Court of Appeal clarifies law on adverse possession of residential buildings

This article was produced by Nabarro LLP, which joined CMS on 1 May 2017.

The Court of Appeal has confirmed the relationship between section 144(1) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and the law on adverse possession.

Section 144(1) came into force on 1 September 2012 and makes it a criminal offence to squat in a residential building.

Most property in England and Wales is registered at the Land Registry. A squatter who has been in adverse possession of registered property for a period of 10 years or more can apply to the Land Registry to be registered as the owner under the Land Registration Act 2002.

Mr Best applied to the Land Registry to be registered as the owner of a residential property on the grounds of adverse possession. The Land Registry rejected Mr Best’s application on the basis it relied on periods of adverse possession involving a criminal offence under section 144(1). In rejecting the application, the Land Registry pointed to earlier case law which suggested criminal acts cannot be relied on in support of claims for adverse possession.

In its decision published yesterday, the Court of Appeal confirmed that the aim of section 144(1) is to make it easier for owners of residential buildings to remove squatters and not to change the law on adverse possession. A squatter who remains in occupation of a residential building long enough to bring a claim for adverse possession can still rely on that occupation, despite the fact it involves a criminal offence, when applying to the Land Registry.

This decision underlines the need for property owners to be vigilant and make sure squatters are removed, or have their occupation regularised, well before there is any risk of them obtaining rights by adverse possession.