Adverse possession is the legal process by which someone who has been using land they do not own can, in certain circumstances, claim ownership of it. In the context of neighbours and boundaries, this most commonly arises where a fence, hedge or border has been in the wrong position for many years and one party has been using a strip of land that technically belongs to the other.
If you're concerned about a boundary dispute or think adverse possession may apply to your situation, you can check your legal position using our free Neighbour Rights Checker.
How It Works
The basic principle is straightforward. If you have had sole, uninterrupted use of a piece of land for a long enough period, without the owner's permission, you may be able to apply to have the legal ownership transferred to you. The land does not have to be large. Disputes over boundary strips of a few feet are among the most common adverse possession cases between neighbours.
The rules differ depending on whether the land is registered or unregistered, and when the period of possession began.
Unregistered Land
For unregistered land, or for registered land where the required period of adverse possession was completed before 13 October 2003, the qualifying period is 12 years. If you can show that you have had exclusive possession of the land for at least 12 years, without the owner's consent, the original owner's right to reclaim it is extinguished under the Limitation Act 1980.
Registered Land (Post-2003 Rules)
For registered land where the possession period was not completed before 13 October 2003, the Land Registration Act 2002 introduced a different process. The qualifying period is 10 years, but the procedure is more involved:
- After 10 years of adverse possession, you can apply to the Land Registry to be registered as the owner.
- The Land Registry will notify the registered owner, any mortgage lender, and certain other interested parties.
- Those notified have 65 business days to object.
- If the owner objects, the application will normally be rejected, unless you can satisfy one of three specific conditions set out in Schedule 6 of the Act.
- If your application is rejected but you remain in adverse possession for a further two years, you can apply again and will be registered as owner whether or not the registered owner objects.
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If the registered owner objects to your initial application, you can still succeed if you can show one of the following:
- It would be unconscionable for the registered owner to object, because of an equity by estoppel (for example, the owner encouraged you to believe the land was yours and you acted on that belief).
- You are entitled to the land for some other reason, such as under a will or by a boundary agreement.
- You reasonably believed for at least 10 years that the land belonged to you, and the land concerned is adjacent to your own property. This is the condition most commonly relied on in boundary fence disputes.
The Brown v Ridley Ruling (2025)
In March 2025, the Supreme Court clarified an important point about the third condition in the case of Brown v Ridley. The question was whether the 10 years of reasonable belief had to run right up to the date of the application, or whether it could fall within any period during the possession.
The Supreme Court held unanimously that the 10 years of reasonable belief can fall within any part of the possession period. It does not have to be the most recent 10 years. This is a helpful clarification for anyone whose belief may have been challenged or shaken shortly before they got round to applying. The ruling makes it slightly easier to satisfy this condition, provided the belief was genuinely held for a continuous 10 year period at some point.
Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.
What Counts as Possession
To establish adverse possession, you need to show three things:
- You had factual, exclusive possession of the land. This means you were the only person using it and treating it as your own.
- You intended to possess it. Casual or incidental use is not enough.
- The possession was without the owner's consent. If the owner gave you permission to use the land, even informally, it does not count.
Practical evidence that supports a claim includes maintaining the land (mowing, planting, repairing), fencing it off, and using it in a way that an owner would. The courts have said that erecting a fence around the land is a strong indicator of possession.
Boundary Disputes Between Neighbours
The most common scenario between neighbours is where a fence or hedge has been in the wrong position for many years. One neighbour has been maintaining and using a strip of land on their side of the fence, assuming it was theirs, while the title deeds show it actually belongs to the other neighbour.
If the fence has been in that position for long enough and the conditions above are met, the neighbour who has been using the land may have a claim. However, adverse possession cases can be unpredictable and fact-specific. Small differences in the evidence can change the outcome.
If a new neighbour moves in and wants to enforce the legal boundary shown on the title deeds, it is worth getting legal advice before either side takes action. Moving a fence or reclaiming land without going through the proper process can create more problems than it solves.
