Squatting hit the news in 1999 when the London Borough of Lambeth found itself unable to evict a man who had squatted in a Council-owned house in Brixton for 16 years, with the effect that the squatter acquired legal title to a four-bedroomed house worth some £200,000!
In practice most cases of people making a claim to land they do not legally own are less dramatic but no less important to those making the claim. On , provisions in the Land Registration Act amending the position of squatters came into play.
If the land squatted on is unregistered, the old law continues to apply: a squatter needs to prove continuous possession of the land for at least 12 years in a manner that was intended to keep out the true owner and give the impression that the claimant is the owner. In order to do this the squatter can apply to the Land Registry to be registered with possessory title to that land. The circumstances relied on in support of the claim will be set out in a Statutory Declaration sworn by the squatter. This sets out full particulars of the period over which the squatting has taken place, details of the use the squatter has made of the land over that period and of action taken by the squatter to show intention to "take over" the land (e.g. putting up a fence).
If the land squatted on is registered, the squatter can apply after 10 years’ possession. When the Land Registry receives the application it will notify the registered owner and various other specified, interested parties – lenders, landlor and people on the register mentioned as being entitled to receive notice of such claims. If any notified party lodges an objection, the Land Registry must reject the application unless the applicant squatter can prove that there has been a representation that the squatter was the owner or that reasonable mistake has been made as to the boundary or it would be unreasonable or unconscionable not to register the squatter.
Once the squatter’s claim has been accepted or unopposed, the squatter will acquire title. If the squatter’s claim is rejected then the true owner must take eviction proceedings to remove the squatter if the squatter will not move voluntarily. If the owner does not do so within two years then the squatter can re-apply to be registered at the end of this two year period. The squatter will be registered as the owner unless the true owner is suffering a mental disability or detained in enemy territory.
However, in the light of the new law there are steps that land owners can take to protect their property:
The squatter in the case against London Borough of Lambeth succeeded because the Borough did not manage their properties effectively and, not being aware of the squatter’s presence, did not take eviction action on time. The same Borough lost another case in 2001 against another squatter who broke into a Council flat in 1988 and changed the locks. In the 2001 case the squatter said he knew he could have been evicted and he said he would have been happy to pay rent and regularise his position if the Council had approached him. Again they lost the case because they didn't bring their eviction action until it was too late!
