Don't know if anyone knows anything about this subject.We have a bit of council land at the bottom of our garden,about 7ft by 30ft approx.We've lived here for 12 years and the only tme the council have ever done anything to maintain it was not long after we moved in.I complained because the weeds were growing through into our garden.It's basically infested with ground elder,elder trees,nettles etc.All they did was go over it with a strimmer.At the other side of the land is a burn.We thought we'd clear it,put some silver birch trees and bulbs in and woodland plants,make it a nice area at the bottom of our garden.Has anyone done anything like this before?Someone told me if you maintain land for several years you can put a claim in for it without it costing you anything.We live in Scotland,does anyone know anything about this?
Wendy
how to claim unused land
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Hi pwlynch,
I feel that the law differs in England to Scotland, I belive that in England its called squatter rights but as to what the length of time this is I am unsure, I have heard of 7 years and also 20 years before you can claim it, but hopefully someone with a better knowledge of this part of law will put you on the right track.
Good Luck
Kevin
I feel that the law differs in England to Scotland, I belive that in England its called squatter rights but as to what the length of time this is I am unsure, I have heard of 7 years and also 20 years before you can claim it, but hopefully someone with a better knowledge of this part of law will put you on the right track.
Good Luck
Kevin
Hi PWL,
I think you would have to annex the land to your garden and cultivate it and after several years you can claim it as part of your holding. That is the position in England but I fear that as Kev says Scottish Law may well be different.
The only way is to seek advice from a lawyer. For this advice I would go to a place other than your locality and do not mention where the land is or who owns it. I feel you have to use a bit of cloak and dagger work and do not mention your intentions to ANYBOBY other than that lawyer. For just once in your life you must be sneaky!
JB.
I think you would have to annex the land to your garden and cultivate it and after several years you can claim it as part of your holding. That is the position in England but I fear that as Kev says Scottish Law may well be different.
The only way is to seek advice from a lawyer. For this advice I would go to a place other than your locality and do not mention where the land is or who owns it. I feel you have to use a bit of cloak and dagger work and do not mention your intentions to ANYBOBY other than that lawyer. For just once in your life you must be sneaky!
JB.
Hello Wendy
I think that by complaining to the council about this strip of land you have acknowledged that they are its owners. As they did clear it up it seems that they think that they are the owners otherwise they would have passed the buck.
Why not be less sneaky and approach them to see if they will allow you to cultivate it or even make them a sensible offer and buy it from them! If its just an odd strip and none of your neighbours has any interest in acquiring it, it might be less expensive than you think.
John
I think that by complaining to the council about this strip of land you have acknowledged that they are its owners. As they did clear it up it seems that they think that they are the owners otherwise they would have passed the buck.
Why not be less sneaky and approach them to see if they will allow you to cultivate it or even make them a sensible offer and buy it from them! If its just an odd strip and none of your neighbours has any interest in acquiring it, it might be less expensive than you think.
John
The Gods do not subtract from the allotted span of men’s lives, the hours spent fishing Assyrian tablet
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning Werner Heisenberg
I am a man and the world is my urinal
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning Werner Heisenberg
I am a man and the world is my urinal
Hi John,
If you had ever tried to purchase any land from a local authority you would not be saying what you have
because this innocuous piece of land will be valued
as though it had oil beneath it's surface.
Part of my property was purchased from the county council and my property was on three sides of this land bordered by a stream and the only way into that land was across the stream unless I was prepared to give them right of way. I did as you suggest and over 20 years ago they put a value of £4800.00. an acre on it. Land at that time was bordering on a thousand pounds an acre. My solicitor suggested that as it was left barren the council should put it up for auction and although it took them three years to
get to grips with it they put it up for auction and I turned up and was the only bidder I bid £500 per acre but the bid was refused and I and my solicitor met them in private the following day and I eventually paid £650 per acre for it. All the fuss and palaver for 12 acres of land and although I got the land it took for ages to do so. I would never have got away with squatters rights but for a small piece of land I would do exactly as I suggested in my previous posting. Make it part of their garden and see what happens. If anything happens tell them that because they have not tended it for 12 years and the trouble it has caused you in that time and that you have had to keep the weeds down every year and who knows they may give it to them.
Is that a pig I see flying.
JB.
