House part built on neighbour's land

TutuKaka

My aunt has decided to sell a house that was built by her father over 30 years ago. It was the family home originally but has been used as a holiday home for the past 5-10 years.
It has come to light as part of the sales process that according to the land registry a small part of the house was built on the neighbour's land.
Her father and the original owner would have been good friends so we think he was probably given verbal permission to build. However both have passed on.

My aunt has approached the current owner of the land to sort out the ownership so she can proceed with the sale but he is not willing to discuss it.

Can anyone tell me what her options are? Can she legally claim the land the house is built on?

goldenhoarde

TutuKaka wrote: »

My aunt has decided to sell a house that was built by her father over 30 years ago. It was the family home originally but has been used as a holiday home for the past 5-10 years.
It has come to light as part of the sales process that according to the land registry a small part of the house was built on the neighbour's land.
Her father and the original owner would have been good friends so we think he was probably given verbal permission to build. However both have passed on.

My aunt has approached the current owner of the land to sort out the ownership so she can proceed with the sale but he is not willing to discuss it.

Can anyone tell me what her options are? Can she legally claim the land the house is built on?

Possibly have squatters rights if its thirty years but legal advice should be sought maybe trawl the attic etc as there may be something on paper somewhere

Bonzo Delaney

Had a similar issue a few years back selling a site where the buyers solicitor was looking for info on a parcel of land / right of way within the site boundaries that we never knew existed but showed up on the maps.
Turns out when the Ordance Survey digitised all its maps some of the lines overlapped and separated when zoomed in on. The Os mentioned they were correcting it as each case showed up.
Don't know if this applies to your case or not just putting it out there as a possibility.

TutuKaka

I was thinking squatters rights or similar would probably apply.
Does anyone know how long this process could take and the costs involved?

Tabnabs

Any decent conveyancing solicitor will be able to put you straight on the matter. Better off asking there than random internet punters...

You dont have squatters rights if the other party has objected to the presence at timely intervals after your aunts father took posession. The fact that the present owner (presumably a descendent of the original owner) refuses to discuss it might suggest that there is some 'history' there.

TutuKaka

As far as I know the issue was not known to any of the current owners so there wouldn't have been any mention or discussion of it until it became known recently.
No 'history' as such but the current owner can be a little peculiar at times. I think he just would not contemplate selling any land.
If he digs in his heels can he block any sale?

TutuKaka

TutuKaka wrote: »

As far as I know the issue was not known to any of the current owners so there wouldn't have been any mention or discussion of it until it became known recently.
No 'history' as such but the current owner can be a little peculiar at times. I think he just would not contemplate selling any land.
If he digs in his heels can he block any sale?

You need to discuss with your solicitor.

If the current owner bought his property, these issues might have already surfaced on his side.
Why are you talking about him selling land? If his predecessor knowingly allowed your relative to build on his land, then I think this shows he either sold or gifted it. The issue is more that this might not have been recorded officially. Its also possible that there is an error in the LR maps. Again you need proper specific advice from a good solicitor.