Claim unregistered property Q & A

Legally Claim Unregistered Land and Property in the UK 

Chris Harpum of the Law Commission (who helped draft the recent Land Registration Act) comments "people claiming land and property through adverse possession has become something of a national pastime!!"

Property is normally a long-term investment and claiming unregistered land or property is no different. It should be viewed in much the same way as a pension fund. However  there is no capital investment requires just time, legwork, expenses and of course knowledge.

 To be successful you will need a working knowledge of the Land Registry procedures and paperwork together with an understanding of Due Diligence.  Once you have started the process with one plot or property the second's a lot's easier, you know the procedures to put in place!  

Claim unregistered Land & Property FREE
You can legally and rightfully claim it for free and become the rightful owner of unregistered, abandoned and unwanted UK plots of land and properties. Years ago when they were abandoned they were probably worthless, Now! worth a fortune.

 The UK Land Registry currently holds details of approximately 19 million registered plots and properties in the UK. There are an estimated 7 million unregistered land plots and properties in the UK at the moment with an estimated value of in excess of £6 Billion!!!

Obviously all 7 million plots can’t be claimed, however the likelihood of finding several plots or properties that you can claim is very good!

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors claim that over 15,000 plots of land and property are being legally claimed every year, that’s approx, 300 per week!!!!

According to the Empty Homes Agency there are 700,000 empty homes in Britain of which nearly 100,000 are in London!! Sizeable portions of these are abandoned or derelict. The BBC is currently producing a programme about this entitled Dereliction Detectives. These properties, few of which have traceable owners, are just the types that after carrying out proper searches you should be able to claim.They may well of course at some time have had an owner who simply never registered their title or died and left no will and had no relatives, or even moved away from the area many years ago effectively abandoning the land or property.

These are the types of unregistered property and land plots, which you could claim as your own and start earning from immediately via the legal vehicle of adverse possession.

The legal definition of adverse possession is as follows:

The gaining of title to property: by continuous, hostile, open and possession over a statutory period. The content of this definition will become clear as we progress.

Initially, the plots and properties you'll be looking for could be run down or abandoned, derelict farmhouses, disowned buildings, properties accessed via an overgrown driveway, fields, hidden plots of land or even old terrace or detached houses.

But where do you start?

In the first instance obtain the following booklets from the Land Registry. These booklets (and many others) can be instantly downloaded from the main Land Registry website at www.landreg.gov.uk. Or use the links below if you have an open Internet connection.

These documents are in PDF format and you will need Adobe Acrobat to view them. If you do not already have this it is available as a free download from www.adobe.com.

Public Guide 1- A guide to the information we keep and how you can obtain it
http://www.landreg.gov.uk/assets/library/documents/public_guide_001.pdf
This very informative booklet contains further information regarding the Land Registry, a few sample forms together with an overview of the services and facilities the Land Registry offer.

Practice Guide 4- Averse possession of Registered Land under the new provisions of the Land Registration act 2002  http://www.landreg.gov.uk/assets/library/documents/lrpg004.pdf

Practice Guide 5- Adverse Possession of Registered Land under the new provisions of the Land registration Act 2002 http://www.landreg.gov.uk/assets/library/documents/lrpg005.pdf

You can request the UK Land Registry to post you the above booklets free of charge.

They can be contacted on 020-7917-8888 or alternatively you could write to them at:

HM Land Registry 32 Lincolns Inn Fields London WC2A 3PH

Two further items you will also find extremely useful at some point are the Ordinance Survey Map for the area of your search and the Ordinance Survey INTERACTIVE ATLAS Double CD-ROM set which provides full in depth analysis and map coverage of the whole of the UK and can help during researching of potential targets of land and property. You will be able to refer to both of these and they are available from the Ordnance Survey Website or your local bookshop. The CD is also often available on eBay at a greatly reduced price. Just type interactive atlas into the search page.

A complete list of all the forms referred to in this guide is available at the Land Registry http://www.landreg.gov.uk/publications/?pubtype=1

Note. Links can change so it's always a good idea to print out any useful information for future reference.

There is also a separate site available at the Land Registry at http://www.landregisteronline.gov.uk/ which offers electronic property searches. (More about this later)

1. GETTING STARTED.

 The best place to start is where you know best!! There is sure to be some suitable land or property in your vicinity. That deserted house, derelict farmhouse, overgrown plot of land, or abandoned property in need of repair. You never know when the first opportunity is going to crop up but make no mistake it most certainly will!

The best land plots and properties that are worth considering are the ones that appear to be overgrown, un-kept and unused. These types can be classified into the following categories, however, this is not an exhaustive list, and you may want to consider further categories, which  may be worthy of inclusion;

A. Plots of lands that are empty and overgrown with vegetation

B. Plots of land that are vacant and wild flowers are present with trees and tumbleweed.

C. Land used by an adjacent landowner on an unofficial basis.

D. Empty plots which is neither agricultural nor arable land.

E. Land with no evident or well-defined boundaries, which appear to be unkempt and vacant together with its boundaries.

F. Land that includes derelict buildings, which appears to be vacant and in a poor state of repair.

G. Properties/factories/buildings in poor state of repair and vacant.

H. A combination of one or more of the above.

You need to use your common sense here and consider how far down the line each plot of land or property is worth further investigation.You won't know at this stage and it depends on what your future enquiries reveal. However this is a crucial first step in the process of claiming unregistered property.

When looking for suitable  properties and land plots to claim, bear the following points in mind .

• Do not be too quick to assume that the Local Authority, or utility companies own empty pieces of land especially when they are located within built up areas.
• Do not automatically assume that either the local authority or the adjacent landowners own all grass verges.
•  Just because animals are on a piece of land, it doesn't mean that it is owned or registered.
• Casual car parks are not always owned.
•  It may be worth looking for land that is occasionally occupied by campers without payment..
•  Do not automatically assume that the user automatically owns land used as a garden, there are numerous disputed between adjoining landowners, where boundaries have been relocated in order to gain land from someone else.
•  Do not assume that land or properties that are used for any particular purpose are in fact owned.
•  Do not assume that the National Waterways Authority owns all central banks and footpaths.
• In fact don't assume anything

2. YOUR NEXT STEP

Having located a possibility you think could be suitable for claiming through adverse possession the next crucial stage is the Investigation documentation.from your due diligence

It is crucial at this stage to make diligent and careful investigations to find out, as much about the site as possible and more importantly whether it is registered or unregistered and if  there identifiable traceable owners.

