Land registry shows different to Local Authority search

[Katy May]

Hi - I'm hoping someone can help as I'm at my wits end. I'm selling my house and the buyer is doing his own conveyancing and has noticed that there is an area of unregistered land which I thought was mine. It has been used as part of the house/land for at least 20 yrs but I've only lived here for 51/2. I can locate the people who lived in the house 15rs ago and have neighbours who relate how the land has always been used as part of the property but can't locate the person who owned the house before me. Anyway, I was wondering why this never came up before and looked through all the docs and found the Local Authority search for when I bought the house which clearly shows all the land (including the unregistered bit) marked as part of the property. I was wondering if anyone knows the difference between the land registery plans and the LA plans and whether the LA plans prove the ownership or suggest some form of adoption/registration at some point. The reason I'm so desperate is that the sale depends on a quick completion and I understand adverse possession can take months. Any advice/info would be great, thank you

[buildersmate]

Your solicitor should be your professional advisor on this one. LA searches check for Planning Permssion, Building regs, and local land charges placed upon the property (amongst other things). They don't confirm the land title - the Land Registry does that. So where you may have seen a drawing showing your house on the whole plot (as you understand it) it is possibly for planning permission request when you have to show the proposed house in relation to the siting on the land. It does not confirm the land ownership.
As you say, a claim for adverse possesion is likely to take several months because LR have to undertake a series of checks and possibly a site inspection. Another choice is to sell him the smaller piece of land, together with a sworn statement that you have been maintaining the fenced additional piece of land for 5.5 years, which would go part way to the minimum of 10 years before one can start the process of claiming adverse possession. He would probably seek a discount from the price because he is not getting all of what he though he was buying.
You may have a claim from the solicitor who helped buy the house in the first place - which is probably of little short term comfort to you just now.

[Katy May]

That's helpful, thank you. I received a letter this morning saying that he wants statements of use so that he can register the land - which suggests he'll take the matter forward - do you know if statements from neigbours covering the 12 yr period are allowable?

Also I have another panic on. I have a loft extension - put in sometime in the 1980s. I had planning permission docs sent on when I bought the house in 2001 that I assumed were for the loft extension. On closer inspection they appear to be for the dormer window in the loft conversion (these are dated mid 1980s, I've sent the docs to solicitors so can't check the exact details). The plans detail the layout showing where the dormer should go etc. Is this sufficient and how do I check whether planning permission was granted?

Sorry to be so pathertic about all this but I never fully appreciated how complex and stressful selling a house could be!

[Whickerman]

Try not to stress. All of this will be done by your solicitor as part of the conveyancing. Bear in mind that you've indicated there's been at least 2 sales since then, and no issue either time, so I doubt you'll have many problems.

[buildersmate]

One needs to apply for Planning Permission for a dormer window because one is changing the shape of the external of your house. From what you say, the dormer window was put in prior to the loft conversion. You wouldn't typically have had to re-apply for Planning Permission to convert a bare loft with a dormer window in it into habitable room, but you would definitely needed Building Regs approval for such work. Building Regs approval is nothing to do with planning - it assures that the structure was put up to adequate insulation stads, to structural stds and with adequate means of escape in case of a fire (if the loft conversion makes a second floor above the first floor). If no BR approval was sought at the time this may be a problem to you because solicitors are sharper at checking for it than they used to be.

[Katy May]

Thank you - both of you. i'm trying very hard not to worry but it's not easy!

No record of building regs unfortunately and I'm assuming they are more stringent now than they were in early 1980s. Still, gives me another worry to look forward to!