|
User Trust Registered
Property List
Seen In
|
Step 3 Claiming unregistered property or land
Once you have back your results, your land / property will fall into 1 of 3 categories. Cat 1 - Land is currently registered - This land / property is registered with the Land Registry and it is unlikely you can claim it as your own. Move on to the next property . Cat 2 - Land / Property is pending application for first registration - This means that someone else has already got there before you. Bad luck, simply walk away . Cat 3 - This land / property is unregistered. - Your target is unregistered. Consider making a claim! However, this does not always mean that no one owns the land or that you can automatically claim it. It does mean that you can claim what is known as 'possessory title' and it is very unlikely that anyone has any rights other than yourself to the land / property or they would have registered their title! .So far so good, you have completed the first step by finding an unregistered plot / property
The next crucial step is to show that you have made every attempt to trace a possible owner of the unregistered land / property if there is one (keep documentation on file". Tracing a possible owner can time consuming but it's well worth it in the end.
1) Check the electoral roll
2) Check with the post office or even ask the local postman if it is a building.
3) Talk to local shops and neighbours and simply ask around
Once you have done your research, you will reach 1 of 3 conclusions
1. The owner is alive and well- If the owner is alive and well, then you will be challenged and so is best left alone. Move on to the next property / land plot
2. The owner has died - If you discover that the owner has died, you can check with the UK Wills and Probate Registry office to see if the inheritors are using the land or not. If there are no beneficiaries then go to the last stage:
3. You can find no owner anywhere. - Go to the last stage ,
Your target is unregistered with no traceable owners. It is time to get your claiming process underway. . . The last stage . As you have discovered a property or plot of land that is unregistered and with no traceable legal owner, you now need to take possession of the land / property. There are many guidelines in what you can and cannot do and if all of these criteria are met, then at the end of the stated period, the land / property will be yours under what is known as Possessory Freehold Title . Guidelines . You must take physical possession of the land. If you can prove open and exclusive occupation of the land including it's upkeep, then the property / land plot becomes your after 12 years ( Possessory Freehold Title ), if during this time, you have not been challenged by someone who turns out to be a legal owner. . There must be no 'hidden' occupation, for example: you must appear to the outside world that you have occupies the property or land. A clear intension of ownership must be shown by you. . Consider doing the following to show this intension of occupation:
Build a fence around the property / land. Do not exceed 2 metres in height as you will then need planning permission. Change the locks to any gates or doors. Clean or tidy the property / land plot and generally make it appear occupied to people instead of just an overgrown mess.
You can now quite legally, use the land or property for profit, live in it, put a caravan on it, even apply for planning permission for change of use, etc.
There is an insurance policy you you can take out with nearly all high street insurance companies whereby you can even sell it. . Most important is to get some evidence of when you first took adverse possession of the land / property. You could do this in several ways for example - Take a photograph (s) of you occupying the property. Back up the photographic evidence by maybe holding a newspaper and having a witness. . Remember, to successfully claim the land, you MUST show beyond doubt that you have occupied the land / property for 12 years. Keeping it tidy with a surrounding fence may not prove enough. Try putting the land / property to use such as growing vegetable and selling them (keeping receipts etc) or anything else you can think of that shows you have wholly occupied the property / land plot. . After 12 years have elapsed, you need to apply to The Land Registry for Registered Ownership with possessory Freehold Title using form FR1, form DL and statutory declaration . Download . . After another 12 years of possessory freehold title has passed, you can apply to obtain Absolute Freehold Title using form UT1 . Download Form UT1 . . The property will then legally be yours for good
|
Members log in
7 Day Trial
Repossessed Houses
|
