Adverse possession

View Property by content type:

Practice notes

Precedents

Q&As

News

Latest Property News

PizzaExpress—Part 26A restructuring plan sanction hearing

The following Banking & Finance news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on PizzaExpress—Part 26A restructuring plan sanction hearing

Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill—a view from the restructuring and insolvency profession

The following Banking & Finance news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill—a view from the restructuring and insolvency profession

The practice of filing a notice of intention (JCAM Commercial Real Estate Property XV Ltd v Davis Haulage Ltd)

The following Banking & Finance news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on The practice of filing a notice of intention (JCAM Commercial Real Estate Property XV Ltd v Davis Haulage Ltd)

Scope of lending bank’s duty to commercial borrower to treat the customer fairly (Morley v RBS)

The following Banking & Finance news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on Scope of lending bank’s duty to commercial borrower to treat the customer fairly (Morley v RBS)

Featured Property content

The Standard Conditions of Sale (5th edition: 2018 revision)—a guide to the main provisions

The Standard Conditions of Sale (SCS), currently in their 5th edition (2018 revision), are a set of standard conditions which are commonly...

The equity of redemption

Disposal and devolutionThe equity of redemption arises as soon as the mortgage is made. It is an interest in the land which the mortgagor...

Resulting trusts

Resulting trusts represent one of the three types of trust which do not require to be declared or evidenced in writing. The others are constructive...

Authorised guarantee agreements

What is an authorised guarantee agreement (AGA)?Under an authorised guarantee agreement (AGA), an outgoing tenant guarantees some or all of the...

Practice notes

Equitable mortgages and equitable charges—general principles and registered land

Nature of mortgages and chargesMortgages and charges are distinct forms of security. A mortgage can be legal or equitable and involves the transfer of...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Benevolent funds

A benevolent fund is an institution, including a body of trustees, which holds funds on trust for the purpose of relieving poverty amongst a defined...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Manorial rights

Manorial rights are relics of the feudal system of land tenure. They can still exist in relation to land that:•is former copyhold land, or•was...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Pre-completion searches

Official search with priority—registered land or seller’s title pending first registrationHow and when to search?An official search with priority will...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Rent deposit deeds—common structures

What is a rent deposit?A rent deposit is a sum of money that is deposited by a tenant when it takes a lease of premises as security against the...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Derogation from grant and the covenant for quiet enjoyment

The rule against derogation from grant applies in addition to any obligation of quiet enjoyment. It is not excluded by an express covenant for quiet...

9th Nov

Practice notes

The ‘ad medium filum’ rule

The ‘ad medium filum’ rule is a rebuttable presumption that an owner of land which abuts either:•a public or private highway, or•a non-tidal river or...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Oversailing

TrespassTrespass is the unlawful presence of a person on land in the possession of another. The ownership of land includes the airspace above it....

9th Nov

Practice notes

Letter/certificate of non-crystallisation in property transactions

What is a letter of non-crystallisation?A letter of non-crystallisation is required by a buyer’s/lender’s solicitor to confirm that:•a floating charge...

9th Nov

Precedents

Template completion statement—sale

An adaptable Word version of this Precedent can be saved, downloaded or printed from this link:Completion statement—saleThis Precedent is a template...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Concurrent and reversionary leases

There can be only one lease at a time giving a right to possession and occupation of property. Consequently, if a landlord subsequently grants a lease...

9th Nov

Precedents

Transfer of part

Transfer of partPrecedent transferAn adaptable Word version of the precedent form TP1 can be downloaded, saved or printed from this link:Drafting...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Rent suspension or cesser

Generally, the tenant remains liable for the rent even though the premises have become unusable. Consequently, leases normally contain a provision...

9th Nov

Precedents

Rent Review Memorandum

Rent Review MemorandumLandlord•[insert full name of Landlord] [of [insert address] OR incorporated in England and Wales with company registration...

9th Nov

Practice notes

A review of Standard Commercial Property Conditions (Third Edition) and practical tips

The Third EditionThe third edition of the Standard Commercial Property Conditions was published on 27 April 2017. It is an update to Standard...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Easements—nature and characteristics

Nature of an easementAn easement is an incorporeal right enjoyed by the owner of a legal estate (dominant tenement) over land in the ownership of...

