Adverse possession

Legally reviewed by:

Pranav Bhanot

/! elementor – v3.5.6 – 28-02-2022 /
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Updated: March 22 , 2022

Next review: March 22, 2023

/! elementor – v3.5.6 – 28-02-2022 /
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What is Adverse possession

A person who is not currently the legal owner of land can find themselves becoming the legal owner of land where they have had possession of land for a certain period of time. This is known as acquiring land by adverse possession. The legal rules in assessing whether you have acquired land by adverse possession depends on whether the land is registered or unregistered.

Commencing a claim for adverse possession

In order to succeed with a claim for adverse possession, the applicant must show:

They have been in continuous possession of the land for the relevant period of time (at least 10 or 12 years depending on whether the land is registered or unregistered) without permission of the owner.
They intended to possession the land for the period of possession.
They had exclusive physical control of the land (i.e. they dealt with the land as if they were the owner).
The period of adverse possession must be continuous and uninterrupted for the period of possession.
That they intended to exclusively possess the land during the relevant period.

Who we can help?

We can assist a potential applicant in understanding whether they may be entitled to become the legal owner of land.

We can also assist landowners to tackle potential adverse possession claims.

The Lawful Way

We will assist you in:

Understanding the factual matrix.
Collating evidence and conducting a detailed chronology of the issue.
Establish whether a potential adverse possession claim has merit.
Robustly protecting land from potential claims.
Commencing or contesting a claim for adverse possession.

Useful resources

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adverse-possession-of-registered-land/practice-guide-4-adverse-possession-of-registered-land

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