Adverse Possession

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Hello

Would anybody have any idea how long the process for adverse possession would take? Our solicitor is advising anywhere between 6 -12 months (I'm hoping it's shorter!).

It's regarding selling a house where a corner of the house & a shed is outside the boundary but was built over 12 years ago so we can apply for adverse possession.

Thanks
 
When you say the "process" do you mean the actual period for which adverse possession must have run or the time taken to first registration of a title acquired by adverse possession ?

If the former, you might be talking about the 12 year period you mentioned. If the latter, 12 months might be reasonable given the convolutions to be followed.

FYI look at this to get some idea of what is involved https://www.prai.ie/adverse-possession-title-by-adverse-possession-to-registered-land/#2
 
Thank you DirectDevil. It was the time it took to amend the folio, I was hoping it would be much shorter.

Would you know if there is any issue with a purchaser taking on the registration of it providing all relevant information (non-objections from affected landowners) was obtained?
 
It would almost certainly be quicker and might ultimately wind up cheaper to buy the piece of land as long as you can identify the relevant owner.
 
Seagull said:
It would almost certainly be quicker and might ultimately wind up cheaper to buy the piece of land as long as you can identify the relevant owner.
Click to expand...

And there is the rub.

The primary objective of a proper conveyance is to see that the purchaser gets a good title that is defensible against all comers.
Part of that process is ensuring that the vendor actually has the legal right to sell what is being purchased.
Otherwise, you could end up with a defective title if, for instance, there are actually other parties who have a legal interest in the parcel in question.

In relation to a purchaser buying from OP and taking on registration (i.e. OP does not register the parcel in question) I would not be surprised if the putative purchaser's solicitor advised the client not to buy because of uncertainty.
 
Thank you both.

We are getting all the relevant documentation together from the other land owner to say they have no objection taking in part of their land into our folio. This shouldn't be an issue as there has been verbal agreement already.
 
Note: This is a lay persons opinion.

A lot will be dependent on the buyers circumstances.

If a cash buyer, they might be willing to take it on themselves, although their solicitor might advise otherwise.

If there is a mortgage required, their solicitor will have to give certain undertakings to the bank in relation to title, which they won't be able to do.

If time is the critical factor here, there should be quicker ways than going down adverse possession route, but you will incur fees. Your solicitor is the best person to advise you on this.
 
How large a piece of land are we talking about, and what sort of value? If the owner is happy for you to have it, would it be possible for them to gift it to you? You would have to pay tax on the value.

Ask your solicitor what sort of fees you would be likely to incur going the adverse possession route. You need to be able to compare those figures to decide which way makes most sense.
 
Thank you very much for your time RedOnion.

The buyers have pulled out unfortunately. Our solicitor doesn't want to take this on so we are looking for a solicitor who specializes in this area. We are hoping it is straight forward as there is no objections from the affected landowners. Although I'm sure it'll be expensive!

Interestingly we have a mortgage on the property and this issue didn't arise when we bought the property.
 
How far into adjoining land are we talking about?
If there's no objection, a chartered surveyor or architect is who I'd go to for advice, and get a conclusive boundary registered with land registry.
 
Thank you Seagull. One piece is very small (a foot by a foot) but the other would be 10 feet by 10 feet maybe. The neighbours house is also affected in that part of their house is on our land. It's all very messy but hopefully when we find a solicitor they will take the pain away of us trying to come up with solutions.
 
Actually it seems straightforward. Part of your house is on their land and part of their house is on your land. A swap is in the interests of both.

This is very common since a digitisation project undertaken by the land registry some years ago. Basically the new digital maps are more accurate that the old hand drawn maps. Unless and until the house is sold no one is aware of the issue.

Any good conveyancing solicitor should be able to deal with it, and certainly not by way of adverse possession. That could open a can of worms.
 
Cremeegg is correct, this can be dealt with as a straight forward rectification of title.
 
There is a hedge circa 30 years old which we thought was the boundary and always used as such but it isn't the boundary at all according to the land registry/PRA.
 
Vanilla and Cremeegg thank you both. It's good to hear it could be straightforward as it's very disappointing the sale fell through.


Could anybody recommend a good conveyancing solicitor by any chance?
 
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