You asked, we answered: equine land ownership 

Members of Birketts’ Equine Team recently attended the National Equine Show at the NEC in Birmingham, where they were met with a variety of interesting questions and horse related enquiries from members of the public. Over the next few months, we’ll be answering some of the questions in detail in our ‘you asked, we answered’ series which you can find on our equine website page.   

My horses have been grazing on an area of land next to my property for a number of years, but I don’t know who owns the land. Where do I stand?  

It is not uncommon to find strips of land that are seemingly unclaimed. Land ownership may frequently change hands and if the boundaries are unclear, you could end up unknowingly occupying land that is not within your ownership. The exclusive occupation of land outside of your ownership, without the owner’s consent, is known as adverse possession. The rights you may have will depend on whether the land is registered with HM Land Registry and how long you have occupied the land for. In order to make a successful claim for adverse possession, you must have occupied the land for at least 10 to 12 years (depending on whether the land is registered or unregistered) as if it were your own, without objection by the owner. You must also be able to supply evidence of the length of occupation, which may be in the form of a statement of truth, and the Land Registry may arrange for a surveyor to come out to inspect the land. 

Unregistered land 

If the land does not have a registered title at HM Land Registry, you can apply to be registered as the proprietor of the land, with possessory title, after 12 years of continuous occupation. The Land Registry will send a notice to any person that they believe may have an interest in the land, based on their local knowledge. Anyone wishing to object must serve a counter-notice and the application will not be allowed to proceed until the Land Registry are satisfied that the objection is groundless. If the Land Registry cannot satisfy itself that the objection is groundless, it will refer the application for determination by a judge in the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). 

If no objection is received, the land would be registered in your name with possessory title. This is inferior to absolute title, which is the best grade of title available. However, once the possessory title has been registered for 12 years, you can apply to the Land Registry to upgrade to absolute title. 

What if the land is registered? 

If you discover that the land you have occupied is in fact registered, it is more difficult to claim adverse possession of the land. When you apply for adverse possession, the legal owner will be notified by HM Land Registry and given an opportunity to object before they will consider the application further. If the application is not opposed by the proprietor, you will be entitled to become the new registered owner of the land.  

If, however, the proprietor does object to the application, it is extremely likely that the application would be rejected by HM Land Registry. Subsequently, as the land owner will have been notified of your occupation of their land during this process, they may well seek to rectify the position and put in place boundary features (e.g. fences or hedges) to stop your access to the land to prevent any future claims. Otherwise, if the adverse possession of the land was to continue for a further two years, you would be entitled to make a further adverse possession application. As above, the Land Registry can refer the application(s) to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) for determination by a judge.  

Court or Tribunal proceedings 

Tribunal proceedings can be complex and expensive, so we recommend you seek guidance before you issue an application to the Land Registry. We can let you know what the risks are to your application and advise you as to the possible costs and timescales involved with Tribunal proceedings.  

It’s also worth noting that entry onto someone else’s land is an actionable trespass and the landowner can claim damages where a trespass has taken place. The landowner would likely need to issue Court proceedings to take back possession of their land. This is expensive for the landowner, and a trespasser can expect to be on the receiving-end of an adverse costs application. If your horses have not been on the land that doesn’t belong to you for more than 10 years, you should seek advice from us on your options.