Adverse Possession of allotment - is it possible for a tenant to do this?

[blackkitty2]

Hi there everyone!

I was just walking the dog up the plot as you do and noticed some curious goings on. Myself and the other half noticed that one of the plots appears to have become what can only be described as a lushly turfed, green oasis complete with summer house, electricity, said laid turf and substantial ornamental wrought iron gates (not kidding).

In the past year or so the tenant who has a house backing onto his plot has as time has gone by removed the original hedge and then replaced that by a fence. This fence allows them access to their own house and the plot. Am I being suspicious to think that this might well be an act of adverse possession in the making?

This year alone a huge swathe of laid turf has appeared, the summer house has moved, more fencing is appearing weekly and then the wrought iron jobs most recently. They've been having drunken parties on the plot for several years now and their kids seem to love it, but then again why wouldn't they as they have about a third of an acre of lovely turf to go mental on!

Can it be that this tenant is trying to claim adverse possession of his or her plot? I might be imagining things but they are seemingly extending their house garden on to the main allotment. Can they do this and if so will they be able to in a decade (or so) of keeping it tidy be able to claim the land as their own?

The land is maintained by the local council and our rents go to them. The land was originally given by a local Duke for the locals in our town long, long ago but his title is defunct now (no issue I think). I am trying to currently find out who the land owner is but I am assuming it is the council now.

The ancient allotment Supervisor must know about it as it sticks out like a sore thumb but he seems to be just leaving the situation. I know others have mentioned it to him in raised voices. Oh and I forgot one thing - they don't seem to be growing anything to eat, unless you count the bright green lawn as a foodstuff!

I am not legally minded but to me I smell something brewing along the lines of adverse possession. Any advice out there? I am paying my rent this weekend and I shall be dropping less than subtle hints.

[blackkitty2]

[johhnyco15]

cultivation should be the key word in this case if your site has a rule book i would have a look at it try to find all the points in the rule book that this plot holder is not adhering to and show this to your committee  then if the land owner is the council a pop down to the town hall with said rules wouldnt do any harm hope you get on ok with this please let me know how you get on

[PondDragon]

I'm no legal expert, but if they're still paying the rent then I don't see how they could claim possession. Regarding their management of the plot, removal of the boundary hedge etc, you'd want to check the site rules.

[ancellsfarmer]

Do your tenancies not have a break in tenure day? Christmas Day sometimes ,or rental period 2jan to dec 31st.

[Digeroo]

I suppose this is why you need am 80% cultivation rule.  Does not seem right to me, especially the drunken parties and the childen playing on the area.  I do not believe allotments should be considered play areas.

Hopefully said duke left it on the condition that it remained allotments.  Grand Designs Kevin was prevented from building on allotments in Swindon by such a condition.

I also do not think squatters rights happen if you pay rent.

[sparrow]

If he's paying rent in line with a tenancy agreement I can't see how adverse possession would apply (not that I am a lawyer!). Each time he pays rent he is agreeing to pay for the use of land he does not own.

As others have said, cultivation rules would be the way to go - if no crops are being grown he could be considered in breach of the allotment agreement. Ours states 75% of the area must be used for growing crops, the remainder is allowed for paths and sheds.

Likewise the changes he's made - our agreement states that no trees, hedges or fencing can be altered without prior written agreement, and that structures have to comply with size restrictions. If he has run power to his plot that might also be something of concern - we have no right to do so on our site and it might also be something of a safety issue.

We have a fair amount of BBQs and parties on our site, it's fantastic to have a big green space to mess about in and really contributes to a community feel, but mostly they are sedate affairs and the kids are very well-behaved.

[markfield rover]

Yes the 75% cultivation rule would have stopped this on our site and as we have a waiting list we would not be able to justify someone carrying on like this.

[BarriedaleNick]

We have similar issues in that we have a long fence on the back of our site and several home owners do live back to back with their own plot.  However they are all good gardeners (some indeed helped set the place up years ago) and they cultivate according to our, extremely limited, rules.  Most sites, private or not, have cultivation rules and even if they do allow for "recreational gardening" they should be capable of being enforced so that they don't interfere with the enjoyment of others.

