Can I get my land back ?

[Bobby boy]

Morning ,
I have lived in my home for around 26 years , it was previously owned by the local council but we bought it from them around 15 years ago .
When we bought it a council surveyor came to see us , she had the deeds and we stood discussing boundaries , when we came to the front of my property we discovered that my neighbour had built his drive way across my land taking around 20 square metres , if I remember correctly the council surveyor said that my neighbour had done this years previously and I could do nothing about it .
My questions are these , the land as far as I'm aware is still on my deeds and the neighbours are thinking of selling , can I still take ownership of the land or put a stop on the sale of their house until the deeds are sorted , and secondly would it cause problems selling my own property in the future .

Thank you in advance

[des8]

Re: Can I get my land back ?

Get a copy of the deeds from land Registry to make certain the land is yours. https://land-registry-online.com/
If it is, just be polite and let the neighbours know that you would like it back, either immediately or when they sell

[Bobby boy]

Re: Can I get my land back ?

Thank you for the reply , I've clicked your link , which section do I purchase from ? Would old deeds be the right one please ? Regards

[Sparkie1723]

Re: Can I get my land back ?

I believe the Council surveyor was wrong in saying you could do nothing about it ...I'm pretty certain ( but could be wrong) a Deed is a Deed and cannot be broken with agreement and consent Order............If your neighbour is not a reasonable person you can make it very difficult for them.....but I don't think you would want to ..it would be a lot of hassle for you both, you will either have to accept that you have " Lost" the land or fight to get it back. I'm sure you will get more advice / views on this problem
Which is more than a Bit of a problem you face Bobby Boy.

Sparkie

[stevemLS]

Re: Can I get my land back ?

Deeds are not much used now, compulsory registration was brought in gradually in England and Wales but covered the whole since 1990, so if you bought your property since then, it should be registered.

That means you should be able to get a copy of the land registry title entries and title plan, I think they are £3 each and you should be able to get them online.

However, in accordance with the Land Registration Act 2002, if your neighbour's drive has been in place for over 10 years, and from what you say it has, he may be able to claim ownership of it under the now statutory concept of adverse possession. The process would be for him to make the claim to HM Land Registry who would then notify you. You have two years then to apply to the court to, essentially, evict him. If you do not issue proceedings within that window, the land becomes the property of your neighbour.

Yes, it could cause problems to you in selling. You don't have clean title.

[Crazy council]

Re: Can I get my land back ?

arguing out deeds over boundary can be a nightmare.. start with a local search of records at the archive. not everything is on the land reg docs. If they have had un-restricted access for over 7 years, they may have right as well ( think they were called grandparents rights ).

Best advise, start with a local search of the records, at you local archives. search council records for details fo boundries

[des8]

Re: Can I get my land back ?

Click on "title Plan" and on drop down menu choose "Title register and title plan" and enter the details you have.

[dan_1207]

Re: Can I get my land back ?

Morning ,
I have lived in my home for around 26 years , it was previously owned by the local council but we bought it from them around 15 years ago .
When we bought it a council surveyor came to see us , she had the deeds and we stood discussing boundaries , when we came to the front of my property we discovered that my neighbour had built his drive way across my land taking around 20 square metres , if I remember correctly the council surveyor said that my neighbour had done this years previously and I could do nothing about it .
My questions are these , the land as far as I'm aware is still on my deeds and the neighbours are thinking of selling , can I still take ownership of the land or put a stop on the sale of their house until the deeds are sorted , and secondly would it cause problems selling my own property in the future .

Thank you in advance

Land law, huzzah! My specialism.

When you purchased the property, you will have also been given a title plan (usually filed away at the back of your TP1 or lease, whichever tenure is applicable. That title plan has (usually) a red line around your land, which is known as your boundary. "T" markings indicate liability for party walls.

When you say the build of the driveway was "years before", do you mean years before you purchased your land? This is important.

It is quite possible that the driveway is an easement, so it would be beneficial to obtain office copy entries of your land to ascertain wherther it is registered. It is, however, quite possible to have an unregistered legal easement which is an interest which overrides the register (thus, not appearing on the office copy entries.)

[dan_1207]

Re: Can I get my land back ?

Also, does the driveway prevent you from using the portion of your land which it covers? ie, is there a fence around it, or are you able to quite easily walk over it.

[Bobby boy]

Re: Can I get my land back ?

The land in question has a wall built across it and did have when the surveyor ( council ) came out . I purchased the home and land from the council in around 2001 , the neighbour had built a wall across it previous to that date but not sure on how many years .
I guess it sounds like a lot of hassle to get it back so wonder if I'd be better asking for remuneration for the land , it's more the principle that bothers me , people just taking things isn't right . Have I any legal right to it now , can I stop the sale of his home until it is sorted , and as advised already on here it may well cause problems if I need to sell in future .

[dan_1207]

Re: Can I get my land back ?

The land in question has a wall built across it and did have when the surveyor ( council ) came out . I purchased the home and land from the council in around 2001 , the neighbour had built a wall across it previous to that date but not sure on how many years .
I guess it sounds like a lot of hassle to get it back so wonder if I'd be better asking for remuneration for the land , it's more the principle that bothers me , people just taking things isn't right . Have I any legal right to it now , can I stop the sale of his home until it is sorted , and as advised already on here it may well cause problems if I need to sell in future .

The law says that the dominant owner cannot exclude the servient owner from the land. In short, it isn't an easement. Next stop is your deeds and title plan.

[des8]

Re: Can I get my land back ?

Putting the issue of rights to one side at the moment, how do you get on with your neighbours?
I'm sure it would be preferable, if possible, to discuss the matter amicably with the neighbours, and see how they view the position.
Are you sure they built on your land, and it wasn't a previous occupier of the property? Perhaps a previous occupier of your house acquiesced in the encroachment?

[wales01man]

Re: Can I get my land back ?

Unless you want a big legal bill you must reach a compromise some compo maybe and they pay any costs involved in altering the deeds .

[stevemLS]

Re: Can I get my land back ?

Agree with both des and wales that mutual agreement would be by far the most preferable way forward. Boundary disputes can be tremendously expensive and protracted.

However, if your neighbour acquires your land by adverse possession, you are not entitled to any payment. There are steps that you can take to prevent that happening though which I am sure dan can help you with but you will also be advised of them of the Land Registry if and when a claim is made.

[Crazy council]

Re: Can I get my land back ?

I dealt with a protracted one of these, ( but it was back in 2005 ) if the original plot was built or divided prior 1990, you definitely start at the local council records, if the land boundaries pre-date 1980, definitely.

It costs a real lot to argue one of these, everyone requires top quality surveyors. We was advised, find the original title plan in the council records ( for the land ) and work forward from there, then present any boundary differences we have to the land reg.. Start with a records search, then talk to neighbors