9th Nov

Most recent Adverse possession content

Q&As

Can a discharged bankrupt (B) make an application for adverse possession of land where: B was once the registered proprietor of the land but his interest in the land was disclaimed by his Trustee in Bankruptcy during his bankruptcy, and B has remained in occupation of the land since the disclaimer for over ten years?

BankruptcyWhile this Q&A mentions both undischarged and discharged bankrupt, we have focused on ‘discharged’. We have also assumed that this Q&A is...

22nd Jan

Q&As

A client wishes to claim ownership of adjacent land by adverse possession. The client is elderly and has granted a power of attorney to his son. Can the son make and swear the statutory declaration for the purposes of the adverse possession claim?

Traditionally, a squatter's application is made using Form Application for Registration of Person in Adverse Possession supported by a statutory...

22nd Jan

Q&As

A period of adverse possession of unregistered land can be brought to an end by a signed, written acknowledgement of the owner’s title. Is it possible to interrupt adverse possession of registered land in the same way?

Since the coming into force of the Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA 2002), the means by which title to land can be acquired by adverse possession...

22nd Jan

Q&As

If a claim for adverse possession of registered land succeeds and the land is transferred out of one title and registered under a new title number, do the restrictive covenants on the previous title continue to run, or are they extinguished by virtue of the adverse possession?

If the title to the land is already registered, the claimant steps into the shoes of the registered proprietor and inherits the existing class of...

22nd Jan

Q&As

We have issued a claim for repossession of residential property and monies owed under a maintenance or agency verbal contract. The defendant is not a tenant nor has he ever been and is therefore trespassing. We wish to apply for summary judgment. Under CPR Part 24.3(2)(a)(ii) we cannot apply for summary judgment if the defendant is a tenant or person holding over after the end of his tenancy whose occupancy is protected within the meaning on the Rent Act 1977 or the Housing Act 1988. Is a trespasser protected within the meaning of Rent Act 1977 or the Housing Act 1988?

A trespasser is not protected under the Rent Act 1977 or Housing Act 1988; the residential statutory protection schemes only applies t...

22nd Jan

Q&As

The tenant of a flat has the benefit of a balcony but there is no right to use it in the lease and it is not included within the demise. Can a tenant acquire prescriptive rights over a balcony or could it be an implied grant?

A tenant cannot obtain prescriptive rights against their landlord (see Simmons v Dobson). Depending on the facts when the lease was granted, it is...

22nd Jan

Q&As

Can a declaration of ownership of a piece of land or adverse possession in the alternative be pleaded together?

One of the primary remedies sought by a party wishing to assert ownership of a piece of land is declaratory relief. This is usually brought by way of...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 22nd Jan

Q&As

Would an otherwise successful adverse possession claim over unregistered land be subject to rights of way over that land in favour of neighbouring registered landowners, whether used or unused?

See the commentary fromExtent of title acquired: Halsbury's Laws of England (available on Lexis®Library) which provides, in relation to adverse...

22nd Jan

Q&As

Can the legal owner of land grant a right of way over that land while a claim for adverse possession is in progress?

Before 13 October 2003 a squatter could obtain title to either registered or unregistered land if he could demonstrate 12 years' uninterrupted factual...

22nd Jan

Q&As

A and B made an oral agreement to transfer land from A to B, B agreeing to fund and erect a fence on the new boundary, however the land was never legally transferred to B. B then sold its land to C. Can C rely on B’s conduct to claim an equity by estoppel in an application for adverse possession? What if A has since sold its land to D?

The Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA 2002) created a new regime in respect of the law of adverse possession in respect of registered land, as set out...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 22nd Jan

Q&As

Is it possible to acquire a residential registered property by adverse possession now that squatting in a residential property is a crime?

On 1 September 2012, section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO 2012) made squatting in residential premises...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 22nd Jan

Q&As

What are the issues surrounding a squatter seeking to register common land which is unregistered after a period of adverse possession?

How to claim adverse possession of unregistered landThe provisions of the Limitation Act 1980 continue to apply to the adverse possession of...

