You may come across some listings on eBay asking you to part with £19.99 for a square foot plot of land in the Scottish Highlands. However, if you follow the rules, it is, in theory at least, possible to legally claim abandoned lands and properties as your own, without parting with £20 for a novelty certificate that's actually worthless.

The Land Registry may take a dim view, but they also print forms for use when claiming, and leaflets explaining the process are available from their website.

 
Below is everything you need to know LEGALLY to claim properties and land in England and Wales.

1. Take a look around your area, look for overgrown land and disused buildings.


2. Use this detailed instruction to find out if you can claim for yourself (Adverse Possession).

How to tell if a house has been empty for a long time

Although it cannot always be easy to say for certain that a house has been empty for a period of time, assumptions may be made if:

    * the property is boarded up or has metal screens over the doors and windows
    * no-one is ever seen entering or leaving the property
    * overgrown front and back gardens
    * rubbish dumped in the front or back of the property
    * pests and vermin in the neighbouring properties
    * evidence of squatting or illegal activities
    * visual appearance of the house, eg holes in the roof, broken windows and doors


ADVERSE POSSESSION

(England and Wales only)

 

WHAT IS ADVERSE POSSESSION?

 

When a person who has no documentary title has been in occupation of a property or land for a specified period (10 years for registered property and 12 years for unregistered property) without the consent of the true owner he or she may have acquired the title to that property or land. This is because, under the provision S 15 of the Limitation Act 1980, the documentary title owner is barred from obtaining possession of the property or land. This is known as adverse possession.

 

THE LAND REGISTRY AND THE LAW

 

The Government Agency which will be central to your claim is the Land Registry which operates under the Land Registration Acts 1925-1988, and is administered under the Lord Chancellor by the Chief Land Registrar.

 

The process of land and property registration was introduced in England and Wales in 1862 to maintain a record of landowners whose title is guaranteed by the State and to simplify the sale, transfer, mortgage and other dealings. However, registration was not compulsory until 1990. Since that date, the Register has been open to inspection by the public. The Land Registry holds details of over 18 million of registered properties and estimates suggest there are roughly 9 million unregistered properties with no information held. Claims for Adverse Possession apply to both registered and unregistered properties but you are more likely to encounter those which are unregistered.

 

SEARCHING FOR THE OWNER

The correct procedures need to be followed in order for your claim to be successful. It is important to keep proper records for everything you do as you will have to satisfy the Land Registry that you have in fact carried out your legal obligations, and the first of which is to try and find the owner of the property in which you are interested.

 

Go to the Public Library or Council Offices and ask to see the Electoral Roll. If possible, take photocopy of the page as evidence that you looked. If there no entry for that address, then the chances are there's nobody living at the property but that does not mean it is without an owner.

 

Go back to the property and ask neighbours for information, they may have forwarding address or may tell you the owner died some times ago and nothing has happened since.

 

Also Try the Post Office and see if mail is being redirected. If all answers are negative, this should be music to your ears as no news is indeed good news!

 

Although you don't you want to find an owner but you have to try your best effort as the Land Registry will need to be satisfied that you used your best effort to locate the owner.

 

CONTINUING THE SEARCH

 

Once you have received the search results of the search back from the Land Registry, you'll need to continue looking for an owner or what happened to him/her. If neighbours are unable to help, ask at local pubs, shops, newsagents etc. Go back to the Council offices and see if they have records of past rates or council tax payers for the property, you could also try the public utilities, gas, electricity and water. Any of these could have forwarding addresses. The owner could also have moved into a retirement home or institution, or be living with relatives, the possibilities are endless.

 

DEAD or ALIVE

 

Once you have a name you will easily be able to find out whether they are alive or dead by referring to the local Register of Births, Marriages or Deaths, this could be a local search to the property or if you know from investigation that they moved away, from the Registrar local to their last known address. If you discover that they have died, make note of the date of death and you will be able to look up their will if one was made.