Remember even if a property or land is unregistered it is not definite confirmation that it can be claimed or is not owned, every situation and circumstance always needs careful, prudent and diligent investigation!! 

The starting point is The Land Registry and you can access the  electronic online search facility  at http://www.landregisteronline.gov.uk/ You can search electronically to discover if property is registered and if so download copies of the register and title plan to provide you with further details of the ownership and the extent of the property with regard to boundaries etc.

This facility is available only from 7am to 12 midnight Monday to Friday online. We  recommend in all cases where an online search suggests a property is unregistered that you instruct the Land Registry to do a free manual search to double check this by downloading and completing Form SIM (Search of the Index Map)   http://www.landregisteronline.gov.uk/lro/servlet/GetSIMFormServlet and posting this back to them.

The index map is a large scale computerised map kept by the land registry based on the ordinance survey map which shows whether a property on the map in England and Wales is registered and if so the Tile Number(s). The Index Map will also reveal whether there are any cautions against First Registration affecting an unregistered property (more about these later).

1. IS IT REGISTERED OR UNREGISTERED?

There are two scenarios to consider here the first is where we can identify a postal address for our property, which will be the case with most types of buildings etc. Secondly is the situation where no postal address is available, which may be the case with many plots of derelict/waste land or where the land is remotely situated.

(1) WHERE POSTAL ADDRESS IS AVAILABLE

The postal address is often obvious from the location and if there is any difficulty with identifying a street name than a cheap local town street map can always help.

Postcodes are obtainable for any address at the Royal Mail website https://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/postcodefinder?pageId=pol_login&catId=400145&_requestid=124787&cs=1 (Free but registration needed)

We can then perform a free online search enquiry to discover whether a property is registered by entering these details into the Property Enquiry page at the land registry online website 
http://www.landregisteronline.gov.uk/servlet/TitleSearchServlet

It's a good idea to go to the link above and type in a few known addresses to see how it works. 

The Search Results page provides the title number if the property is registered and the date the register was last updated. It also offers you an option to purchase for £2 each an electronic copy of the register and title plan electronically (more about this later)

Please Note

The Land Registry advise that if the Property Enquiry online service does not electronically match the property address with a title registration number suggesting that the property is unregistered then to be 100% sure that the property is unregistered you should download and complete Form SIM (Search of the Index Map) and post this back to them to carry out an additional manual search to double check.

(2) WHER THERE IS NO POSTAL ADDRESS. ATTACH A PLAN TO FORM SIM

You can attach a plan to form SIM to help the Land Registry identify land if you don’t know the postal address or it doesn’t have one in the case of a patch of waste land or countryside plot or if for any reason  the Land Registry cannot match the address electronically with their records by the Property Enquiry form online. Download and complete and print out form SIM (Search of the Index Map), and simply attach the plan and post to them. This service is free.

In these circumstances an Ordinance Survey Map will be very useful as all Land and respective boundaries are detailed. Registered Land and property covered within the OS map area will be highlighted with a red borderline although this is for general guidance only.

The information the Land Registry will send back after receipt of this Form SIM will be basic, stating if the property is registered and the title number and any cautions affecting the land. Once you know the title number if registered you can  enter this into the Property Enquiry form at the Land Registry online and upon payment of the fees you have the option to obtain further details about the ownership of the property as when the address was known.

2. (a) IF THE PROPERTY IS REGISTERED This means that someone at sometime has been registered as the owner of the property in question. The time of last update of the Register provides us with some idea of how recently someone had actived ownership of the property or land in question although of course this is not conclusive of his or her interest now. The land could still be unwanted, disowned or part of a deceased estate and a claim may still be possible.

(b) THE LAND OR PROPERTY IS UNREGISTERED  do not make the mistake of automatically assuming that the land which is unregistered and un-kept is un-owned. If  you have carried out full and proper research and extensive investigations into the property and it appears unused, unwanted and disowned without any traceable owner then this is a  distinct possibility for staking a claim.

(c) THE LAND OR PROPERTY IS PENDING APPLICATION FOR FIRST REGISTRATION OR PENDING APPLICATION TO REGISTER A CAUTION AGAINST FIRST REGISTRATION.

This could well mean that someone else has already shown an interest in the property and it is best to start looking elsewhere. Someone has beaten you to it!!

DISCOVERING THE OWNERS DETAILS IF THE PROPERTY IS REGISTERED.

There are two ways of finding out more about who owns a registered property.

(a) We can download copies of the register and plan online and an option for doing this is presented to us after carrying out the Property Enquiry as described above 
http://www.landregisteronline.gov.uk/servlet/TitleSearchServlet

(i) Procedure.

(a)    type in the Registration number into the Property Enquiry Online Service. The search Results page will present you with an option to purchase and download a copy of the Register Entry for the property concerned as well as a copy of the Title plan. There is a fee of 2 pounds for each download and you can pay securely online by credit/debit card. You will also need a valid email address.

(b)   Click through the pages on: www.landregisteronline.gov.uk/servlet/TitleSearchServlet

 Go to www.landregisteronline.gov.uk/resources/example_register.pdf to see how a copy of an entry on the register appears.

 Go to www.landregisteronline.gov.uk/resources/example_title_plan.pdf to view a copy of a title plan.

(b) We can also apply by post to the Land Registry for Official Copies of the Title Plan by downloading form 0C-1. http://www.landreg.gov.uk/assets/library/documents/oc1.pdf

This provides the same information as the online services above however are guaranteed copies of the Register and same information as the online service above however are guaranteed copies of the Register and Title suitable for official use. They may be necessary at a later date to claim title but at present offer no advantage to us in terms of extra information over the online service and twice as expensive.