Getting Legal Advice
Adverse possession is a complex area of property law with many technical requirements. Applications can be rejected if the forms are not completed correctly or the supporting evidence is insufficient. If you are considering a claim, or defending one, it is sensible to consult a solicitor who specialises in property disputes. The Land Registry also publishes detailed practice guides (PG4 for registered land, PG5 for unregistered land) that set out the application process step by step.
Given that nearly 40 years have passed with the fence in its current position, you likely have a strong case. However, property disputes can be complex, so I'd recommend getting a solicitor who specialises in boundary disputes to review your situation properly. They can confirm your adverse possession claim and help resolve this without things escalating further. Many offer initial consultations that could give you peace of mind about where you stand legally.
Would this garage wall be a shared wall, and have I got the right too keep this coverway because of how long it has been up for so long.
We maintain it and have replaced the PVC sheets several times over the years.
The neighbours now must of been aware of this when they purchased the property
Have I got my rights to keep my coverway.
We moved into a detached bungalow 4 years, originally owned by a very old lady who had let the garden get into a terrible mess.
One of the 1st jobs we did was to try and clear it up. On the left hand side was a fence running all the way up the side of garden in decent condition.
Situated right in front of it were a couple of bits of old wooden fence and some rusty chicken wire which only ran half way up our garden and the wire was tight against the neighbours fence, probably 1 inch away but often touching her fence in places.
Our garden is approximately 50 to 60 feet long and the rusty chicken wire ran about half way up before it dissappeared completely and was also in terrible condition so having 4 dogs I felt it was dangerous if anything and removed it.
We recently fell out with a neighbour and she claimed that this chicken wire was her boundary fence and that we had no right to remove it and has now complained to the council, even though we removed it 4 years ago.
Looking at the deeds, she has ownership of that side of the garden, but I presumed the wooden fence was her border, and like I said the rusty chicken wire was virtually touching it and only ran for about half way the length of the fence anyway and was in terrible condition.
Please can someone advise the situation here.
In all honesty it sounds very petty but our neighbour complains about everything, has already complained to the council about our dogs which went nowhere, complains if we have music on an afternoon at the weekend, complains about a bush which grows onto her garden, complained we had put a security camera up at the back of her house which in reality was a solar night light, etc....
She is quite a difficult person to deal with and quite confrontational to say the least, in fact she is very rude at times.
Again does anyone have any advice.
Thanks
Guy
Last year when it was installed and we got on he even complimented it and said it save him a job as he has plans to sort his own garden out ( it is overgrown and he hasnt phisically been in it for over 18mth). Any ideas???
Two decades ago she (his mother) declared speaking, current news, weather was not enough. She decided she wanted to come inside of your life and see for herself she began banging into all adjoining walls from the top of the house to the basement. She was duly focused on entrance ways, living rooms, dining, kitchen and bedrooms, later it was the bathroom spy cameras and creating a climate by threats to my mother and myself specifically *your not going to live in THAT HOUSE and not speak to me.
Her son has began as she had done soliciting neighbirs to break into my house and take everything. His mother had been entertaining friends on the porch declaring, that what I needed to do was open the door, and key everybody come in and pick what they wanted! She particularly had a personal interests in a leather coat she remembered I had. She's declared that she watches people's clothes. Since she's six times bigger than I im not certain how thT would be of any value to her.
Stalking, threatening, intimidating, harassing, slandering, creating a persecutorial climate among friends, neighbors or strangers to promote her own self aggrandizement and to hinder another's progress and normal right to peace inside of your home and preventing them from. Having an intimate relationship with others as though you were their prisoner and she is the angry, dissatisfied God preventing your threatening to control someone to break in everyday, exclaiming with angst, "when is she leaving" as you embark to go to work. And the purpose is to bring her your earned income. "Give me money", was her comment which I ignored her as she feels she is going from generation to generation, as she did my mother by threat of harm to the point my mother stopped going to church because she used these criminal men to lean in my mothers face as she left home.
At this day, she felt while I had spent a decade caring for my parents and I would be intimidated as she brought hundreds of men to look at me as though they would kill me because I called the police repeatedly.
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