Indemnity and Land Grab

[Emillee]

So, DH and I are interested in offering on a house. It ticks all the boxes with the possible exception of the garden.

The sellers have extended the garden by grabbing some land to the side of the house. They did this just over 3 years ago so can't claim adverse possession yet. A lot of neighbours have done the same.

We want to buy the house and are happy to pay the asking price (or near enough), but the asking price is probably based on the larger garden.

The sellers have been completely open and honest. They have offered to look into purchasing an indemnity policy to guard against the land being reclaimed and any resultant drop in value.

Would this be a sensible way forward? We would prefer to have the larger garden so don't really want to ask them to put it back!

Any advice/potential pitfalls gratefully received.

The law has channeled recently so that it is almost impossible to make a successful claim for adverse possession now. If the owners of the land wanted it back they would just take it back, if you initiated the process for adverse possession you would be required to give them notice so they would almost definitely ask for it back. The only hope you have of keeping it is by continuing the adverse possession and never having legal title which would in turn make it more difficult to sell. I would make an offer that is in line with the value of the property minus the land grab (as this is what you are actually buying).

Depends on whether the land to be grabbed is registered or unregistered.
Two areas of questions- one moral- whose was this land before it was grabbed? Because, contrary to what some might have you believe, all land in the UK is owned by someone, and therefore in order to succeed, you have to deprive someone else of their land.
And legal- it's not impossible to gain a limited title by adverse possession, but you really need to get advice from a specialist , experienced lawyer. Not your local conveyancer. And it's never certain.

Thanks so much.

So, the land is, apparently owned by the local council (don't know for sure tho) and there is a restrictive covenant placed by the housing developer (estate built about 15 years ago) saying they can't sell the land (the current owners tried to buy legitimely before just chucking a fence up and possessing the land on the offchance).

Ok, first go on Land Registry website, Do a Map Search, and zoom in on this bit of land. If it's registered land, you should be able to download the title and plan.Which will tell you the owner. And make it vanishingly unlikely that you will ever gain title.

You won't come up with a title if it's unregistered land.

If there's a covenant, it must be a covenant on a title. I think the chances of gaining title here are very small. You would need to gather every scrap of info, and consult a specialised lawyer.

On the other hand, if no one's objected in 3 years, you may well be able to keep possession of the land. Unless and until the true owner objects.

Adverse possession law was changed when someone tried to do this with land worth over a million pounds. The basic analogy was if you borrowed someone's lawn mower and kept it, it does not make you the new owner. It still belongs to someone you just happen to have it, for now.

Adverse possession used to be 12 years, now it is 10 and then you can put a claim in for the land to be legally transferred to you, except land registry contact the owner and give them 2 years to claim it back. Physically if it has been fenced in.

In the 15 years since the houses were built have the council maintained the land at all? I assume they haven't in the last 3 years, nor have they issued any proceedings to force the current owners to remove the fence. It doesn't mean that at some point the council won't claim it back.

If you are buying this house you have to assume that the land grab will be taken back. Is it still worth it to you?

Could there be some pipes or electrical wires beneath the surface? Just wondering as some friends of mine wanted to buy a strip of land by their house and the council, who owned it, initially agreed to let them have it but then later on stated that they couldn't sell it because there were electrical wires/conduits for which the utility companies may need access.