Please Note:

 Consider carefully if the copy of the Register of Title Plan has revealed any specific rights of way, covenants or restrictions, or any rights it has over surrounding properties etc.

These will not crop up very often but if they do appear then you should seek clarification from a solicitor or alternatively your local council-planning department may be of assistance.

The reason for this is due to the fact that if anyone has legal right of way over and/or across a significant part of the land in question, then (according to my recent feedback) the Land Registry would class your adverse possession claim as highly unlikely. You would of course have to weigh up the facts of the matter, but in the majority of cases your ultimate claim for adverse possession would not be granted.

For specific guidance in relation to this point, please consult with your solicitor in the first instance. It also goes without saying that erecting a No Trespassing sign, where a right of way exists would be of little use or relevance.

SO WE NOW HAVE THE OWNER AND PROPERTY DETAILS OF THE REGISTERED LAND/PROPERTY!!

As you can see from the Title Register and The Title Plan we can now ascertain the full and complete details of the land or property owners together with a map of the property delineating the actual boundaries of the land together with any rights of way, covenants and/or restrictions which apply to its boundaries of the land together with any rights of way, covenants and/or restrictions which apply to its use, any rights it has over surrounding properties and any charges such as mortgages that apply to it.

IF THE PROPERTY IS UNREGISTERED

As mentioned earlier if the Form SIM confirms the online PROPERTY ENQUIRY that the land/property is indeed unregistered then you must still NOT ASSUME that the land is owned by nobody and can be automatically claimed. We still need to carry out investigations and inquiries to enable us to form a reasoned judgement concerning the owner status of the property and how we ascertain this will be fully covered in detail in the next section of the guide.

It may be simply unregistered, as it has not changed hands since land registration became compulsory in the area in question. This has to be the starting assumption however if the property is derelict/run down or apparently uncared for as it is likely to be if we are at this stage then it may be that the property or land is simply unwanted by the current owner who left it. The owner may be unaware they actually own the land in question due to an error in the probate system or the owner has died intestate (leaving no will) and there are no beneficiaries to inherit the property.

SUMMARY

FOLLOW CHART TO DETERMINE IF PROPERTY IS REGISTERED AND TO FIND FULL PROPERTY OWNERSHIP DETAILS

1. FIND PROPERTY ADDRESS.

May be obvious or use town street map and royal mail online service for postcode then use online property enquiry and form SIM by post to confirm unregistered and to check online search. If registered go to online property enquiry and click through and purchase online registry copy and copy title and/or form OC-1 official copies of register/title by post = fill property details revealed!!

2. NO PROPERTY ADDRESS

Use Form SIM by post plus attached plan. If registered then use online Propert Enquiry. Click through and purchase online register copy and copy title and/or form OC-1 official copies of register/title by post = full property details revealed!!

Our next move is Due Diligent  to trace the owner

3. TRACING THE OWNER or LAST KNOWN OWNER;

Irrespective of whether your target land plot or property is registered or unregistered you must always take the necessary steps in order to try to locate, track down or find the actual owner. So please remember

Just because a plot of land (or property) is classed as unregistered with Land Registry, it does not automatically mean that it has no owner- as virtually all land and property (in England & Wales) could be owned by someone although of course the owner may have abandoned it, died etc or be otherwise completely untraceable.

So, lets now take a look at the various methods you can use in your attempts to efficiently track down and locate the  last known owner of any particular land plot or property:

 Enquire with people in the immediate vicinity. The last owner may have died or had no relatives. In the case of a house, nobody may have visited it for many years,

 Make some discrete inquiries at neighbouring properties about the owner - or whether anyone tends to the land/ gardens etc,  Check the Electoral Roll for the specific locality question. This in usually available for inspection at your local library or alternatively

You could visit http://www.192.com/ and carry out an electronic search of the register nationwide. You will need to register and there is a charge for searching.

 Chat to the landlord at the local public house, and bring up the land or property in general conversation,

  Ask at the local Post Office whether they recall having delivered mail to any mail address in question - and if so, when,

  Ask the Rector or Vicar of the local church,

  Enquire with the local garage, petrol station, newsagents, shop-keeper or milkman etc.

By asking local people, tradespersons and immediate neighbours if they know the exact whereabouts of the owner, (tell them you are trying to locate the owner with a view to buying the land or property), you could probably get to know where he or she is whether or not they are deceased the year approximately they died whether or not anyone has visited the property since they died or whether they had any relations etc.

You really will be amazed at the amount of detailed information you could unearth, by simply speaking to the relevant people.

Note: You could assign the task of searching for a specific person (or a will), to a specialised company such as http://www.1stlocate.com/ although there would be a charge for this.

Now, should you fail to discover any relevant information in relation to the owner (or last known owner/s) ñ or the consensus of he options you receive lead you to believe the owner has in fact died, then you will need to check this out further via your local Probate Registry Office to discover whether a will was made. Further information concerning how to achieve this can be found online at http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/wills.htm this is quite a difficult site to navigate however we have indicated below the relevant links that are useful.

The records, which are available, are almost all Wills proved and Grants of Representation issued in England and Wales since 1858. Grants of Representation and proved Wills are records; anyone is entitled to obtain copies of them.

General details of what you will need to do can be found at: http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/1226.htm

The addresses of the local District Registries should you wish to search in person (as oppose to making a postal search) can be found together with further useful information at: http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/

In general providing you have the minimum details of the owners name, and (estimated) year of death, this check should enable you to confirm either way, whether or not the owner has died, and if so, if they left a will, and if the land or property in question was actually left to anyone. As you will note enquiries can be made via post, or by paying a personal visit to your nearest office.

Note: If your enquiries at the UK probate Registry confirms the fact that the owner has died, then you may be able to stake your claim to the land or property, as you may find that the beneficiaries have either forgotten about the land, or there are no beneficiaries ñ or the beneficiaries cannot be traced. Obviously this is time consuming so you will need to do your own due diligence into the beneficiary, to see if they are in fact using the land or property.