Other than the parties I don't see much of an issue but if they are annoying people then tell them.

[ed dibbles]

The title deeds on the property of the tenant in question that are lodged with the land registry will define quite clearly the boundaries of their property.

As I found out when I had a dispute with a neighbour over a proposed change of use on their part, a change of use of a given piece of land has to be agreed by both parties and lodged with the land registry. There is no such thing as "established use," or adverse possession as you put it, since any extension to the tenants property needs the land registry to be informed by both parties. One party cannot arbitrarily decide. This is highly unlikely in this case as it is an allotment plot so the council owns the land.

Even if there were a court case with the tenant claiming some kind of established use I doubt very much a court granting such a change regarding an allotment plot.

Ultimately it is down to what the council, the supervisor and other plot holders will bear.

[blackkitty2]

Thanks everyone for replying to my post. My mobile wasn't passing on the comments so I only got to see all the posted comments today.

I paid my rent today and when I asked about the lush green oasis plot they just seem only to happy that it is being well tended. There's no point me going off on one to the Supervisors as they are known to be pig headed, obstinate and totally set in their ways and all to ready to terrorise those who don't 'tow the line'. That includes me opening my big yap! Been there, done that one!

I have taken all the comments on board and thanks for filling me in the legal stuff as it has added some insight into the issue. So now I know that legally they don't really stand a chance of claiming possession of their plot. On the other hand the cultivation of their plot (I think it is actually two plots) is a big problem as half of it is just an extended garden and really it should be for growing foodstuffs. Currently the tenant is clearing the other half so we are waiting to see what appears next.

As for a tenancy agreement - there isn't one even though we pay the local council the rent. In the dim and distant past tenants did sign them but as far as I know no one has signed one for at least a decade or more. The option to sign a tenancy was removed by the local garden holders association and we were told not to sign anything. To me that means that tenants pretty much do what they like and they definately do. So in essence if they removed the hedge but hadn't signed a tenancy aggreement that stated said fact, then how can they be held to have breached the tenancy? I have no idea.

Strangely tenants who do flaunt the rules get letters stating that they are in breach of their tenants aggreement. Not sure how that works if you have never signed one or seen one!

So to summarise - how do you run an allotment with no guidelines and no tenancy aggreement? This is why plot holders like the green oasis guy do what they do. I do smell a clamp down coming soon though as there have been ominous rumblings from the local council Park Services.

It's something I have pondered on for years now about the lack of tenancy agreement. So any thoughts would be appreciated.

[ed dibbles]

Here is a barrister writing about adverse possession.

http://www.johnantell.co.uk/adverse-possession-of-land

The first sentence is key "Adverse Possession means someone occupying land belonging to someone else, without permission"

Your allotment tenant is using the land with permission so adverse possession surely can't be claimed.

Later on in the piece there is an example about a "freehold allotment". Quite what this is I'm not sure. The allotment in question is rented from the council so the idea that they are "occupying" land, in a legal sense, cannot be claimed anymore than someone renting a house can claim they now own it.

Get photographic evidence with dates if you are concerned.

Good luck and enjoy your plot.

[bluecar]

Hello Blackkitty.
As others are saying, the non cultivation should be an issue. The supervisors seem to be 'overbearing/bullish'? If possible. I would see whether you could get a number of plot holders to sign a letter of concern to the Council regarding the oasis. If people are receiving letters that they are in breach of their tenancy agreement then the Council must have a tenancy agreement in place. Again, a group of you could write to the Council under the freedom of data act and ask them for a copy of their tenancy agreement. It's all a bit of hassle/stress so you need to be prepared for this, but there is safety in numbers,
Regards

Bluecar

[cornykev]

If there's no tenancy agreement it's hard to see that there doing any wrong
The council should take an interest in the hedge cutting and the drunken party's though
Our agreement say's we have to grow vegtables, flowers or LAWN, so well kept grass seems to be OK
If there not interfering with your allotmenting I'd ignore it..