Prescriptive easements - can consent defeat my application for the right to be registered? An easement is a right for a third party to use someone else’s land for a specific purpose. If you have been continuously or regularly exercising a right for at least 20 years (such as a right of way, a right of access, or a right for service media to pass over or under somebody else’s land) and that right is exercised without secrecy, force, or permission, then you may have a claim to register this right at the Land Registry as a prescriptive easement. This concept is founded on the presumption that if the right has been enjoyed for over two decades, the neighbouring landowner has effectively lost their right to object to that right and has consented to that right being made lawful.
UNREGISTERED land is land which is not registered with the Land Registry - and until it is registered you could be at risk of losing it. In order to prove ownership, the owner of the land must produce historical title deeds which are complex and can sometimes be ambiguous. The Land Registry estimates that approximately 15% of land in the UK is currently unregistered. Part of this statistic is made up of agricultural land which is often owned through generations for a considerable period of time and farmed by the same family for many years. Registering your land at the Land Registry is an easy way to ensure that your ownership is certain and secure. You only need to register your land once and you will be provided with peace of mind that the land which you rightfully own is set out clearly in an official register.