Squatters rights / claiming unused land ?

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BBH

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Does anyone know if there is such a thing similar to housing and if so how long before you can claim ownership.

I have a large field next to me which I have heard has been sold to someone as an investment but he lives abroad and has bought it to sit on for development. Talking to the owner of some land next door I think he plans to use it and then claim it if no-one comes out the wood work, he has already stated he is going to start clearing the ditches out.
 
I believe there may be laws saying he can claim it but I am no expert. I would ring Citizens advice bureau if I was you.
 
I don't know how it works in the UK, but here in Argentina you can claim unfenced land if you fence it (you can't cheat and fence a bit of a large fenced field) and put livestock on it... it's not quite as simple as that, there are certain timescales involved, etc.
The bloke whose talking about claiming is a bit of a numpty, isn't he, if he's talking about it openly?
 
TBH he hasn't outright said that but I'm reading between the lines as he is taking an un-necessary interest in the plot and has said he needs more land so that his acreage will be considered a farm which slackens planning / development opportunities. Also his plot doesn't have vehicular access rights and this one does. Also why else would he bother researching that the ditches were created in 1759 ?????. We rent it at the moment and are wondering if he will come out the woodwork at some point and make things difficult.
 
There is a guy tethering horses on some unused land near me. It is actually the only hacking we have being in London. He has been there for 30 odd years and now the council can't get him off although they did manage to stop him tethering on the footpath. I would think you would have to be there for a fair while though.
 
No idea - 12 years springs to mind but could be longer. Whatever you may or may not think about the guy who legally owns it and his desire to make as much money out of it as possible, I think your neighbour's attempt to claim something he doesn't own stinks. It's theft by subterfuge. If the whole world followed that route, eventually we'd all be terrified to take a holiday for fear that someone has "claimed" our property by the time we get back. Tell your neighbour to get off his arse and earn enough money legally to buy some land of his own. I wonder how he'd feel if someone tried that little trick on him!
 
Yes I agree, I would be delighted if the owner got planning cos then so could I but its amazing how people always try and use a situation to their advantage. Its funny you say 12 years cos that figure sprung to my mind aswell but I don't know why.
 
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I think your neighbour's attempt to claim something he doesn't own stinks. It's theft by subterfuge. If the whole world followed that route, eventually we'd all be terrified to take a holiday for fear that someone has "claimed" our property by the time we get back. Tell your neighbour to get off his arse and earn enough money legally to buy some land of his own. I wonder how he'd feel if someone tried that little trick on him!

[/ QUOTE ]

Nicely put Box_of_Frogs
smile.gif
 
Ah OK, well, I think in your position I would try and find out who to warn/alert, or find a way to stymie his plans. I'm pretty sure that in Argentina, at least he can't touch the land if it's being used, and in fact the owner of a field where I kept my horses in Cambridge told me the horses made the land agricultural and so couldn't be 'claimed' for development (I think- I might have the details wrong)
 
If the land isn't owned by anyone (you can check and get the plans from the land registry for about £3) then you can lay claim to it. My memory is vague I think you have to put signs up to state what you are doing. You then have to actively use the land for 12 years after which you can start some formal claim proceeding which I think requires another 12 years. If you look on the land registry website I think it's all explained properly on there.
 
there is a think called adverse possossion , but i think you have to be able to prove that you have used the land for at least 10 years to the exclusion of all other parties

i'm no expert so you'd need to get more detail
 
Before he could claim adverse possession, the Land Registry would write to the last registered owner - that usually flushes out the legal owners.

Up until that point, your neighbour is trespassing.
 
This isn't unused land is it, if you rent it?
I presume you have horses on it and you pay rent to some-one?
That is just the same as walking into a neighbours garden and fencing half the lawn off and calling it your own.
confused.gif
 
If the OP is renting the land, then the registered owner is still in "control" and therefore no-one can claim adverse possession.
 
its 12 years here in ireland and i think its the same law as the uk(from back in the old days)however it can only be claimed if you have been using the land yourself for this time and that you have been responsible for upkeep of said land and before you claim it the land registry will contact the last registered owner...theres also laws regarding land not registered in any living persons name and as far as i no its easier to claim that sort of land you just need to prove acess,right of way and that you have been responsible for upkeep for a certain time ..someone tried to rob some of my granddads farm this way:(
but if the land has planning permission on it its definately registered and as far as i no that means its zoned residential not agricultural so it wont be any good for what your neighbour wants anyway....
 
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