Cooke & Arkwright
News
A good reason why landowners should register their boundaries
31/03/04
Land and property owners should all be aware of the new Land Registration Act (2003) which was introduced on October 13th 2003. Every year 15,000 applications are lodged successfully by squatters - most against unregistered titles. By taking steps to officially register the boundaries of their estates with the Land Registry, landowners can now enjoy better protection against claims by squatters than before.
Although registration is open to public inspection, the advantage is that registered proprietors will be notified of any adverse possession claim and will have an opportunity to take proceedings to defeat the claim.
Squatters’ rights have for historic reasons been based upon the principal that if land has been occupied for 12 years with intention, it has been possible to establish ownership of land, dispossessing the paper owner without paying for it. Under the new rule, if land has been occupied for a period of 10 years, the squatters have to register intention of ownership with the Land Registry, who in turn, will notify the registered owner. The owner then has 65 days to lodge an objection in response to the notice and has a period of 2 years in which to either contest the application and evict the squatters or negotiate a price. However, failure to object will enable the squatter to apply for registration and title to the land.
Cooke & Arkwright is in the process of first registration for a number of estates belonging to its private agricultural clients. “Agricultural owners in particular are vulnerable to losing small areas of land at the edges of large estates,” says director Rod Perons of the Bridgend office. “The same applies to any landowners, whether private owners or public bodies, who possess large tracts of land which are difficult to keep under close scrutiny.”
A digital mapping system is used to prepare maps with determined boundaries with which to register clients’ land. The mapping system is placed on an Ordnance Survey backcloth and a computerised drawing system is used to prepare the maps.
Owners of unregistered land will not enjoy the same protection under the notice procedure. The same will apply to owners who forget to ensure that their address is kept up to date. At the end of 2003, 20% of land, or 4 million properties, including many landed estates throughout the UK had still not been registered.