These are simple steps that you must take prior to the commencement of any particular land plot or property claim via adverse possession (be it Registered or Unregistered) because ideally you do not want the owner to appear straight after you take possession of the land or property. This will be a total waste of your time and effort, so do your homework.

Now, armed with your newly acquired information (or lack of information), you’ll now need to assess your next move.

So

If the owner is still living and there’s a good chance of your adverse possession claim being quickly challenged, they you should look elsewhere. There are so many claimable land plots and properties out there, you needn’t waste your valuable time and effort. At this point you should look back to earlier in this guide and start the ball rolling again on an alternative target land plot or property.

 If your enquiries lead you to believe that there was no known traceable owner, or the owner is deceased or not left a will, of they have moved away - in other words, the likelihood of the owner (or heirs) turning up at a later date, ranges somewhere between very low and remote then its time to take firm decisive action without delay, by staking your claim to the land or property now!

So let us now move on to the next step!

4. HOW TO START THE LEGAL PROCESS OF CLAIMING THE LAND OR PROPERTY VIA ADVERSE POSSESSION: An introduction and Overview of Adverse Possession:

We have all heard the statement possession is nine tenths of the law. Well, this is an important principle used on a daily basis within Land and Property sector. It is also this same legal statement that will enable you to claim plots and properties for virtually free.

Also, bear in mind that by rescuing abandoned land plots and properties, you are (in effect) performing a service to society (and yourself).

WHY? Because abandoned properties become blight on the community. They can quickly become a haven for undesirables a rendezvous for drug dealers, a danger to children, a fire hazard - and an eyesore that drags down surrounding property values.

As the Lord Chancellor himself has said the public interest benefits if the land held by an owner who take no interest in it can be returned to economic use and that people who claim land performing a worthy job of utilizing assets which are otherwise neglected by absent landlords thereby preventing the problem of the nations natural assets being squandered or neglected.

The rule statement from that principle that the real owners right to take legal action remove someone from their land does not last indefinitely, but runs out after 10-12 years depending whether registered or unregistered land/property. After that period of time and provided no objection is forthcoming from the Registered Owner (if registered land) then the law will protect not the real owner but the person in possession and control of the land and award them the title to the land.

The general policy rule that people should not be able to just sit on their rights indefinitely without taking action is consistent with the public interest being best served by land being in economic use and that an owner who shows no interest in his property should not be able to sit on his rights for longer than 10-12years.

 It generates no property taxes so it becomes a financial burden on the entire community. Without adverse possession laws, a multitude of properties and land plots would simply continue to be a problem to the respective locality and its surrounding areas.

Moving on from there, generally, the Land Registry accepts that if you have taken possession of a land plot or property for a statutory period of time, currently 12 years for unregistered or 10 years for registered,under the current legislation  and without any objection being raised by either the owner or a counter claimant,

Then,

In the case of unregistered land/property you may ultimately become the Registered Owner of the land or property with Possessionary Freehold Title.

In the case of 10 years continuous adverse possession of registration land/property, then you would be granted transfer of title, pro-rata to the previous owners title. That is to say that if the previous owners title class was Absolute, then you would be granted Absolute title. 

This of course would be ultimately decided upon following the Land Registry’s attempt to contact the previous registered owner/s after the 10 year period ha elapsed  and without receiving a reply back from previous registered owner/s, within the prescribed time period. This point is covered in further detail in this guide.

Here’s the bottom line:

The fact that you did not buy the land or property in question, and you did not inherit it, makes no difference whatsoever in the eyes of the law.

Furthermore, dependent upon the actual strength of your adverse possession claim, you may be able to have your current Possessory (Freehold) Title (on unregistered land/property) converted to ABSOLUTE (FREEHOLD) TITLE, shortly after the statutory 12 year period, i.e. shortly after you have been registered as the owner and been granted Possessory Freehold Title to the Land. Again, this topic will be fully covered as we progress.

 Before we got too far ahead of ourselves, lets take a look at the ways in which to get your actual adverse possession claim underway.

The following section of this guide, namely laying Claim to the GROUND Rules and effective STATUTORY PERIOD deal (in great detail) with various ways within which you should proceed to claim your specific land plot and/or property via adverse possession ñ and more importantly, the specific activities you should (and should not) undertake during your statutory 10 or 12 years occupation.

These specific guidelines, although not carved in stone, are in line with the Land Registry’s current legislation, and will therefore present you with the best possible opportunity of successfully claiming the land plot or property as your own ñ and achieving your ultimate goal of being granted Absolute Title to it.

a. Land and Laying Claim: The Ground Rules:

Although you are not required to submit any forms to the Land Registry at this initial stage, I would advise you to keep some relevant documentary evidence to back-up the actual starting date of your claim, by carrying out the following simple procedure:

Draw up a basic statement saying something along the lines of:

“As of today, (the date) I am commencing my claim via adverse possession of the property/land located at (location details) and highlighted on the attached plan.”

Have 2 people sign, witness and date your statement, then file this self produced document away for safe keeping. You may also wish to take several photographs of the land or property in question, with yourself in the picture and ideally (if possible) with some kind of landmark within the picture itself. This could be a church in the distance, or something similar ñ but I’m sure you get the idea. NOTE: It is very unlikely you will have to produce this document, but at least you have it, just in case.

There are no forms to fill in at this stage because the Land Registry is not in the slightest bit concerned about you or your adverse possession claim, until the prescribed 10 year period (for registered) or 12 year period (for unregistered) has elapsed.

