Adverse possession.

Adverse possession is the process by which a person who is not the legal owner of land can become its owner after having occupied it for a specified period of time.

The right to apply.

The period of adverse possession and occupation of the registered land required is ten years if the land was occupied after 2003. There are two elements a person needs to establish for a claim of adverse possession:

1. Uninterrupted factual possession of the land by the claimant for the __requisite period of time. 2. Intention on the part of the claimant to possess the land during __that period. The occupation of the land must be without the consent of the owner. The claimant at the time of the possession must not be legally entitled to occupy the land i.e. with the owners permission or under a legal interest such as a lease, licence or tenancy.

There must be a sufficient degree of exclusive physical control over the land. What is sufficient will depend on the circumstances and, in particular, the nature of the land and the manner in which land of that nature is commonly used. Broadly, the person in possession must have been dealing with the land as an occupying owner might have been expected to deal with it and no one else must have done so. There is no requirement that adverse possession should be apparent to anybody inspecting the land.