Is the land mine or not?

at the bottom of my garden there is a piece of land that i have maintained for over 8 years i have put a shed on the land %26amp; looked after fencing ect... iam a council tennant %26amp; recently a new neighbour has moved in who has purchased the property %26amp; has sent me a solicitors letter claiming the land is his can he legaly do this after this amount of years?? its not about me keeping the land but it would be a lot of trouble for me now moving my shed ect

Is the land mine or not?
Unfortunately, if this guy has the deeds to the land and his solicitor agrees, there is nothing you can legally do.



You can double-check with the council regarding property/land boundaries, but surely, as a "council tenant", you don't even own the house and garden you are currently renting, so it's difficult to see how you can lay claim to the land beyond...

Sorry if that seems harsh, but I fail to see how you think you have a case, unless of course you own the property onto which the land in question is connected (meaning you are a private owner and not a council tenant).



Having said that, I can imagine it's a bit of a sickener losing something you've maintained for over eight years. Have a word with the new owner - see if you can come to a reasonable agreement whereby you rent the land from him (if you want to of course), or you can use a portion of it in exchange for its upkeep.

He'll probably disagree but it's worth a try. If he wants the shed moved, you'll have to shift it I'm afraid. If I wasn't house-bound, I would give you a hand...
Reply:Landmines are dangerous I believe
Reply:Yes, the limit is 12 years. I know as my in-laws stole a bit of wasteland next to their house a few years ago that they'd fenced off for 12 years.
Reply:you all ways new the land wasn't yours mate. if these folk have paid good money for it,, you can't really blame them.

hope you don't have to much trouble moving your shed..
Reply:ask the council to do a land search around your property and that should highlight who it belongs to, if it's your neighbour not a lot you can do i'm afraid, he may let you keep your shed there, but he can ask for rent etc....
Reply:Just because you maintained the land doesnt mean that you own it or have any rights to it, you should contact the council to see who actually owns the land, if it is council owned then they shouldnt have a problem with you leaving your shed there.
Reply:The council should be able to tell you where the council land ends. And the neighbours starts.
Reply:you need to go to the town hall and look up the boundaries on the map, for your road etc.



every town hall has them
Reply:We went through this same exact thing. If there is a survey done and your shed is found to be on the neighbor's property...you will have to move it. With the old owner, you could have claimed "adverse possession" since you possessed the land for over 8 years. However, the ownership of the property has changed and you have not possessed this land from the new owner for over 8 years which would fall, again, under the Adverse Possession" claim. Make the new owner get a survey and have the survey stakes prominently placed. If your shed is on his property...be prepared to move it.
Reply:The Fences Act 1978 is an issue here. You can't annex land and claim it as your own. If you do, a very long time must pass (20 years) without challenge before you can claim it.



When fencing land, or moving a fence, agree the boundary with neighbours.



As a council tenant, the council have a record of your property and its official boundaries as recorded on the land register.