Chapter 4 Flowcharts with audio: Adverse Possession regime under LRA 2002

In this audio I want to talk you through the adverse possession regime under the Land Registration Act 2002. The Land Registration Act 2002, under Schedule 6, introduced a new regime for adverse possession, and I want to consider briefly here how that works. The regime, as I say, is in Schedule 6 and it marked a big change in the law.

Essentially, it's made it far harder for claimants--adverse possessors--to acquire title of land belonging to another by adverse possession. Why? Well let's have a look.

Schedule 6 lays out an application process, quite simply. A claimant who wants to acquire title of land belonging to another through adverse possession has to make an application to Land Registry to be the new owner.

And this is why the law has tightened up, because once that claimant--adverse possessor--makes the application, the landowner and any interested parties are notified of his application by the Land Registrar. And they have sixty-five days to object to the application, to consent to the application, or serve a counter notice seeking that the application be dealt with under Schedule 6, paragraph 5. And you'll see these steps all laid out in the flow chart.

Of course, alternatively, the true landowner, the registered landowner, could decide to do nothing when faced with the application by the claimant. Of course the risk there is that the claimant will then be registered as the new landowner and the original owner will be stripped of its title. If the landowner consents to the claimant's application, then after the 65-day period the claimant becomes entitled to be registered as the new owner.

If the landowner objects, on the grounds that the claimant is ineligible to make the application, the Registrar will investigate the objections that the landowner raises. If they are groundless, the claimant--the adverse possessor--will be registered as the new owner. If there’s some merit in the objections then the registrar will encourage the parties to reach a settlement and agreement, and if not, it'll end up in the property tribunal.

And finally, another option is that the landowner serves a counter notice requiring the Registrar to deal with the application under Schedule 6, paragraph 5. You should read this part of Schedule 6 very carefully. Under Schedule 6, paragraph 5, the claimant--adverse possessor--can only be registered as the new owner if one of the listed exceptional conditions is made out.

What is the effect of the changes, then, to the regime for adverse possession? Well, essentially, in the words of Lizzy Cook, it has rendered the law virtually squatter-proof. It's taken the heat and the sting out of adverse possession and in virtually every case it means an adverse possessor will have their application rejected because surely the landowner will object.

Take another look at the flow chart, listen back to this audio, and read Schedule 6 very carefully.