Any solicitors on here

[user 19915]

Advice please before i go any further i am going to see a solicitor regarding this issue.
Ok i wish to purchase some land where a couple of garages have been build on the land without the owners permission the garages have been there for over ten years and also some people have started to use the land for allotments .
So my question can i remove them from the land ?? if i purchase it ?? . Although if i bought the land i would ask them if they would like to purchase the land they are using from me at what i think would be a fair price . The land is going up for auction soon .And i would keep whats left
Alan :roll: :roll:

 

[RobinBHM]

Its quite possible they already have title to the land by adverse possession.

Land registration act 2002, law comm report 271.

If the rest of the land is worth something to you, it may be worth buying, but you may ve safest to assume the bit thats used wont ve worth a bean.

Im only a wood basher though, so no professional opinion here!

 

[Cordy]

Does the land owner receive rent from said garage owners ?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

If it's going to auction, I'd think the legalities of ownership should be sorted out and available for the asking from the agents.

 

[Keithie]

I've had some legal training and my wife is a chartered surveyor.
Neither of us could give you an answer you could rely on.

Imo if one cant rely on an opinon (which means sue if its wrong) then no point having the opinion when larger sums of cash are concerned.

If I was buying some land I'd be talking to a land agent and then a solicitor (ideally local practice types who know the area). Land tends to come with rights and obligations...best to know what they are

goodluck!

 

[Fatboy]

Hmmm, difficult one. If they built on the land without permission and nothing has been done by the current landowner to rectify or challenge that in the last 10 years then you may find it difficult to remove them or get them to pay anything at all. They may even have ownership rights to the land. I would definitely let the solicitor sort that out before parting with any money.

 

[MikeH]

Try this forum, all about garden law and they talk about adverse possession a lot.

http://www.gardenlaw.co.uk/phpBB2/index.php

Won't answer your specific question I suspect, but may give some good pointers.

 

[Bod]

Auction, read the Legal pack, before bidding.

Bod

 

[RogerS]

Walk away.

How do you know that the land is theirs to sell in the first place? Have you read through all the title deeds? The conveyances? Deeds of Indemnity, if any. Any Land Charges on the register? NB this is not the same as the Land Registry. Any covenants on the land prohibiting you from doing what you want to do with the land? The legal pack in the auction documents won't be worth a fig as they will have a get-out clause saying 'the purchaser is to make his own enquiries etc and not rely on anything contained in this pack'.

 

[paulrockliffe]

The law around adverse possession changed a couple of years ago, if the possession wasn't registered with the Land Registry by a deadline then it can't now be claimed automatically. There is a process that would involve contact with the land owner and them not responding, so in practical terms it is now very difficult to claim. Adverse possession was restricted in lots of cases too, things like council land, railways etc would be deemed to be possessed by the owner even if not in 'normal' use.

Something my neighbour who has built a garden and side extension on what was a mix of an access road to a field and a disused railway line will learn all about if they try to sell their house.....

The post above about title deeds is useful advice, you do need to do your own checks, but if the land is registered with the land registry on their electronic database with good title you're pretty much in the clear as good title would supersede any documents/covenants/wills etc that have been lost and forgotten about over the years. For a sale by auction you need to look first at the legal position if the land isn't as described, what your come-back would be and then look at what the risks are. Although auction packs can have caveats, it's also the case that the seller wants to sell the land and if buyers can't do due diligence then the sale value will likely reflect that so it's not always the case.

 

[AJB Temple]

I used to be a solicitor. Have not practised for years. Never give advice on the internet! Paul Rockcliffe gives good, accurate information. Do your due diligence.

 

[Cordy]

Never give advice on the internet!

Quite right too !
Especially never give legal advice on the internet!

It could come back to haunt you #-o

 

[RogerS]

.....
The post above about title deeds is useful advice, you do need to do your own checks, but if the land is registered with the land registry on their electronic database with good title you're pretty much in the clear as good title would supersede any documents/covenants/wills etc that have been lost and forgotten about over the years. .....

unless the title deeds refer to them and the Land Registry have lost them. DAMHIKT.