Urgent: Help Needed with Communal Land Ownership Issue

Hello,

I'm reaching out to seek advice and share a concerning situation regarding the communal land surrounding our private development which consists of 12 town homes, private road and private parking for the residents. When our development was built in 1989, there was an agreement in writing, attached to the deed of each property, stating that the communal land would be transferred by the developer to our residents' association. Unfortunately, we do not have access to a copy of the official transfer deed, so we are unsure if the land was ever officially transferred. However, the cost of this land was included in the price of each of the 12 homes in our development. We have also been maintaining this land since 1989 with the cost of that shared between the residents.  We have never been made aware that this land was not transferred or that it had somehow become owned by a 3rd party.  

Last week, we discovered that all the land surrounding our homes, including our designated parking areas, is now owned by another company. This company is putting the land up for auction and advertising it as buildable land. We only discovered this as people have been coming to the property to look around, measure, etc. We have formally written to the company, stating that we believe the land was sold to them illegally, but we have not yet received a response. The auction is coming up next week and we are very worried about this given we all have the understanding that this does or should belong to our residents association.

Given that the land was originally noted to be owned by our residents' association on formal H.M. Land Registry paperwork, which is officially stamped by the organization, we are seeking advice on our rights in this situation. What steps can we take to ensure that the land is recognized as belonging to our residents' association, and how can we prevent the auction and potential development of this land?

Any insights or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated. I am happy to share more details but prefer to do this privately with someone official vs. in a forum. 
Thank you!

 

Hello Brandy - very much a scenario to seek legal advice on to understand your rights and what action might be taken as appropriate
We provide the registered information and presumably the circumstances/agreement reached is captured in some way on the registered title(s) involved. You can check and confirm the registered details online and by post - Search for land and property information - GOV.UK