IAM Group plc v Chowdrey
A squatter's reasonable belief that land belonged to him, under the boundary exception, is judged on the facts known to him, and he does not have to check the register.
Facts
Mr Chowdrey occupied rooms on the upper floor of a building, which he believed were part of his property, although they actually belonged to the owner of the adjoining building, IAM Group. He had been in occupation for more than ten years, believing that the rooms were his. IAM argued that his belief was not reasonable, because he could have checked the register and seen that the rooms were not included in his title.
Legal principle
The Court of Appeal held that Mr Chowdrey's belief was reasonable, so he was entitled to be registered under paragraph 5(4) of Schedule 6 to the Land Registration Act 2002. Etherton LJ said that the question is whether it was reasonable for the squatter to believe that the land belonged to him, in the light of the facts known to him, and that he was not required to investigate the title or consult solicitors to make his belief reasonable.
Related cases on adverse possession
- Buckinghamshire County Council v Moran [1990] Ch 623
- Fairweather v St Marylebone Property Co Ltd [1963] AC 510
- Hounslow London Borough Council v Minchinton (1997) 74 P & CR 221
- JA Pye (Oxford) Ltd v Graham [2002] UKHL 30, [2003] 1 AC 419
- JA Pye (Oxford) Ltd v United Kingdom (2008) 46 EHRR 45
- Leigh v Jack (1879) 5 Ex D 264
- Ofulue v Bossert [2009] UKHL 16, [2009] 1 AC 990
- Port of London Authority v Ashmore [2010] EWCA Civ 30, [2010] 1 All ER 1139
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