Lecture 7 - Adverse possession Flashcards
what is adverse possession
its a legal principle that grants title to someone who resides on or is in possession of another persons land. It needs to be factual possession with intention to possess, possession must be adverse and possession needs to be for a sufficient length of time
what is factual possession
where the claimant must demonstrate that they have been dealing with the land as an occupying owner would be expected to deal with it
what is intention to possess
the intention to exclude the world at large, including the owner with the paper title… so far as is reasonably practical and so far as the process of law will allow it
what does the law state about how the possession must be adverse
the squatter must be in factual possession as a trespasser if they have permission to be on the land the possession is not adverse
what does the law state about a sufficient length of time for unregistered land
where the land is unregistered the squatter acquires good title to the land after being in adverse possession for 12 years according to s15 of the limitation act 1980
what does the law state about a sufficient length of time for registered land
the lra 2002 act states there is no automatic right to the land after establishing that they have been in adverse possession for 12 years. schedule 6 lra 2002 must be followed instead and a squatter should make an application to the registrar after 10 years of adverse possession
what is the effect of adverse possession in unregistered land
the adverse possessor owns a new estate,
there is no conveyance of land to the adverse possessor
he takes the land subject to third party rights
what is the effect of adverse possession in registered land
the adverse possessor has a statutory right to be substituted in the register as the proprietor
he takes the title subject to most third party rights
