Adverse Possession

[Curious]

I live in a country village in a row of seven terraced houses. At the front of the houses there is a strip of land approx 20m deep that runs from one end of the terrace to the other and it has provided front gardens to all the houses for well over 50yrs. Over the years some residents have secured adverse possession, in my case I haven't yet.

 

My garden has been fenced and tended by the owners of my house for 35+yrs but in my own case for the last 14yrs unhindered. Im told this should be an easy case of taking ownership through the adverse possession system as its never been contested, nobody has ever laid claim to the land and I have amassed more than 12yrs unhindered possession in my ownership.

 

I was quoted £700 by a local firm to do the work needed and the timescale they said would be 6 months.

 

Has anyone done this themselves, how easy/hard was it and could it be done faster than 6 months if I did it myself?

 

Thanks in advance guys.

[Temp]

Not done it but I'm aware there can be issues.

 

You not only need to have possession of the land for the required time but it must be "to the exclusion of all others". So make sure all the fences are present and intact. I would not replace any just make sure there are no gaps or evidence of a neighbour taking a short cut when they come over for coffee.

 

Possession must be adverse. If the owner has ever given permission for you to use it you can't claim adverse possession. 

 

You must never acknowledge someone else owns the land. There is a sneaky way to stop an adverse possession claim. The owner rocks up (after say 12 years but before you have been granted title) and says he will sell you the land for  a nominal £10. You accept the deal and he pulls out. Your previously valid claim to own it by adverse possession has just gone up in smoke because by accepting the offer you have acknowledged he owns it.

 

Check out..

 

https://england.shelter.org.uk/legal/security_of_tenure/squatters/adverse_possession