Adverse Possession application of unregistered land

Good afternoon I wanted to enquire about first registration via adverse possession. The property has been owned by current owners since mid- September 2014. There is an area of the garden which is unregistered and has been under adverse possession. This area of the garden has been part of the garden since prior to the current owners' ownership. The previous owner is currently unavailable. Could an application for adverse possession be made with 11 years 10 months of ownership with the additional 2 months required covered by a statement of truth confirming that the area involved was within the garden during viewings and conveyancing process? There are photos and satellite images confirming this position also.

Good Afternoon Joel - viewings and conveyancing process don't provide any backing to such a claim in law in my experience. Photos and satellites are helpful but it's the facts that satisfy the law. The supporting photos etc can help the application but if the facts don't fit the legal requirements they would not be considered or included in any processing. It's the same as we wouldn't request a site visit/survey if the facts weren't sufficient.

Thanks for response. Would you say it is worth putting an application in with the facts even though the owner hasn't quite reached 12 years of ownership because they have evidence that the garden has been unchanged in over 12 years or would it be rejected outright for not having 12 years ownership?

Joel - I doubt if it would be rejected outright but you are going to have to go through the need for them to do a second statement of truth to cover the required period. The application is going to take some time to process anyway as explained in our PG 5. I would recommend speaking to your legal rep and focussing on making a suitable application after the required time has passed https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adverse-possession-of-1-unregistered-land-and-2-registered-land-where-a-right-to-be-registered-was-acquired-before-13-october-2003-pg5

Hi Adam That is good to know. The reason to submit earlier is because a property transaction is at risk with the land remaining unregistered. Are you saying a second statement of truth from the previous owner would be required for the application to be considered or would the evidence mentioned above be considered?