Land ownership

[Nickypx3]

Hi everyone. I could do with some help as I feel I have gone down every avenue I can think of and am coming up with no answers. We live on a street with a row of terraced houses which is a dead end at the top. Tucked away in the top corner is a little area which is perfect to park my car (we also have parking outside our house big enough for one car) but as we are a two car family, I’d like to claim/buy the piece of land. I have asked the neighbours if they know who it belongs to and nobody has a clue and I have searched title deeds. The Title Register for the area has belonged to the same person since 1984 and none of the neighbours have ever heard of him. I’m really not sure what to do now. Could I just claim it as adverse possession and mark it as private?? Any help it advice would be appreciated. Thank you 😁

It’s got an owner already, surely?

Have you tried finding the owner other than asking the neighbours?

I thought adverse possession wasn’t a thing anymore. Where do you live?

I don’t know how else to find the owner. I wouldn’t know where to start!

I live in Leeds and there’s lots on Google about adverse possession but it just seems too easy.

You’d have to show that you used the land exclusively for at least 12 years.
This would probably be impossible for a piece of unfenced street.

Yes it has but I don’t know how to find him. I was thinking if I ‘claimed’ the land as my own then he comes knocking on my door I can have a conversation with him

my idea is to fence off the area and mark it as private then after twelve years claim possession? It just seems so easy! I must be missing something.

Well, it’s not easy. Fencing off the land just makes it unuseable for everyone, it certainly won’t demonstrate that you’ve been using it
It’s not a given anyway, even when you can demonstrate sole use.

It’s still a thing, but the process has changed. Including the fact that the owner has to now be informed, which means it gives them a chance to object and challenge the claim before it’s passed, which in turn means it’s less likely to succeed now than in the past.

"The Title Register for the area has belonged to the same person since 1984..."

In my experience, the title register shows the address of the person who owns any bit of registered land.

For example, last year I was interested to find out who owned a piece of land. It was just described as "land at Holkham, Wells-next-the Sea".

There was no address for the land, it was just a piece of land so I had to do a map search.

After I identified the particular bit of land that gave the Inspire ID which can then be used to find the Title number of the plot of land. This will then give you the name and address.

Did the title register really not show the address of the registered owner?

[EDIT]

Or are you saying that the owner no longer lives at the address on the title register?

So does it say something like the owner is Joe Bloggs, 24 End Terrace and there is no longer a Joe Bloggs living at that address and nobody remembers him from back then?

In that situation the ethical thing to do would be to try and track down Joe Bloggs (or his descendants) and offer to buy the land from him/his descendants.

Alternatively, you can go through the process of adverse possession. When you make a claim the Land Registry will write to the registered owner and they then have 65 working days (typically three months) in order to object and give a counter notice.

If the registered owner does not object within those three months then you can apply to be the registered owner of the land.

No - you cannot adversely claim the land.

She didn’t say it doesn’t show who owns it - she said “nobody has ever heard of him” which OP must know is different to them not existing 🙄

The criteria hasn’t changed, OP just doesn’t meet it. You have to adversely possess for a period of 10-12 years and then make an application. You can’t just decide you’re going to.

Write to the owner at the address on the title asking if you can buy the land and see what happens?

Thank you for this. The title register does state his address but I have lived here for 26 years and he hasn’t lived at that address all that time. The current homeowners have never heard of him and they have lived there around ten years.

I completely agree that it would be the right thing to do to track him down but nobody has ever heard of him. Nobody has lived on the street as far back as 1984. I don’t know how else I can find him.

do I just apply online for adverse possession and the land registry will do the rest?

I am happy to pay for the land but without knowing who it belongs to it’s proving impossible 😔

So does this mean I can apply for the possession and if the gentleman is found, I could have a conversation with him about officially buying it from him?

You still need proof that you've been using it for 12 years.

I'm involved in a claim at the moment (as a charity trustee) and we are having to collate a lot of evidence. And this is fir land everyone thought we did actually own (including the registered owner)... weve been using it since the 90s at least.

"...do I just apply online for adverse possession and the land registry will do the rest?"

This link explains how to do everything:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adverse-possession-of-registered-land/practice-guide-4-adverse-possession-of-registered-land

But, in summary:

You (or any predecessors of yours) must have had adverse possession of the land for a period of ten years (12 years only applies to unregistered land).

You must show that you had the intention to possess the land yourself to the exclusion of all others including the owner. The simplest way of doing this is by fencing off the land and/or placing a lock on the only entrance to it.

Once you have fenced the land or put a lock on the gate etc then you act as though the land is yours for a period of ten years.

At the end of ten years you make an application to the Land Registry to become the registered owner of the land and provide all the evidence.

The Land Registry will then notify the person it has as being the owner of the land (and anyone else who may have an interest eg if there is a mortgage on the land).

They then have 65 working days in which to oppose your application. Typically, if they do oppose it then you will not get ownership of the land and the owner will typically start legal proceedings to get you off their land.

However, there are some very specific situations in which you may still win but I don't think that any of them would apply in your case.

If the existing owner does not oppose your application within 65 days then the Land Registry will update their records to show you as the owner of the land.

Yes, but see my earlier post above, you can only do this after being in possession of the land for ten years.

Why don’t you just make your application if it’s as simple as you’d like to believe.

Wow, op.
It’s been explained to you that you can’t just commandeer a piece of land belonging to someone else.
There’s no need to be so obnoxious because you don’t like hearing it.
You have no chance, might as well accept it.

Why Fawlty Towers specifically?

Just because it’s lighthearted and funny. I just feel he/she needs to lighten up a little.

Thank you to everyone who gave some good advice. I found it quite confusing but some of the comments have made good sense and I now have a better idea of what I’m dealing with. Much love 😊

🖕🏻