Wills are public record and you can obtain the information by post from the Postal Searches and Copies Department, The Probate Registry, Castle Chambers, Clifford Street, York Y01 9RG.

 

If you find a will, it will contain the names of the executors and beneficiaries. In many cases there is one executor who is also the sole beneficiary. It is possible of course that they also have died. At this point you need to find out if there's any other person who could claim on the property assuming they even know of it's existence. If there's no will and the person is said to have died, once you are satisfied that an owner is unlikely to appear, then you can go ahead with your claim.

You might be thinking that an owner has to be dead before you can make a claim, not so, there are many people who for whatever reason, abandon their homes and never return.

 

TAKING POSSESSION

 

In order for a claim to succeed, you must be in physical and continuous possession of the property, you could move in yourself or let it out. You MUST NOT however use "assured short hold tenancy agreement" forms. Instead you will need the service of a solicitor.

Basically a "Tenancy at will" is an agreement whereby the tenant may be asked to leave without notice if someone turns up and proves to be the legal owner and Wants his/her property back. In return, the tenant would only be asked to pay low rent, the amount of rent does not matter, they are there to serve a purpose.

In the case of a plot of land, clearly you can have anyone living there, but you have to make use of it. Clear the land and repair or erect fences round the plot, you can let it for agricultural or recreational use, erect sheds or green house on it, anything to show that it is in use.

 

STARTING YOUR CLAIM

 

Upon taking possession, if the property is unregistered, you must complete and return Form CT1. This is an application to register a "Caution Against First Registration". This will need to be witnessed by a solicitor or commissioner for oaths.

Once the Land Registry has received this form, it prevents anyone else from making a claim for "Adverse Possession".

 

POSSESSORY TITLE and ABSOLUTE TITLE

 

Once you have the Land registry that you are in actual possession of the property and that you have used every effort to find the owner, you will be granted "possession title". This can be converted to Absolute Title after a period of 10 years continues occupation. Once this happens, the property is yours outright and even if the original owner did appear, it will be to late for him/her to claim it back. The "Statute of Limitations" applies meaning he/she is out of time for claiming the property back.

 

You are probably thinking 10 -12 years is a long time to wait before you can sell the property and make money. As mentioned earlier, you can make money from day one as soon as you have taking possession of the property and sent in Land Registry Form CT1, you are in a unique position in that you now have "interest" in the property and it is this "interest" you can sell to a third party such as another property developer who would take over the claim, how much you get is a matter of negotiation, but as time goes by, the possibility of an owner appearing get less and less so the value of your "interest" gets higher.

Unless you're desperate for money, it is advisable to hang on for about 12 months after this your "interest" can be worth something approaching full market value; this is because of an insurance policy which you can take out known as "defective title indemnity". You can take it out yourself or the person you are selling to can take it out directly.

If you can, take it out yourself, by doing so you will then be able to put the property up for sale on the open market at a very realistic price of course and you should have no trouble finding a buyer since they have a guarantee that if an owner turns up in the intervening years the insurance company will pay out the full market value either to the purchaser or the owner if he does not want the property for himself.

The owner will then transfer his title to the purchaser and relinquish further claims to the property. Before granting the insurance cover, the company will require the same evidence of actual occupation together with written details of your research  in trying to find the owner.

 

Below is a run through the main issues.

1. What's an unregistered property?

All property or land that has changed hands, or been mortgaged since 1990, will have been registered with the Land Registry.

Other property may also be registered and the Land Registry has been campaigning recently to encourage more people to come forward.

But this still leaves many properties, and, particularly, plots of agricultural land, unregistered. Currently this amounts to around 40% of the land in England and Wales.


2. Does this mean that they are not owned by anyone?

No. Contrary to the impression given in some of the advertisements, land that is unregistered is not necessarily also un-owned. As the Land Registry points out, all land is owned by someone.

