar building.

CantFindMyMarbles · 07/01/2024 18:20

Get yourself a blanket and have a picnic there! I’d ask to see the value difference with the land vs without the land. I’d then expect that as payment.

schloss · 07/01/2024 18:20

OP if you want to spend money, do not spend it on a surveyor. Spend it on a solicitor to write a letter which say "thank you for the offer, my clients decline your offer and do not wish to sell. In NN days they will be reinstating a fence on the correct boundary, therefore if you have any plants or fixtures you have in the area please move them.

Secondly spend the money on a professional fencing company to reinstate the boundar. You need not do anymore. The more you engage the more this will become a problem.

RunningShoe · 07/01/2024 18:55

Why does everyone keep saying the solicitors should have noticed? You do understand that solicitors don’t inspect the property? The solicitor sends their client the title plans, it’s for the client to flag if the boundaries look wrong

OldPerson · 07/01/2024 18:57

Both parties should agree to get it valued by another estate agent. Find out the price difference between selling their house with and without the extra garden space. Also find out the extra cost for their solicitor to sort out all the paperwork to transfer ownership of land. You need financial facts.

But also bear in mind, if your extra land has been enclosed in their garden for 10 years, they have a legal right to the land. And their home's previous owners might have a private agreement with your previous owners to own and enclose this land. And you both could face a lengthy court battle and high costs.

RunningShoe · 07/01/2024 18:58

And yes, neighbour is taking the piss. If you are interested in selling it they should pay for a valuation and pay market value. If you have a mortgage your lender will need to sign the sale off and might want some of the cash for doing so

RunningShoe · 07/01/2024 18:59

No they don’t have a legal right to the land, OP has registered title she would be able to defeat an adverse possession claim.

pollymere · 07/01/2024 19:11

I'd be taking it back and enjoying it personally!

DorotheaDiamond · 07/01/2024 19:13

prh47bridge · 07/01/2024 10:37

Adverse possession has been mentioned a few times on this thread. Contrary to what some posters seem to think, it is still a thing. Whilst landowners have more protection against adverse possession claims than used to be the case, particularly if the land is registered, the situation is somewhat different where, as here, the parties own adjoining land. If the neighbours and previous owners of the property have been in possession of the land for at least 10 years and reasonably believed that the land belonged to them, they may have a claim for adverse possession.

Thanks for clarifying - I thought everyone was overstating the changes!

porridgeisbae · 07/01/2024 19:15

But also bear in mind, if your extra land has been enclosed in their garden for 10 years, they have a legal right to the land.

I don't see that that can be right. I've heard it before but I think it's for instance in cases where the legal owner is not known. The legal owner is known in this case.

And their home's previous owners might have a private agreement with your previous owners to own and enclose this land.

OP hasn't though. Plus I don't see why anyone would voluntarily do that, without being paid for it or renting it out.

prh47bridge · 07/01/2024 19:16

RunningShoe · 07/01/2024 18:59

No they don’t have a legal right to the land, OP has registered title she would be able to defeat an adverse possession claim.

She may be able to defeat an adverse possession claim, but, because we are dealing with neighbours, that is not a given. If the neighbours and previous owners of that property have been in possession of the land for at least 10 years and reasonably believed it belonged to them, they may have a valid claim for adverse possession. Land Registration Act 2002, Schedule 6 paragraph 5(4).

Sillyname63 · 07/01/2024 19:53

I would contact your solicitor and get the land properly valued , obviously £200 sound very cheap but all depends on what she is selling her property for . I think she is trying to pull one over on you by saying she can get people to give evidence of the land being hers by right , she is just trying it on. Also when you do agree on the price make sure she pays your solicitors fees for the transfer of ownership if you decide to go ahead and we'll it but don't leave her force you into doing it. Also make sure your mortgage isn't being compromised by selling bits of your land , when asked a neighbour to sell us some land neurological t long after they moved they said it would affect their mortgage.

Sillyname63 · 07/01/2024 19:55

Sorry should be " not long after they moved in "

prh47bridge · 07/01/2024 19:56

@porridgeisbae - The poster you quote is wrong. Simply having the land enclosed in their garden for 10 years doesn't give them a legal right to the land. However, as they are neighbours, if they and the previous owners of the property have been in possession of the land for at least 10 years and reasonably believed the land was theirs, they may be able to claim adverse possession even though the legal owner of the land is known. It is called adverse possession because it allows someone to take land that legally belongs to someone else under some circumstances.

Nononsensemumsy · 07/01/2024 20:34

The land looks to be registered to you (I’m a legal Secretary to a land solicitor). Urgently see a solicitor because as the land is already within your title my understanding is she can’t make an application for adverse possession on already registered property. I think you will find the law is on your side.

boodlesandpoodles · 07/01/2024 20:39

Good god do not accept £200. It’s amazing how neighbours can downplay things to their advantage. Recently had a neighbour offer a minimal amount for a piece of land they REALLY wanted from us, that would have hugely improved their house, it was such a low ball offer that we closed the conversation down immediately… funny thing is if they had been fair we might have entertained some sort of negotiations.

Jeannie88 · 07/01/2024 20:43

It is a shame you didn't know it was yours. Of course it will be worth more then £200! Get a free evaluation of your property, find out how much it's worth etc. Oh I eas thinking of putting a pool there...

DinaofCloud9 · 07/01/2024 21:06

Is the photo you've showed accurate as her boundary doesn't look at all correct?

Toomuchtrouble4me · 07/01/2024 21:10

My opposite neighbour stole the end of our garden in our holiday home. It’s a v long garden and he took about 2 metres. We were advised (not professionally) that because he’d had it about 2 years he had established right of use and it was his. I now know that was wrong and it still irritates me that he stole our land because he was a horrible man. We’ve since sold that house so the new neighbours will be unaware.

jiggyjiggyjig · 07/01/2024 21:28

Toomuchtrouble4me · 07/01/2024 21:10

My opposite neighbour stole the end of our garden in our holiday home. It’s a v long garden and he took about 2 metres. We were advised (not professionally) that because he’d had it about 2 years he had established right of use and it was his. I now know that was wrong and it still irritates me that he stole our land because he was a horrible man. We’ve since sold that house so the new neighbours will be unaware.

Genuine question: why did you take advice from a random person regarding something as important as your property?

dawngreen · 07/01/2024 21:37

The laws have being changed slightly regarding land. My partners dad took on his mums place after she passed. Several neighbours had fenced off parts of her garden, and some even built on the land. She was old and had MH issues so did not take notice of them putting up fencing. Well her son got legal advice, and took back all the land except one that had a conservatory built on it.

prh47bridge · 07/01/2024 21:38

Nononsensemumsy · 07/01/2024 20:34

The land looks to be registered to you (I’m a legal Secretary to a land solicitor). Urgently see a solicitor because as the land is already within your title my understanding is she can’t make an application for adverse possession on already registered property. I think you will find the law is on your side.

Yet again, this is not true. Adverse possession claims are possible on registered property, particularly where the claim comes from a neighbour. If the neighbours can show that they and the previous owners of their property have occupied this land for at least 10 years and that they reasonably believed it was their property, they may be able to claim adverse possession regardless of the fact that it is registered property.