Summary
Summary - Adverse Possession
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Brief and summarising notes on the law around adverse possession of property in the UK - case law and summaries
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Adverse PossessionWednesday, 20 October 2021 22:01
'Squatters rights'
Unregistered land (rare)
- Would become the squatter's land automatically after they had spent 12 years there
Pre-2003 Registered Land
- The paper owner would become a trustee for the squatter after 12 years of adverse
possession, and then the squatter could apply to be registered as the true owner
- If the 12 years is done before the LRA 2002 comes into effect (2003) then the paper owner
becomes a trustee for the squatter
Criteria for adverse possession:
- Factual possession
○ Powell v McFarlane (1977)
▪ "appropriate degree of physical control" over the land e.g. a fence
○ Red House v Catchpole (1977) - what you have to do to show factual possession depends
on the land - as much use as possible
○ Pye v Graham [2002] HOL - fencing is adequate
○ Exclusive possession
▪ Cannot be shared with the landowner
○ Open possession
▪ Possession must not be concealed from the landowner
○ Adverse possession
▪ Must be without the permission of the landowner
- Animus possidendi ('mind to possess')
○ Powell - "intention to exclude the world at large so far as reasonably possible"
○ Tends to overlap with factual possession and interpreting what you have done with the
land
○ Buckinghamshire CC v Moran [1990]
Stopping adverse possession
- Squatter ceases the adverse possession
- The true owner dispossesses squatter - Zarb v Parry [2011]
- Making and executing a court possession order
- Squatter's payment or acknowledgement of the paper owner's title
Schedule 6 process
- Squatter 'fulfils' the Powell criteria
- Squatter does so for 10 years
- Squatter applies to the registry
- Registry invites the owners of the land to object within 65 business days - Baxter and Mannion
[2011]
- If the owners do not object then the squatter becomes the registered owner
Grounds to object
- Absolute - i.e. Powell's criteria is absent (Baxter)
- Conditional
○ Yes, Powell criteria have been met
○ You still object because there is no 'special reason' to allow adverse possession to apply
here
'Special reasons'
Land Law Page 1
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