Question

How can a local council claim ownership of land without any documentary evidence?

Answer 1

Land registration didn't become compulsory in England until 1990 and this only affects transactions taking place after that date.  If the land in question hasn't changed hands and nobody has voluntarily registered it, there is a legal process by which it may be claimed, based on historical use and maintenance.

Comments

Thank you. Appreciated.

---

There's a difference between land having been registered and land being owned. If a property is not registered it doesn't necessarily mean it isn't legally owned by someone. When land is first registered with Land Registry the person registering it has to prove ownership. It isn't a matter of finding a piece of land that isn't registered and then claim it as your own! There are other ways of claiming land such as adverse possession but I'm assuming this is not relevant in this case. So to put simply, in order to register land you must have a valid ownership claim.

---

Thank you. The land in question is a pond which the council are of the opinion they own and is private property. Various repairs and management over the past number of years have been funded from the council's precept.

---

If the council don't have root of title going back at least 15 years then another way is adverse possession but there are criteria you have to meet such as making it obvious you are maintaining it and in some cases you have to fence it off to delineate it. Sounds like you need legal advice if council wishes to register it and there are various classes of title that could be granted dependant on the level of evidence you can provide.

---

Thank you for your helpful advice.

---

We are in the process of registering land by adverse possession. It’s meant a visit to the archives to trawl through minutes and get copies that show how long we have maintained that land. You have to show a minimum of 12 years. Ours I can prove back to 1925 so it might be worth looking through old minutes

---

Thank you. I think that would be possible.

---

we had a case where land owned by charity  was claimed to be owned by the parish council this was via a email to the solicitor. who was preparing to register the land via adverse possession, a resident however flagged this up to the solicitor who acted swiftly to put it right  . who would believe it in parish councils