Unregistered Land
Discussion
I wonder if anyone can help with a matter relating to ownership of land that is unregistred.
I bought a property in 2015 which is down a Private road.
The road is owned by a company managed by the residents association.
At the end of the cul de sac there are 2 houses which have vehicular access to part of their driveway that passes between them and a third house which vehicles have to pass over the land to reach their property.
The piece of roadway is very short, possibly 30 feet long and 12 feet wide.
When I bought the property I asked my solicitor to establish who owned the land and I was told that the piece of land as part of the communal driveway.
The deeds to my property show the shared roadway marked in brown and the brown marking continues from the undisputed area onto the disputed area suggesting that, as far as the deeds are concerned from 1973 that the land is part of the communal roadway.
The house at the end of this piece of land is under offer and the Solicitor for the vendor has contacted the other affected party by email (but not directly contacted me) stating that the piece of land is unregistered and " ... I need to try and confirm whether this forms part of [the Vendors} property, or whether it should be treated in a different manner. In either event the strip of land will need to be registered"
The Solicitor has included a copy of the land registry showing there are 3 very small parcels of land within the cul de sac which are unregistered, all of which would logically be part of the shared roadway.
As the piece of land is not registered how does one establish ownership?
Can anyone just register the land in their name and claim it?
I bought a property in 2015 which is down a Private road.
The road is owned by a company managed by the residents association.
At the end of the cul de sac there are 2 houses which have vehicular access to part of their driveway that passes between them and a third house which vehicles have to pass over the land to reach their property.
The piece of roadway is very short, possibly 30 feet long and 12 feet wide.
When I bought the property I asked my solicitor to establish who owned the land and I was told that the piece of land as part of the communal driveway.
The deeds to my property show the shared roadway marked in brown and the brown marking continues from the undisputed area onto the disputed area suggesting that, as far as the deeds are concerned from 1973 that the land is part of the communal roadway.
The house at the end of this piece of land is under offer and the Solicitor for the vendor has contacted the other affected party by email (but not directly contacted me) stating that the piece of land is unregistered and " ... I need to try and confirm whether this forms part of [the Vendors} property, or whether it should be treated in a different manner. In either event the strip of land will need to be registered"
The Solicitor has included a copy of the land registry showing there are 3 very small parcels of land within the cul de sac which are unregistered, all of which would logically be part of the shared roadway.
As the piece of land is not registered how does one establish ownership?
Can anyone just register the land in their name and claim it?
When I bought my house in 2000, there was a small triangle of land in the middle of the garden that wasn't owned by anyone.
The sellers eventually convinced the land registry that it had been a mistake, and was transferred to me.
From memory, he alternative was that if they had evidence going back 11 years of the land in that particular arrangement, then it would automatically be mine. However, they only had 10 years evidence...
The sellers eventually convinced the land registry that it had been a mistake, and was transferred to me.
From memory, he alternative was that if they had evidence going back 11 years of the land in that particular arrangement, then it would automatically be mine. However, they only had 10 years evidence...
My understanding is that just because it isn't registered with Land Registry, doesn't mean that it isn't owned. Could have been missed in error on a conveyance, or may not have been sold for many many years. That's why you can lodge a Caution Against First Registration with Land Registry to protect your established use of the land.
IANAL- just based on my own experience...
IANAL- just based on my own experience...
Yes, just because it's not registered with the Land Registry doesn't mean it can be claimed by anyone. It's not a TVR in a field!
My grandparents lived in their house for so long that it wasn't ever registered but they had the deeds that proved ownership. When my grandmother died my parents had to prove ownership to the Land Registry in order to have the land registered to them. There are forms online on the Land Registry website that are used to register Unregistered land and the processes and documents required are on there.
My grandparents lived in their house for so long that it wasn't ever registered but they had the deeds that proved ownership. When my grandmother died my parents had to prove ownership to the Land Registry in order to have the land registered to them. There are forms online on the Land Registry website that are used to register Unregistered land and the processes and documents required are on there.
Although 87% of the land in England & Wales is registered, compulsory registration has only been in place for fewer than 30 years. Any property that hasn't been sold or used as security for a loan since 1990 may well not be registered and ownership must be confirmed through title deeds before it can be registered.
Can you draw a picture showing this? I haven't a clue where these triangular bits of land are!
I don't understand why they have to be registered as long as there is a right to pass and repass why does it matter who owns them?
I suspect it depends on whether all the houses were built at the same time? If not the chances are they have been omitted in previous transfers. Without seeing a plan its difficult to comment.
I don't understand why they have to be registered as long as there is a right to pass and repass why does it matter who owns them?
I suspect it depends on whether all the houses were built at the same time? If not the chances are they have been omitted in previous transfers. Without seeing a plan its difficult to comment.
Tyre Tread said:
Thanks for the responses so far.
So if nobody knows who owns it, it can't be registered?
Someone will own it. Sadly you just need to look harder (and this can be a real Herculean task!) to go back through whatever records exist to find mention of who owned the land and when. So if nobody knows who owns it, it can't be registered?
SiH said:
Tyre Tread said:
Thanks for the responses so far.
So if nobody knows who owns it, it can't be registered?
Someone will own it. Sadly you just need to look harder (and this can be a real Herculean task!) to go back through whatever records exist to find mention of who owned the land and when. So if nobody knows who owns it, it can't be registered?
But what if that business no longer exists? The company was closed down and therefore effectively nobody owns it?
Chrisgr31 said:
Can you draw a picture showing this? I haven't a clue where these triangular bits of land are!
I don't understand why they have to be registered as long as there is a right to pass and repass why does it matter who owns them?
I suspect it depends on whether all the houses were built at the same time? If not the chances are they have been omitted in previous transfers. Without seeing a plan its difficult to comment.
Yep I don't fully understand what's going on either but it sounds like one to file under 'cross that bridge when you come to it'. I.e. if it's not causing an actual problem now then just let it lie as it would be a right ballache to get sorted once and for all.I don't understand why they have to be registered as long as there is a right to pass and repass why does it matter who owns them?
I suspect it depends on whether all the houses were built at the same time? If not the chances are they have been omitted in previous transfers. Without seeing a plan its difficult to comment.
Tyre Tread said:
I know somebody owns it and suspect its the developer who built the houses in 1973.
But what if that business no longer exists? The company was closed down and therefore effectively nobody owns it?
In these circumstances leases go to a government, I wonder if the same happens with freehold property.But what if that business no longer exists? The company was closed down and therefore effectively nobody owns it?
If what you really want is to protect your established rights of access etc across this land, and there isn't exclusive use by you, then I'd be tempted to go down the route of filing a Caution Against First Registration. That should ensure that it isn't just tagged on to a subsequent transfer by anyone else, and force anyone who does want to claim it to do all of the work in identifying the last known owner.
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