Adverse possession

After inheriting my father’s estate in July 2025 we discovered that the estate was not registered. There is also a small strip of land on the estate which does not belong to us because it once formed part of a large farm at the other side of the village. Our family has lived there for over 70 years and has used this strip as an integral part of the the family land. Nobody in the family ever knew about it not belonging to them.After. Contacting the County Council who own the land they said they wouldn’t stand in our way to own it.
However LR have said that there are two prior lease applications to lease the farm land on the other side of the village and because our little strip is part of the whole estate they must deal with those two applications before us.
The house has been empty for 9 months already and we are incurring costs to maintain it.
How do we convince LR that we need to sell the house and do not want to wait possibly years before the two leases are completed?
 

Bryony - Where there are a number of applications against a specific title, the statutes that govern us require that we process applications in the priority order that they are submitted to us. This is to ensure that any rights granted on a prior application are then reflected against the subsequent applications.

If the delay in registration is causing you difficulties or holding up a further transaction then the applicants or the person / firm who submitted the application can request to expedite it.   

When we approve to expedite an application in situations where there are prior applications, if there is a work-around by which we can process a later application out of order, then we will look into adopting that to assist the customer.  Where there is no work-around we can adopt, then we will hasten the prior applications with the aim of completing them as soon as possible.
  
I hope this helps. 

Many thanks. I will ask my solicitor to ask LR to expedite it, although he has already asked. The house has started to develop damp, we cannot even let the house because the driveway is part of the adverse possession claim, we have to insure it, and pay all of the utility costs and travel miles to check on the house.
 

Bryony - if they have already requested expedition then processing will have started but as it includes an adverse possession claim then that will still take time to process/complete. 
Such claims invariably mean three separate stages, namely consideration by our lawyers, a site visit/survey and then wider checks. That can take 2-3 months minimum as expedition gets the case to the processing start line quicker but does not mean it can be completed within a short timescale.
The request to expedite is enough to 'convince us' of the urgency but we still have to comply with the legal and registration requirements
Suggest you ask the conveyancer to confirm the provisional title number and our case (ABR) reference and we can check again to see what progress has been made to date

Many thanks Adam. I have asked my solicitor to request expedition again.
The first lease application is still not resolved in a year. There is a second lease application after that which might take another year. (Neither have anything to do with our driveway) Then as you say our adverse possession could take months so we are looking at possibly 3 years before we can market the house.
my biggest worry is burglary or vandalism because we don’t live near. We can’t go abroad on holiday because there is nobody else to check on the house properly. An absolute nightmare!

Bryony - all noted and appreciated. If prior applications are 'in the way' of an expedite we should hasten them as well. Everything then hinges on them being in order though so some delay can still exist but it shouldn't be anywhere near the 3 years you refer to

Once again Adam. Many thanks for your support. 

Hi Adam

Is it possible for me to post the ABR number and case number here? For security reasons I would be reluctant but if it would assist you to give me further advice I would do so.

what is the usual procedure?

many thanks 

Hi Bryony - you can share the title number/ABR here if you wish to. Many do but entirely your choice

Hi Adam

The reference number is 251016-5311197

Title number BM21962

would this help to shed any light on the situation?

many thanks in advance

Bryony

Hi Bryony - many thanks. That relates to a pending first registration and accompanying transfer of part. The cases are expedited but as you state delayed in part by prior applications affecting the landlord/seller's title 
The main delay though has been the fact that the complexities involved re the actual application mean that it's been on referral to our lawyers to decide next steps. 
I'll check with the casework team for an update and share once I have something concrete to offer in reply
BM481734 

Hi again Bryony - the casework team advise that there are still issues to resolve re the 'claimed' land that forms part of the application. Once resolved it is very likely they will then need to complete wider checks with adjoining/affected landowners to confirm no objections to the registration 
I can't be definitive re timescales but based on the above we are still looking at 4-6 weeks potentially before matters might be resolved. That is very much just an estimate 
BM481734 

This information is so helpful. Many many thanks to you Adam.

 Fingers crossed that by Spring we can settle everything and give my parents home the resolution that they would want for their beloved house.

If you need any more details from me please just ask.

Bryony

Hi

Can anyone advise if they have experienced anything similar to our current situation.

we are currently purchasing a property and the title deed shows a small triangle at back of garden is not registered on the plan.  our solicitor has advised we proceed with adverse possession claim once completed.  This is owned by the builders who originally built the property and it was them who erected the garden fence 21 years ago.  The builders went out of business 10 years ago.  

How likely will the claim be? 

Any information appreciated. 

Thanks Julie. 

Hi Julie - see our PG 4 for guidance Adverse possession of registered land (PG4) - GOV.UK 
And rely on your legal rep to confirm if the legal requirements can be met re such a claim - the key requirement, if you are buying, is to ensure that the seller's provide the statement of truth required to back up the claim from their use/ownership of the land to date

Hi Adam

I hope you are well and once again, many thanks for your previous information.
Bryony here again. It is now 3 months since we last communicated and approximately 9 months since our adverse possession claim for the small strip of land on my deceased father’s estate.

the house has already deteriorated and consequently the estate is worth £70,000 less. We are paying for repairs and utilities etc.

We are still waiting for the application for a lease (doesn’t have anything to do with our strip of land) to be resolved and we are second in the queue. This application has already taken a year and seems to be being allowed to continue indefinitely. My solicitor warns me that this can happen often, although I can’t understand why this is allowed if there are others waiting in the queue.

Our problem is no communication from the LR about an approximate time frame so we can market the house and give a buyer a definite time frame. Our solicitor has written recently but no reply as yet.

would you be able to shed any light on this?
 

Bryony

Hi again Bryony - I am sorry that the issues remain. Unfortunately 'priority' order can impact in this way although your application is a complex one so I would not put it into the 'it can o0ften happen' category. Looking at the application itself I can see that it has bene referred to one of our lawyers and that the casework team will be writing out to your conveyancer shortly. Hopefully that will shed more light on what's happening and what happens next. I'll flag with the casework team to ensure that is issued asap. BM481734

Thank you again Adam 

It is worrying to hear that our case is deemed to be complex as we are led to believe that it is a case of claiming adverse possession because the family has lived there for over 60 years and used the piece of land as part of the family day to day life.

On a positive note, I am glad that the lawyer will be contacting us shortly.

I would be really grateful if you hear any more news.