When an application is made to register land by adverse possession (the legal term for ‘squatters’ rights’), the onus is on the person claiming possession of the land to prove their right to claim the title to it.
A recent case dealt with a situation in which agricultural land was claimed by a man who asserted that he had been in exclusive occupation of it since 1991 and had built fencing and a locked gate so that he could graze sheep and horses on it. He alleged that he had occupied the land to the exclusion of the owners of the legal title to it since that time. He claimed that he had therefore met the requirement to have had sole and exclusive occupation of the land for twelve years and was thus legally entitled to have the land registered in his name. The court upheld his claim. However, the owners of the ‘paper title’ appealed.
On appeal, the court judged that the man had failed to prove that he was in sole and exclusive occupation of the disputed land before 1995. His claim therefore failed.
This case arose prior to the introduction of the Land Registration Act 2002, which made changes to the law. A system of notices was put in place which informs anyone with an interest in the land that an application has been made by someone to register title to it in their name(s). This allows the owner to prevent the application. However, if the squatter has occupied the land for the requisite period and is allowed to remain in possession unopposed for a further two years after the application is made (i.e. the owner fails to take steps to evict them), then a second application to register the land in the squatter’s name will be successful.