Now, after you’ve filed away your documentary evidence, and with regard to initially commencing your claim and physically being in adverse possession of the land, here’s what you should do next:

1. Erect a fence around the land area.

Obviously if the area is large, this could be expensive. With specific regards to Planning Permission, the current law for the whole of the UK states as follows:

You can build a fence (or a wall) around a specific plot of land, should the fence or wall exceeds 2 metres in height planning permission from the local authority will be needed. Where the frontage of the proposed fence or wall is directly adjacent to a road or a highway, the maximum permitted height of the proposed fence of wall is 1 metre. The erection of any fence or wall cannot be allowed to affect visibility of road users and/or affect the visibility of any predetermined access point

In summary, you can apply for planning permission irrespective of whether or not you own the land or property. You should also check the current ruling with your local council planning department, just to make doubly sure.

With regard to the Land Registry, adverse possession and the important subject of fencing, the Land Registry has a clear guideline briefly detailed as follows:

Where the land was previously open ground, fencing is strong evidence of factual possession, but is neither indispensable nor conclusive. I Part C1, LR Practice Advice Leaflet in adverse Possession

In Layman’s terms, this simply means that fencing off the specific area in question is recommended, but cannot be solely relied upon. (See later in the guide for the further sole activities you should avoid during your adverse possession period).

2. Repair any existing fencing or repair/renew an existing gate/s. Taking note of the Planning Permission information in point 1.

3. Make the land look presentable by cutting the grass trimming the hedges and removing any rubbish etc.

4. Put up gate/s to keep out intruders. If the land you are claiming is used by people in the immediate vicinity as common land or waste ground, the erecting of a fence (or wall) around the land area, may well be your best option. Padlock the gates also. In short treat it as your own!!

5. Erect a sign to denote your occupancy. Put up a No Trespassing sign in a prominent position near the borders of the land or property, including your telephone number.

At this point in the proceedings, we’ll assume that you have carried out one (or all) of the following tasks, in order to commence your adverse possession:

 assembled the relevant documentary evidence to back-up the start of your claim,

  fenced off the area,

  repaired any damaged fencing,

 Tidied up the land area,

  Put up gates to keep out intruders,

  Erected a No Trespassing SIGN (if applicable).

Let’s now take a look at what you must actually do with the land plot, in order to fully comply with the respective adverse possession legislation.

B, Land in Statutory Period Usage:

For your land property claim to be successful, your usage must be:

 Exclusive (must exclude all others, including owner)

 Permanent (usage cannot be intermittent)

  Uninterrupted (must be continuous and ongoing)

  Unchallenged (must not be challenged by the owner or their heirs)

And all of the above must apply for the current minimum statutory period of 10 years (for registered land/property) or 12 years (for unregistered land/property).

To further elaborate on these very important point, please not the following 3 direct quotes from the Land Registry leaflets:

"What is required is not an intention to own or even an intention to acquire ownership, but an intention to possess. This means the intention, in one’s own name and on ones own behalf, to exclude the world at large, including the owner with the proper paper title if he be not himself the possessor, so far as reasonable and so far as the processes of the law will allow"

Part C2, LR Practice Advice Leaflet adverse Possession

"No action shall be brought by any person to recover any land after the expiration of twelve years from the date on which the right of action accrued to him of, if it is first accrued to find some person through whom he claims, to that person. The right of action accrues, and so the limitation period starts to run from the start of the Adverse Possession"

Part DI, LR Practice Leaflet adverse Possession

"An owner of land can lose his or her ownership (whether it be registered or unregistered land) after there has been uninterrupted Adverse Possession. An existing owner loses his or her ownership after there has been uninterrupted Adverse Possession for the relevant period laid down in the Limitations Act 1980"

LR Public Information Leaflet free Land and Property

So there you have it. Providing that during the Statutory Period (10 or 12 years) of your adverse possession, no one else has proved they are the owner, and you can prove to the Land Registry that you have been using or have made use  (permanently and ongoing) of the land or property for the Statutory Period, being granted ownership, with Possessory Freehold Title, should not be a problem or having the title transferred pro-rata to the previous registered owners title, in the case of registered land or property.

The only exclusion to the statutory period is relevant to CROWN LAND, where the period is never less than 30 years.

During your occupation of the land (prior to applying for ownership and/or transfer of title) there are numerous ways to proving your permanent and ongoing usage and occupation of it.

Here are a few examples:

Erect sheds & Greenhouses: ideal for growing small plants.

Grow Fruit & Vegetables: You could even supply your local green grocers & market traders (well worth a try).

Grow Trees: Trees are big money earners.

Animal Grazing: Horses, goats & sheep etc.

Grow Crops: This depends on the size of the land etc.

Grow Heather: This depends on the size of the land etc.

And the best option and most profitable and easiest,

RENT: Rent out part of the land to a third party who may wish to do any or all of the above.

Should you decide to profit from your land and/or rent it out to a third party, we would strongly recommend you keep a record of all weekly, monthly or quarterly payments received in lieu of goods and/or services provided during the Statutory Period. These records can then be produced as proof to the Land Registry, that you have been making use of the land for the Statutory Period, when requested.

According to the latest feedback from the Land Registry, the following activities, which if carried out solely will not act as sufficient evidence of your adverse possession claim:

 fencing off the land, and then leaving it

  mowing the grass every month

 Building a shed or greenhouse on the land then leaving it

  Occasional car boot sales

Therefore, if you’re sole activities are relevant to any of the above actions, your claim will not be successful. Please bear with that in mind at all times. The person in possession will be liable to pay appropriate Council Tax will also go a long was to proving your possession of the property at the time of applying for ownership. With regard to LAND there may be a liability for taxes depending on the proposed usage etc, and it would be best to seek clarification from your local Council Office.

Building on the land:

After 12 years continuous possession of the unregistered land, and your successful registration of ownership with Possessory Freehold title, (or title pro rata to the previous registered owners title), you will have no problem whatsoever with building on (or developing the land - planning permission permitting of course.

However, should you decide to erect a property, (or fully/renovate the existing property) before the end of the Statutory Period, then any improvements you make will be conveyed to the land owner or their relatives, should they unexpectedly turn up and prove their ownership. Speaking from  experience we would advise you not to build on the land during the Statutory Period.

