adverse possession

[luce.rocks]

I'm not a lawyer, but from way back in the day when I was studying law I think I remember something about having to show that you intended to exclusively occupy the land/building? Stuff like changing locks on doors, putting locks on fence gates, etc. The nastier you got with locking the real owner out, the stronger your claim was. I remember thinking it seemed pretty a*se about face. Anyhow, be interesting to hear what a real lawyer says. Keep us in the loop

 

[wandillup]

The requirements to prove possessory title are many,including how long the occupant has been in possession,whether the occupation has been continuous and exclusive.how the land was used,improvements made and a few other factors.
In our case the issue of who paid the rates is not that critical as it is a part parcel application and clearly you cant pay rates on only a portion of land.
Although my father may have been aware of the situation with the boundary it was only bought to our notice by the new owner.
Since i raised the subject on this forum the owner has offered to sell us the area for $6000.00 with us bearing the cost of the entire subdivision and amalgamation procedure which looks like being around $4500.00.
We are still considering our position.

 

[vaughan]

The requirements to prove possessory title are many,including how long the occupant has been in possession,whether the occupation has been continuous and exclusive.how the land was used,improvements made and a few other factors.
In our case the issue of who paid the rates is not that critical as it is a part parcel application and clearly you cant pay rates on only a portion of land.
Although my father may have been aware of the situation with the boundary it was only bought to our notice by the new owner.
Since i raised the subject on this forum the owner has offered to sell us the area for $6000.00 with us bearing the cost of the entire subdivision and amalgamation procedure which looks like being around $4500.00.
We are still considering our position.

Here in NSW there is a process called "moving the boundary" or "redrawing the bounder" or something similar, which is just for these cases where portions of adjoining parcels are sold. Basically instead of creating new titles or subdivisions, the boundary on the title is redrawn to the new position.

Much cheaper, and apparently councils are more likely to approve it.

 

[Suzy912]

It all looks pretty messy. I wish I was an expert on WA land law so I could help, but I'm not so I can't. I just wish you all the best and hope it doesn't cost you too much.

 

[wandillup]

I think the process can get messy and protracted if you don't do enough research.the procedure over here is once you have collated your required evidence you then lodge an application with landgate which then triggers a notification period in which the registered owner has time to lodge a caveat over the application. He then has 30 days to begin court proceedings and this is where the expenses start.If no action has been taken within the 30 days the caveat lapses and its handballed back to landgate for them to effect the title changes if the application ticks all the boxes.We are still doing some research and are not committed to a particular path yet.Thanks for the interest and support.

 

[wylie]

Since i raised the subject on this forum the owner has offered to sell us the area for $6000.00 with us bearing the cost of the entire subdivision and amalgamation procedure which looks like being around $4500.00.
We are still considering our position.

Does that value ring true compared to the value of the remaining block?

And... that sounds much cheaper than bringing lawyers into it.

 

[wandillup]

Hi all
An update for those interested in the topic of adverse possession.
The circumstances surrounding this case have been outlined in previous posts above.
After doing a considerable amount of research and preparation we decided to mount a case for adverse possession of the area of land(1.6ha).
We obtained statutory declarations from disinterested neighbors,my father and ourselves and along with other documentation lodged the application with Landgate.
The application travels across several departments within Landgate,s complex dealing section and we were requested on two occasions to clarify points or provide further information,this was done and it finally ends up in the law assessors area who examines it to ensure it complies with criteria necessary for adverse possession to be awarded.
This is critical for Landgate as they are named as a co defendant in the event the case ends up in court.
Fortunately for us our application did indeed tick all the boxes and it progressed to the notification and advertising phase,this involves notifying all parties with a registered interest in the area and advertising That we will be registered as title holders of the area.
People with a registered interest had 21 days to lodge a caveat against the application which gave them a further 30 days to apply to the Supreme Court for determination.
No caveats were lodged within the time so the application advanced to the creation of a new title stage.This required a Deposited Plan to be lodged by a surveyor for review.
If they are happy with the plan we will be issued with a freehold title for the area and the matter will be closed.
A few things happened along the way that are worth noting.
The neighbour who tried to get us to buy the land engaged a lawyer to attempt to scare/bully us into backing down with threats of legal action and vigorous defence of any adverse possession claim!
The neighbour also entered my wife's work place to try to talk us out of continuing with the application, at the end of this unsolicited discussion he handed her an invoice for rent that he was claiming for the land.This was a fanciful attempt to extort money from us as obviously we had no rental agreement with him.This visit was just another example if intimidatory tactics designed to unsettle us.
We did not feel the need to engage our own lawyer to respond to these issues as our daughter is a qualified lawyer and competently dealt with any correspondence.
Unfortunately from the above we are left with a strained neighborly relationship which is not a great situation to be left in but we feel we were pushed into this position by his claim for compensation in the first instance.
Finally I think it shows if you have a strong case,have done your homework and are patient and persistent favourable results are possible.
Thank you for your helpful replies and advice

 

[Terry_w]

Great result and thanks for coming back and giving us a nice summary too.

 

[Paul@PFI]

My kids are squatters. My possession appears adversely affected.

Other day I had to buy a new dishwasher. My 20yo son proudly declared that he didn't wear out the old one. Or the washing machine. Just the fridge door hinge and the couch in front of the playstation, foxtel and TV.

 

[luce.rocks]

Great result! Well done on not getting flapped and staying the course

 

[fernfurn]

I had to laugh one day when my defacto daughter in law declared that as I was the landlord I had to pay to have a wasp nest removed. As they were staying in the house for free, my retort was, "but you are not paying rent!"