Even if an individual with no close relatives has died without leaving a will, or if the owner was a company that has been dissolved, there will be an owner, usually the Treasury Solicitor on behalf of the council. But that doesn't mean claims are impossible.

3. Where do I start?

The best place to start is where you know best!!! The type of property you are looking for would be abandoned, unregistered and with untraceable owners.

So, once you have spotted a derelict building, a deserted house, abandoned property in need of repair or neglected plot, the first step for a potential claimant is to find out if it is unregistered.

It's often the case that registers of Buildings at Risk include a lot of properties where the owner is unknown, so these are worth a look.

4. How can I find out if a property is unregistered?

You can obtain details of individual properties by visiting the Land Registry Office or from their  website for a small fee.

If this comes up blank, you then have to start the detective work.

The cheapest way to find out who owns a piece of land is to ask the neighbours. But potential claimants should be wary of giving away too much about their motivation.

The electoral roll, the local pub and the vicar may also come up with useful information, and the post office will know if mail is ever delivered to the address.

If the previous owner has died you should contact the local Probate Registry Office to find out about any beneficiaries.

If you do not have time for that, specialist companies such as 1st Locate services will, for a reasonable price, undertake a thorough search on your behalf.

5. So, you have found an unregistered property or land with untraceable owners, what next?

One of the most important aspects of staking a claim is that you need to show 'adverse possession'.

This means showing an open intention to continuously occupy the land without permission and without challenge from the owners or their heirs.

This is commonly done by putting up fencing, installing a No Trespassers sign, and by making the property work for you by, for example, installing tenants, growing crops, or using the land for weekly car boot sales or as a car park.

However, as the property is not in your ownership, either damaging or spending money on the property or land is very unwise.

According to the Land Registry, if the true owner appears they may take legal proceedings including claims for trespass and criminal damage, with the claimant potentially liable for thousands of pounds worth of legal costs.

6. When do you become the owner?

Once installed you have to sit and wait. Before you can apply to be registered as the owner you have to have occupied the land, without permission, in what amounts to adverse possession for 10 years for registered properties and 12 years for unregistered properties.

After this time your claim will be carefully scrutinised, and, if accepted, the land may be registered in your name.

It could, however, be initially registered as a possessory title, rather than an absolute title, which would still leave you vulnerable to a claim from the true owner for a number of years.

There are, however, a number of insurance policies that will pay out the full market value in this eventuality.

7. Is it worth it?

Despite it being legal, the Land Registry doesn't encourage people to go around appropriating land.

Marion Shelley, of the Land Registry, said: "All property has an owner whether it is registered or not. The best way is to make an offer to the owner!"

But until this legal anomaly is changed, if you have the nerve, the patience, and a head for law, you could just find yourself the owner of a free chunk of our green and pleasant land.


8. Help! I don't think my own property is registered. Can someone try to claim it?

If your property is unregistered, even if it is empty, you should still have a bundle of deeds and records from previous sales and mortgages that can prove your ownership in case of a dispute.

But your best option is to apply to register your property as soon as possible.

SUMMARY OF PROCEDURES

1) After locating a property, make a note of the address or if there is no address, the geographical location. Take photos if possible.
2) Try finding the owner. Check with neighbours. Inspect the Electoral Roll. Ask at local shops, pubs, shops, post office etc.
3) If you have a name, check with the Registrar of births, marriage and deaths, make a note of the date of death.
4) Get a copy of any will from your local Probate Registry (or online).
5) Find out if the property is registered or unregistered
6) If the property is registered, Send in Form HC1.
7) If you do not find an owner, take possession of the property.
8) Send in Form CT1 to the Land Registry after taking possession.
9) Occupy the property continuously yourself or by renting it out under licence or tenancy at will
10) Apply for defective title indemnity insurance after about 12 months.
11) If the property is still in your possession after 10 years (for registered property) or 12 years (for unregistered property), apply for "absolute title"
12) Most of all:
a. Keep all records
b. Use a solicitor at all stages