After being granted ownership to the unregistered land or property after the statutory period, with Possessory Freehold Title, (of having the previous owners title transferred to you in the case of registered land or property), and in order to ultimately protect your investment, there exists a readily available Defective Title Indemnity Insurance policy, which you can take out on the land or property.

Here’s what this excellent policy will do for you:

Should the actual owner of the property appear at a later date, and try to reclaim their ownership the insurance company will

1. Pay you FULL MARKET VALUE of the land or property, or buy the land or property from the owner and transfer Absolute Title of the land to you, in full and final settlement.

Either way, this policy totally negates the relevance of the owner unexpectedly turning up at a later date. It makes absolutely no difference to you one-way of the other!!!

Taking this policy into account, you would (at that stage) have the option to sell the land if you wished to do so, together with your possessory freehold title and the Defective Title Indemnity Insurance policy attached to it, for a very nice price.

There are many Insurance companies that can advise on this. Some of the best include

Countrywide legal @ www.countrywidelegal.co.uk/range.html

 Royal sun @ www.profin.uk.royalsun.com/ProductList.html

 Marsh @ http://www.marsh.co.uk/

First-Title @ http://www.firsttitlegroup.co.uk/

c.Houses or property: and Laying Claim: the Ground Rules:

Again, just as with starting your adverse possession of land and although you are not requires submit any forms to the Land Registry at the initial stage, we would advise you to keep some relevant documentary evidence to back-up the actual starting date of your claim  as detailed earlier in this guide.

With regard to initially commencing your claim and physically being in adverse possession of the property, here’s what you should do next:

Gain entry and secure the property: utilising the services of a local locksmith can do this. When entering a property, always have the locks changes if possible. Irrespective of the circumstances, do not force entry to the property and always be sure not to cause any damage to the property in question.

When taking possession of a disused or abandoned property, there is not too much more you can do at this stage of the process, aside gaining entry and securing the property.

Repairs, Renovations & Utility Issues:

If the property is in a run down state, then you’ll need to attend to this accordingly, Your ultimate objective here is to get the property into a position where you’ll be able to physically move in and live there - or alternatively rent the property out to a tenant. These options are covered in detail, later within this guide.

Until your claim has gone the Statutory 10 or 12 years distance, and you have been granted Possessory Title, (or had the previous owners title transferred to you), you would be unwise to spend any great amount of money on the refurbishment. For example, spending thousands on a new kitchen or bathroom could be money wasted (at this early stage in the proceedings) - as there is always a chance that the true owner could appear at any time during the Statutory Period.

However, inexpensive repairs should not be a problem, i.e, painting walls & floors etc.

These are the options you should seriously consider (dependent upon the state of the property) prior to deciding to move in there yourself or renting out the property. Some properties may well only need a lick of paint and a good tidy up, others may need much more attention. You should of course, take these factors into account during the early stages of your investigation into properties you could claim via adverse possession.

Services to the property (i.e. gas, water & electricity) will need careful assessment and consideration, together with the following points:

 Are utility services currently connected to the property?

  Is gas really necessary if electricity is available?

 Can I get the utilities serviced and tested cheaply?

  could I get by with portable heating and/or lighting appliances?

Again, all of the above questions should be taken into account as early as possible into your claim investigation.

Let’s now take a look at what you must actually do with the property in question, in order to fully comply with the respective adverse possession legislation.

D. Property and Statutory Period Usage:

Having taken the necessary steps detailed in the previous section, here are your options:

 Move into the property: This of course is dependent on the property’s current state,

  Rent out the property: on a low rent basis.

Tenancy Terms:

If the property is rented out to tenants on a low rent basis, it should ideally be done via what is known as a Tenancy at Will agreement.

This is a type of letting agreement, which legally allows you to ask the tenant to leave the property at very short notice. In lieu of this, the rent you would charge them would be reasonably low.

That is to say, the fact that you have rented the property to them, on a low-rent basis, goes hand in hand with the fact they are governed by the possible quick termination of their tenancy.

Your solicitor could provide you with a standard off the shelf TENANCY-AT-WILL agreement, upon request.

Should you decide to rent out the property, we would recommend you keep a record of all your incomings weekly of monthly rent payments. Ideally you should use a standard rent book for this purpose (available from most stationary shops). This document can then be used as proof (evidence) to the Land Registry that you have been making use (i.e. renting out) the property for the duration of the Statutory Period.

If you have been living in the property yourself, then be sure to keep relevant records also, i.e. receipts, utility bills, council tax bills etc, as these too will be required as proof to the Land Registry that you have (personally) been occupying the property through the Statutory Period.

The most important factor to consider here is the type of tenant you choose, as opposed to the weekly of monthly rental price you have set, which will be quite low anyway. Choosing the right tenant is very important, because it will ultimately assist your claim, For example, you’ll have bills going to the property, which you’ll need to substantiate your claim so you don’t want those to get lost, go unpaid or go missing and have to request replacements etc.

You’ll also want your claim to be as smooth and low profile as possible, so the last thing you’ll want for your neighbours to be annoyed by all night parties and other activities your tenants might undertake. Make this point crystal clear to any prospective tenants, prior to making your final decision. Also note that having a good relationship with the neighbours is desirable, and will help you with your claims. You should also keep a record of all the respondents to your property to Let advertisements.

Bear in mind that when you take possession of the property, that’s when the Statutory Period clock start counting down. This time will be the same if you live there or if you rent it out.

Important Note: Following being granted ownership to the unregistered land or property after the Statutory Period, with Possessory Freehold Title, (or having previous owners title transferred to you in the case of registered land of property), and in order to ultimately protect your investment, there exists a readily available Defective Title Indemnity Insurance policy as detailed earlier, which you can take out on the land or property.

6. Unregistered Land and Property - Applying for Possessory Freehold TITLE AND Absolute Freehold Title:

To enable us to take stock and see exactly where we are right now, please not the following very brief overview of the chain of events that lead from the initial adverse possession of the unregistered land or property, right through to claiming Possessory Freehold Title and ultimately Absolute Freehold Title:

Please Note: The following is shown for example purposes only, and therefore assumes continuous possession of the land or property in line with current legislation ñ and without any challenge being presented by the owner/s at any time during the Statutory Period/s

 adverse possession of the unregistered land or property commences.

