The end of adverse possession?

JA Pye (Oxford) Ltd and another v United Kingdom (Application no 44302/02) ECtHR TLR 23 November

Mr and Mrs Graham occupied the applicants’ land under a grazing agreement until 31 December 1983. On 30 December 1983 they were instructed to vacate the land. They did not do so. In January 1984 the applicants refused the request for a further grazing agreement because they anticipated seeking planning commission. The Grahams continued to use the land for farming without the applicant’s permission until 1999. In 1997 they registered cautions at the Land Registry against the applicants’ title, on the ground that they had obtained it by adverse possession. The applicants sought the cancellation of the cautions and issued proceedings seeking possession of the disputed land. The Grahams relied on the Limitation Act 1980, which provides that a person cannot bring an action to recover any land after the expiration of 12 years of adverse possession by another. They also relied on the Land Registration Act 1925, which provided that after the expiry of the 12-year period, the registered owner held the land in trust for the squatter. The High Court judge upheld the Grahams’ claims. The applicants appealed successfully to the Court of Appeal, but the House of Lords restored the original order.