22nd Jan

Q&As

Where trespassers occupy land for 10 years and then enter into a lease with the owner of the land, does that defeat any right they might have for an adverse possession claim which might have accrued before the lease was entered into? Would the answer be different if they vacated the property after 10 years?

In both cases, the trespassers would lose their right to apply to be registered as proprietor of the land through adverse possession.We assume for the...

Produced in partnership with David Willink of Lamb Chambers 22nd Jan

Q&As

Is a squatter entitled to make an adverse possession claim against the freehold proprietor in the event that the head leasehold title on which the land is actually held has since been voluntarily disclaimed by a company in liquidation?

If land is unregistered, L (a freeholder) grants T (tenant) a lease of that land and T is then dispossessed by S (squatter), the 12-year limitation...

Produced in partnership with Desmond Kilcoyne 22nd Jan

Q&As

A Council owns registered land which is earmarked for future housing development. The occupier of the adjacent property, which is held under a secure tenancy from the Council, claims to have rights over the land as the result of various activities (including storage of chattels). The Council is keen to avoid a potential claim of adverse possession. Are there any steps that a landlord can take to warn off its own secure tenant even though the site sits outside the secure tenancy and even though no notice of a claim for adverse possession has been received?

Where a person has been in factual possession of land owned by another for a specified period and where that person has an intention to possess and...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 22nd Jan

Q&As

The landlord serves a s 146 notice under the Law of Property Act 1925 on a residential long leasehold tenant on the basis of a breach of a lease, giving rise to the right to forfeit. The long leasehold tenant assigns their lease. The landlord forfeits the lease by peaceable re-entry, which they are not entitled to do in respect of residential premises. What is the best course of action—relief from forfeiture or injunctive relief for unlawful eviction?

In regard to residential premises, the landlord serving a s 146 notice is conditional on a court or First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), or...

22nd Jan

Q&As

In a claim for adverse possession of unregistered land, can occupation by a tenant of the claimant for adverse possession amount to factual possession?

In a claim by X for adverse possession of unregistered land (Blackacre), can X rely on the occupation of the land by their tenant as factual...

Produced in partnership with Helen Galley of XXIV Old Buildings 22nd Jan

Q&As

In a claim for adverse possession of unregistered land, the land has been enclosed for the required period. Are there any requirements as to how the land has been used during the period of adverse possession?

See our Practice Note: Establishing adverse possession of land, which highlights the two key aspects of an adverse possession claim: factual...

22nd Jan

Q&As

An individual has entered into occupation of a registered property (mixed use). There are two commercial units and four flats. They claim the properties were abandoned and have purported to grant commercial and residential tenancies of these properties. Are the tenancies are void and of no effect? Would they receive rents and hold on trust for the owner?

A trespasser is a person who enters or remains on another person’s land without the permission of the person who has the right to immediate possession...

Produced in partnership with Elizabeth England of 42 Bedford Row 22nd Jan

Q&As

Paragraph 12 of Schedule 6 to the Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA 2002) states that a person is not to be regarded as being in adverse possession of an estate for the purposes of the LRA 2002 at any time when the estate is subject to a trust, unless the interest of each of the beneficiaries in the estate is an interest in possession. Does this paragraph mean that it is not possible to claim adverse possession of land owned by a charitable trust (as the beneficiaries of the trust are the general public)?

Underlying conceptsA general overview of the law relating to adverse possession can be found in the Practice Note: Adverse possession—overview. The...

Produced in partnership with Christopher Snell of New Square Chambers 22nd Jan

First
1
2
3
Last

Adverse possession

View Property by content type:

Latest Property News

PizzaExpress—Part 26A restructuring plan sanction hearing

Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill—a view from the restructuring and insolvency profession

The practice of filing a notice of intention (JCAM Commercial Real Estate Property XV Ltd v Davis Haulage Ltd)

Scope of lending bank’s duty to commercial borrower to treat the customer fairly (Morley v RBS)

Featured Property content

The Standard Conditions of Sale (5th edition: 2018 revision)—a guide to the main provisions

The equity of redemption

Resulting trusts

Authorised guarantee agreements

Most recent Adverse possession content

Popular documents

Quia timet injunctions

Third party rights—the common law doctrine of privity of contract

Promissory estoppel

Tomlin orders

Contact Us

Popular Links

Policies

Follow us