 12 years adverse possession ends and an Application to be the Registered Owner with Possessory Freehold Title is submitted to the LAND Registry.

 the land registry grants Registered Ownership. You are now to registered owner of the land of property, with the Possessory Freehold Title.

A further 12 years on from the date you were granted Possessory Freeholds Title, you can then apply to then Land Registry to have your Title upgraded to Absolute Freehold Title.

In summary, 24 years (this time can be halved, and is explained later in the guide) from the initial commencement of your adverse possession claim of the unregistered land or property, you will be the legal owner, and you’ll be free to do anything you choose with your newly acquired land of property subject to local authority constraints such as planning, building regulations, health AND SAFETY, COVENANTS ETC.

You may want to retain the land or property to sell on your retirement, or develop the land. You may also want to use the land or property as collateral to secure a loan or mortgage you were not previously able to. You may want to rent the land or property out to provide you with a second income, or you already have the bug to find more land or property you could successfully claim.

With regard to selling the land, I would strongly discourage this within your first 12 years adverse possession. You may be able to sell your interest during this period, but the sale price would be very low at best.

You would be far better to wait (at least) until you had gained registered ownership with Poseessory Freehold Title to the land or property and it would be even better (and immensely more profitable) for you to wait until you have Absolute Title to the land or property. At that stage you cold sell it for the full market value.

Being granted Absolute Title: Taking the brief overview into account would probably lead you to believe that you must wait a total of 24 years prior to being granted Absolute Title to the land or property.

Following the letter of the law, this is true but in reality, you could apply for (and usually be granted) Absolute Title long before then. Here’s how:

Where the title is a possessory one, whether freehold or leasehold, the proprietor is entitled to request conversion to either absolute freehold or good leasehold if the land has been registered for 12 years. Application can also be made, at any time after the land is first registered, to convert a possessory freehold to absolute freehold. I Section 1&3, LR Explanatory Leaflet conversion of Title

In layman’s terms, this means that  any time after you have been granted Possessory Freehold Title to the land (i.e. after 12 years adverse possession); you can apply to have your title converted to Absolute Freehold Title.

The conversion of title is not automatic, as no 2 cases are ever the same but providing you are adhere to the legislation and produce sufficient evidence to substantiate the strength of your claim, it may be converted to absolute Freehold and could be done in (say) year 13 or 14 of your claim, I.E. long before 24 years have elapsed.

The worst-case scenario here is that you apply for conversion of the title, and it is rejected. There would be no harm done, and you’ll need to wait the full term, while still continuing to profit from the land or property in the meantime.

In addition to the above point, don’t forget that you also have the opportunity to cash in to the tune of the full market value of the land or property, via the taking out of the Defective Title Indemnity Insurance policy, as outlined earlier in this guide.

A. Starting your application for Possessory Freehold Title:

No less than 12 years from the initial start of your Adverse Possession claim of the unregistered land or property, and assuming all the relevant points (and legislations) have been strictly adhered to, lets now concentrate on applying for registered ownership with possessory Freehold Title.

Hereís what you'll need to do:

Your first step should be to complete and submit the following items:

 Form FR-I (The Application For First Registration)

 @  www.landreg.gov.uk/assests/library/documents/fr1.pdf

 The accompanying Form DL (List of Documents)

@ www.landreg.gov/uk.assests/library/documents/dl.pdf

 A Statutory Declaration.

Clicking on the links above if you are currently online will take you immediately to the form in question. Alternatively you cold scroll down and locate it yourself from the Land Registry Website Forms Page @ http://www.landreg.gov.uk/publications/?pubtype=1

You can also of course obtain any of these forms as well by post from the Land Registry HQ Office.

HM Land Registry Headquarters 32 Lincolns Inn Fields London WC2A 3PH

With specific regard to Form DL its main function is to enable you to include a list of supporting documentary evidence to support your adverse possession claim of the land or property in question.

This documentation could include, (but is not limited to), the following items:

 The signed, dated and witnessed letter (and photographs) you assembled prior to the commencement of your adverse possession,

  Rent Books - to prove the incoming weekly, monthly quarterly payments received from tenants of the property, or individuals that have rented the land from you etc,

  Utility Bills received at the land/property, by yourself or any tenants,  Council tax bills received at the land/property, by yourself of any tenants,

  any other documentation you can produce in order to prove your continuous uninterrupted possession of the land or property during the Statutory Period.

With regard to the Statutory Declaration, this should be completed, with the help of your solicitor, to include and cover all the relevant details applicable to your claim, including the following information:

 the circumstances in which your adverse possession started, including the specific date.

  the specific purpose for which the land/property ha been used, and the activities carried on there.

  the extent to which the land or property is enclosed by fences,. Who erected them and maintained them and on what dates

  if there is a gate, details of whether or not there is a lock and key and if so, who holds the key/s.

  the name & address of the owner, or the person thought to be the owner.

  the title number and documentation of any registered land you may own that adjoins the land or property area you are claiming.

  the documentation relevant to any unregistered land you may own that adjoins the land or property area you are claiming.

 Confirmation that your occupation of the land or property has not been under a lease tenancy or license - or with the consent of any person.

  Full details and documentation relating to any disputes arising from your occupation (or tenants occupation) of the land or property.

The forms FR-I and DL should be taken to a practicing Land Law Solicitor, who will help you complete them in line with your objective, a plan of the land area should also be attached to Form FR-I, with the respective land area highlighted.

Your Solicitor will also be required to sign the forms and sign and witness your Statutory Declaration. Form DL should also be returned to the Land Registry in duplicate (i.e. 2 copies should be sent) together with the rest of the forms and documentation.

Note: All of this may seem a little daunting at this early stage, but bear in mind your Solicitor will have dealt with (and completed) these forms hundreds of times before  so you need not worry about completing all these forms.

