House extends onto unregistered land

[richaswr]

Hi everyone, I've done a lot of research online about this and talked to some solicitors but still don't have a real legal understanding of the situation and what I can do about it.

3 years ago I purchased a mid-terraced house. The house has a fenced off yard that was formerly part of a shared plot at the back of all the houses on that row. All yards are fenced off at the back with an alley for access behind the entire plot.

I came to sell my house last year and it became apparent that the extension that the house has may extend onto the yard. The yard is unregistered and is not part of my title, though I was aware it wasn't part of the title at the time.

The solicitors representing the buyer I had last year raised the issue. My solicitor advised we try the adverse posession route and I contact the previous owner to make a statement about having possessed the land without contest for their entire period of ownership. They are however unwilling to cooperate.

We proceeded to make an application anyway, with my next door neighbours providing a statement in support (as they've lived there for well over the 12 years). The Land Registry rejected this of course.

Some notes before my questions:
- My solicitors for the purchase would seem to have completely missed the fact that the extension might go over a boundary, despite seeking indemnity insurance for the lack of building regulations
- The extension is ~40 years old and was built, we believe, at the same time as next door's extension (same brick, same length, plans for extension under next door's name from the early 80s)
- The land at the back was all shared in decades gone by, without any fences in place.
- From my perspective at the time, as a first time buyer, I knew I was buying the house and not the yard, so I was none the wiser that it may extend over the boundary and wasn't informed as such
- The title plan is from before the plots were divided up and simply shows a large white space behind all the houses, and no boundary. Just a red line around the house.
- Some business account images from the Land Registry seem to suggest my house extends further than all the rest of the houses, which is simply untrue, there are some that extend further, some that are the same level and others that are not as far extended.

I am in a bit of a pickle here, I have these questions:
- Is it possible to seek indemnity insurance (or similar) to cover the lack of ownership of the yard?
- Does the fact that the yard is fenced in on all 4 sides (3 fences, one house rear wall) not make it possible for me to apply for the registration of that land, given that the whole plot behind the row of terraces is no longer shared, as per my title?
- Could it be possible that the boundaries are incorrectly drawn and I can apply to get them assessed?
- Do I have recourse against the original solicitor for failing to cover this scenario? I don't even have a statement by the former owner to help me in an adverse posession claim, which the Land Registry want to see before they approve the application.

A lot of questions there, though I appreciate if anyone can provide any clarity on even one of the points above!

Thanks
Steve

[atticus]

A pickle indeed.

Briefly, (I could write a lot more, but don't have the time):

Q1. This may be possible. Contact indemnity insurers.

Q2. This would be part of an application to register possessory title (adverse possession). Is there anything from the sellers in the purchase file that might assist?

Q3. This is possible, but I think you would need evidence going back to whenever the boundaries were first drawn.

Q4. This may be possible, depending on the information the solicitor saw/should have seen. If, however, all he saw was the Land Registry title and had no way of knowing that the property you were buying extended further, then it may be that he had no way of knowing.

Sorry - I doubt this takes you any further. The indemnity policy route may be the way to enable you to sell, together with a statutory declaration about your exclusive use, for use in a future adverse possession application by the owner at that time..

[richaswr]

Hi Atticus. Thank you for taking the time to respond to me.

I have a solicitor in contact with Aviva regarding the indemnity, I'm just not getting a lot of info out of them right now. Hopefully we get an answer soon.

I don't believe there's anything from the sellers file. Their solicitors did see the lack of building regulations for the extension as an issue, but not the boundary and there was no statement of truth provided.

My wife and I have done a lot of research on the area and may even have narrowed down who owns the plot. We'll see where we are when my solicitors get back to me.

Thanks again
Steve