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Legal Terms - Adverse Possession
Squatting refers to the act of occupying land that is legally owned by someone else, with the purpose of taking possession of it.
The primary precedent on adverse possession is the Pye v Graham [2002] UKHL 30, [2003] 1 AC 419 case. The aforementioned case established that in order to acquire adverse possession of land, the adverse possessor (often referred to as a "squatter") must physically dispossess the legal owner by exercising exclusive control over the land with the goal of possessing it to the exclusion of all others, without the agreement of the legal owner.
The impact of adverse possession is contingent upon whether the land is registered or unregistered, as well as the specific date when the adverse possession occurred. When land is not registered, the Limitation Act 1980 states that adverse possession for 12 years or longer usually results in the elimination of the legal ownership of the land by the original owner. The squatter acquires legal ownership of the land. If the limitation period of 12 years for registered land has expired before 13 October 2003, the owner of the land will be legally obligated to keep it in trust for the person who has been in adverse possession for 12 years, according to section 75 of the Land Registration Act 1925. The squatter has the right to request the Land Registry to transfer the title into his name. If the limitation period of 12 years has not elapsed before 13 October 2003, the Land Registration Act 2002 is applicable. Following a period of 10 years of occupying the land without permission, the squatter has the option to request to be officially recognized as the owner of the property. The Land Registrar will send correspondence to the registered proprietor and other parties with an interest in the land, such as mortgagees, to notify them of the application. The individuals who have been notified have a total of 65 working days to respond and express their objections to the application. If there are no objections, the squatter will be officially recognized as the owner instead of the original paper owner. If a formal objection is made, the owner of the property has an additional two years to legally remove the unauthorized occupant. If no objection is received, the owner can proceed with another application to officially become the registered owner. In rare instances, the squatter may be legally recognized as the rightful owner, even if the current owner objects. This typically occurs when the actual boundary between two properties has remained unchanged for over a decade, despite the official documentation indicating a different boundary.
An anyone who knowingly enters a residential building without permission, with the intention of living there, is committing a criminal offense according to section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. The offense is nevertheless committed even if the squatter accessed the property unlawfully before the Act was implemented. In the case of Best v Chief Land Registrar [2015] EWCA Civ 17, [2016] QB 23, the Court of Appeal determined that this rule does not prohibit a squatter from asserting a claim of adverse occupation.
Squatting refers to the act of occupying land that is legally owned by someone else, with the purpose of taking possession of it.
The primary precedent on adverse possession is the Pye v Graham [2002] UKHL 30, [2003] 1 AC 419 case. The aforementioned case established that in order to acquire adverse possession of land, the adverse possessor (often referred to as a "squatter") must physically dispossess the legal owner by exercising exclusive control over the land with the goal of possessing it to the exclusion of all others, without the agreement of the legal owner.
The impact of adverse possession is contingent upon whether the land is registered or unregistered, as well as the specific date when the adverse possession occurred. When land is not registered, the Limitation Act 1980 states that adverse possession for 12 years or longer usually results in the elimination of the legal ownership of the land by the original owner. The squatter acquires legal ownership of the land. If the limitation period of 12 years for registered land has expired before 13 October 2003, the owner of the land will be legally obligated to keep it in trust for the person who has been in adverse possession for 12 years, according to section 75 of the Land Registration Act 1925. The squatter has the right to request the Land Registry to transfer the title into his name. If the limitation period of 12 years has not elapsed before 13 October 2003, the Land Registration Act 2002 is applicable. Following a period of 10 years of occupying the land without permission, the squatter has the option to request to be officially recognized as the owner of the property. The Land Registrar will send correspondence to the registered proprietor and other parties with an interest in the land, such as mortgagees, to notify them of the application. The individuals who have been notified have a total of 65 working days to respond and express their objections to the application. If there are no objections, the squatter will be officially recognized as the owner instead of the original paper owner. If a formal objection is made, the owner of the property has an additional two years to legally remove the unauthorized occupant. If no objection is received, the owner can proceed with another application to officially become the registered owner. In rare instances, the squatter may be legally recognized as the rightful owner, even if the current owner objects. This typically occurs when the actual boundary between two properties has remained unchanged for over a decade, despite the official documentation indicating a different boundary.
An anyone who knowingly enters a residential building without permission, with the intention of living there, is committing a criminal offense according to section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. The offense is nevertheless committed even if the squatter accessed the property unlawfully before the Act was implemented. In the case of Best v Chief Land Registrar [2015] EWCA Civ 17, [2016] QB 23, the Court of Appeal determined that this rule does not prohibit a squatter from asserting a claim of adverse occupation.
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