When the Land Registration Act 2002 (“the LRA”) came into force on 13th October 2003, it introduced a new scheme for the acquisition of registered land by adverse possession which was designed to restrict a squatter’s ability to claim ownership of land legally owned by someone else.
Under the old regime, and indeed the regime that still applies to unregistered land, if a squatter could prove 12 years’ occupation of the land, with the necessary intention to possess and a sufficient degree of control of the land, subject to some exceptions, they would have a successful claim for adverse possession.
Since the introduction of the LRA, however, the scales have been balanced in favour of the landowner and the idea that land registration prevails. A squatter is entitled to apply to the Land Registry to become the registered proprietor once they have been in adverse possession of the land in question for a minimum period of 10 years. The registered owner of the land will be notified of this application by the Land Registry (NB the importance of keeping your address for service at the Land Registry up-to-date). If the application is not opposed by a notified person then the squatter’s application will be successful. If the application is opposed, then the squatter’s application will be rejected unless they can establish that one or more of three grounds apply, namely;
- Proprietary Estoppel ie it would be unconscionable for the squatter to be removed from the land;
- The squatter has some other right to the land eg they had intended to purchase the land and had paid the purchase monies to the seller but the transfer of the legal estate had not been completed;
- The adjacent land/boundaries ground. This ground is relevant in cases where a squatter’s own property and the land they are claiming to own by adverse possession are adjacent to one another and there is a reasonable mistake as to boundaries.
The case of Dowse and Another v City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council [2020] UKUT 202 (LC) was concerned with the third of these grounds. There are four elements to this ground and all four must apply in order for the squatter to be successful;
- The land they are claiming must be adjacent to their own land;
- The exact boundary line between the two has not been determined (under S60 of the LRA);
- The applicant had reasonably believed that the land had belonged to them for at least 10 years prior to the date of the application; and
- The land had been registered more than one year prior to the date of the application.
On the facts of this case, Mr and Mrs Dowse relied upon the above-mentioned ground to claim circa two acres of land which bordered the garden of their residential property and belonged to the Council. They claimed to have used the land in question since 1974 for the purposes of grazing and, more recently, for storage of a caravan/trailer and to grow hay.
Mr and Mrs Dowse argued that on literal reading of the four conditions, all four were met; the land was adjacent to their garden, the boundary had not been determined under the LRA, they had reasonably believed that the land had belonged to them on the basis of adverse possession for over 40 years, and the land had been registered in excess of one year.
The Judge rejected this literal interpretation of the conditions. He submitted that the ground could only apply to land in the general area of the boundary. The land in this case could not be said to be adjacent to the property belonging to Mr and Mrs Dowse as only a small area of it was. The whole of the land, or a substantial part, would need to be adjacent to the Dowse’s property in order for condition A to apply.
In summary, the adjacent land ground appears to only apply to those applications which concern a true boundary dispute. The Upper Tribunal’s decision in this case serves as further reminder of the limited circumstances in which a claim for adverse possession will be successful under the LRA. It is therefore important before proceeding with a claim for adverse possession to objectively consider the strength of the claim and the likelihood of success.
If you require any advice in respect of a claim for adverse possession, please do not hesitate to get in contact with the team who would be happy to assist you.
