March 25, 2011
The recent Court of Appeal case of Baxter v Mannion [2011] saw judges rule against the position as reflected on the Land Registry in favour of the true reality of the situation.
The case concerned ownership of a small field in Cambridgeshire, which had been adversely occupied by someone other than its owner. The occupant had applied for registration of the land in his name, claiming ten years’ continuous occupation and notice was given to the registered owner of his application, giving the owner sixty-five days to object to it. As the true owner had just suffered a number of family tragedies, he failed to respond in time and the land was registered to the adverse possessor as no evidence was provided against the application.
The appeal judge ordered that the Register should be rectified in favour of the true owner and in doing so gave a wide interpretation to the power of the Registrar to amend the Registry for the ‘purposes of correcting a mistake’. The judges stated that to do otherwise would constitute a breach of the right to peaceful enjoyment of possessions embodied in Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Adverse possession can be claimed after ten years of continuous occupation of land or property. For further information please contact a property solicitor.