If you had ever tried to purchase any land from a local authority you would not be saying what you have
because this innocuous piece of land will be valued
as though it had oil beneath it's surface.
Part of my property was purchased from the county council and my property was on three sides of this land bordered by a stream and the only way into that land was across the stream unless I was prepared to give them right of way. I did as you suggest and over 20 years ago they put a value of £4800.00. an acre on it. Land at that time was bordering on a thousand pounds an acre. My solicitor suggested that as it was left barren the council should put it up for auction and although it took them three years to
get to grips with it they put it up for auction and I turned up and was the only bidder I bid £500 per acre but the bid was refused and I and my solicitor met them in private the following day and I eventually paid £650 per acre for it. All the fuss and palaver for 12 acres of land and although I got the land it took for ages to do so. I would never have got away with squatters rights but for a small piece of land I would do exactly as I suggested in my previous posting. Make it part of their garden and see what happens. If anything happens tell them that because they have not tended it for 12 years and the trouble it has caused you in that time and that you have had to keep the weeds down every year and who knows they may give it to them.
Is that a pig I see flying.
JB.
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Chantal
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I agree with JB. My house backs onto a disused railway line (Great Central) and for many years people moved their boundaries back and annexed a few extra yards. It's now run as a nature reserve but those new boundaries haven't been changed. My next door neighbour cultivates a patch of land as a very little allotment at the bottom of my garden as he has no more space in his garden. It suits me as it keeps all the weeds back.
Good luck, whatever you do.
Good luck, whatever you do.
Chantal
I know this corner of the earth, it smiles for me...
I know this corner of the earth, it smiles for me...
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Shallot Man
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As I understand it, land had to be improved, IE at the minimum a shed placed on it. Shallotman
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Jenny Green
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If my experience of large public bodies is anything to go by, they will be so inefficient and incompetent that they won't even notice what you do as long as you keep quiet about it.
I would take down the fence, cultivate the land and put a shed on it (and, if anyone asks, say you did it all seven years ago).
I would do the same with the land at the end of my garden too, except that it's a huge recreation ground and the footie players might get upset!
(But maybe not if they saw how pretty I would make it.)
I would take down the fence, cultivate the land and put a shed on it (and, if anyone asks, say you did it all seven years ago).
I would do the same with the land at the end of my garden too, except that it's a huge recreation ground and the footie players might get upset!
(But maybe not if they saw how pretty I would make it.)
(Formerly known as 'Organic Freak')
Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed.
Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed.
When I used to live in Sussex a friend of mine fenced off an unused piece of land and assumed squatters rights. She had to wait 12 years (I think) and then if no-one had claimed it, it became hers. Not sure if the law has changed now- this was 1994.
Seedling
Seedling
Wendy
There is a method in Scots law that can be used to get rights to unclaimed land. I think that the rule is that you have to register a non domino disposition with the Keeper (of the Land Register)and then occupy the land unchallenged for 10 years. It is a long time since I have looked at this but I think you would have two problems: (a) if the Council have registered the land in the Land Register (as opposed to the old Register of Sasines) it is fairly easy for the Keeper to find out that there is a true owner; and (b) you have already acknowledged that the Council is the owner therefore I think that you cannot really use a non domino disposition as this only works where there is not a traceable owner.
As I say, I haven't looked at this for years but if you really want to know more let me know and I will do some research for you. If you want to have secure title to the land I'm afraid the surest and safest way is to buy it from the Council - despite all the hassle/expense/delay as detailed above.
Hope this helps
Haggis
There is a method in Scots law that can be used to get rights to unclaimed land. I think that the rule is that you have to register a non domino disposition with the Keeper (of the Land Register)and then occupy the land unchallenged for 10 years. It is a long time since I have looked at this but I think you would have two problems: (a) if the Council have registered the land in the Land Register (as opposed to the old Register of Sasines) it is fairly easy for the Keeper to find out that there is a true owner; and (b) you have already acknowledged that the Council is the owner therefore I think that you cannot really use a non domino disposition as this only works where there is not a traceable owner.
As I say, I haven't looked at this for years but if you really want to know more let me know and I will do some research for you. If you want to have secure title to the land I'm afraid the surest and safest way is to buy it from the Council - despite all the hassle/expense/delay as detailed above.
Hope this helps
Haggis