Finally, with specific regard to the Land Registry fee payable in respect of your form FR-I submission, this is based on the value of the land or property. Your best option here, would be to estimate it yourself, based loosely around the value of land and property surrounding it, if applicable. Our advice would be to value it between £0 and £50,000 putting the land or property within the first scale charge band, and with a Land Registry fixed fee of just £40. A cheque made payable to HM Land Registry should be included with the form.

Undoubtedly the land will be worth more if your claim is successful at a later date but in the meantime, true market value f the land (in the case of land currently under adverse possession) will be a lot lower.

If the land (for example) could be described as being a prime Development Land area, then you should arrange for a professional valuation to be done via a local conveyancer. You do not want to purposely undervalue the land at the time of submitting Form FR-I, as this could work against you in the future.

The Land Registry Surveyor: The Land Registry Surveyor will visit the site in question, in order to access the site and to take photographs. However, this will only occur if (for example) the plans on your originally submitted Form FR-I are not clear or contradictory to the respective deeds. The current Site Inspection Fee, should it be deemed necessary, is a fixed fee of £40. The only exception to this rule is if the surveyor needs to visit the site, in relation to a land dispute or court hearing. A fee will be applicable in this instance.

Shortly after submitting Forms FR-I, DL and your Statutory Declaration to the Land Registry, and assuming everything is 100% in order, relevant to the legislation, you should hear back from them with confirmation of your registered ownership with Possessory Freehold Title. You should file this document in a safe place for future reference.

B. Starting you application for Absolute Freehold Title:

12 years after being granted ownership of the land with Possessory Freehold title, (i.e. 24 years after initially commencing your claim), and assuming all the relevant points (and the legislations) have been strictly adhered to during the same period, lets now look at how you would proceed to apply for Conversion of Title of the property of land, from it’s current Possessory Freehold Title to Absolute Freehold Title.

Note this text from the current Land Registry Rules:

Where the title to a freehold estate in land has been entered in the register as possessory for at least 12 years, the registrar may enter it as absolute if he is satisfied that the proprietor is in possession of the land

The Land Registry Act 2003, Section 62 (Power to Upgrade Title), Subsection 4

Here’s what you’ll need to do:

Complete and return to the Land registry Form UT-I (Application for Upgrading of Title) @ www.landreg.gov.uk/assests/library/documents/ut1.pdf

This form should be taken to a practicing Land Law Solicitor, who will help you complete it accordingly, and in line with your objective. It should be returned to the Land Registry with the additional required documentation, as detailed previously, and including the official documentation you received from the Land Registry when you were initially granted ownership of the land with Possessory Freehold Title. Your solicitor will be able to advise you further on these points.

Shortly after submission, you should hear back from the Land Registry with confirmation of your registered ownership with Absolute Freehold Title. You should file this document in a safe place for future reference. As this stage, you will be the proud legal owner, with Absolute Freehold Title to the land or property - and you’ll be free to do anything you choose with your newly acquired land or property ñ subject to local authority constraints such as planning permission, building regulations, health and safety, covenants etc.

7. Registered Land and Property  Applying For Ownership and Transfer of Title:

Following your continuous and uninterrupted possession of the registered land or property, for a minimum Statutory Period of 10 years, an assuming all the relevant points (and legislation) have been strictly adhered to during the same period, lets now look at how you would proceed to ultimately have previous registered owners title transferred to you.

Note the following text from the current Land Registry Rules:

Right to apply for registration:

1. A person may apply to the registrar to be registered as the proprietor of a registered estate in land if he has been in adverse possession of the estate for the period often years ending on the date of the application

Land Registration Act 2002, Chapter 9, Schedule 6

Here is what you’ll need to do:

Complete and return Form ADV-I to the Land Registry (Application for registration of a person in adverse possession under Schedule 6 to the Land Registration Act 2002) @ www.landreg.gov.uk/assests/library/documents/adv1.doc

Again, this form should be taken to a practicing Land Law Solicitor, who will help you complete it in line with your objective.

Documentary evidence to support your claim of the land or property in question should also include, (but is not limited to) the following items:

 The signed, dated and witnessed letter (and photographs) you assembled prior to the commencement of your possession,

  Rent Books received at the land/property by yourself or any tenants,

  Council tax bills received at the land/property, by yourself or any tenants,

  Any other documentation you can produce in order to prove your (or your tenants) continuous uninterrupted possession of the land or property during the Statutory Period.

With regard to the required Statutory Period, this should be completed, with the help of your Solicitor, to include and cover all the relevant details applicable to your claim, including the following information: The circumstances in which your adverse possession started, including the specific date.

  the specific purpose for which the land/property ha been used, and the activities carried on there.

  the extent which the land or property is enclosed by fences and who erected them and maintained them on what dates.

  if there is a gate, details of whether or not there is a lock and key and if so, who holds the key/s.

  the name & address of the owner, or the person thought to be the owner.

  the title number and documentation of any registered land you may own that adjoins the land or property area you are claiming.

 the documentation relevant to any unregistered land you may own that adjoins the land or property area you are claiming.

 Confirmation that your occupation of the land or property has not been under a lease tenancy or license - or with the consent of any person.

  Full details and documentation relating to any disputes arising from your occupation (or tenants occupation) of the land or property.

A plan of the land area should also be attached to Form ADV-I, with the respective land area highlighted.

With regard to the Land Registry fee payable to your Form ADV-I, this is currently a fixed fee (in line with the LR Fee Order 2003) of £100. A cheque (made payable to HM Land Registry) should be included with the form. This figure also includes the standard Site Inspection Fee of £40, due to the fact that the Land Registry Surveyor may need to visit the site personally.

 The Land Registry will write to the registered owner of the land or property, (i.e. the person/s they currently have their records as being the registered owner) to advise them they have received an official application to have the land or property registered in the name of a new owner (i.e. you). It will of course, be worded very differently to that but that will be the main thrust of the communication.