Squatter › Adverse possession of unregistered land (12 years)
Adverse possession of unregistered land (12 years)
For land not registered with HM Land Registry, the Limitation Act 1980 sets a 12-year time limit on the owner recovering the land. The rule is different from the registered land regime.
The 12-year rule
Section 15(1) of the Limitation Act 1980 says no action shall be brought by any person to recover any land after the expiration of twelve years from the date on which the right of action accrued to the claimant, or to the person through whom they claim. After that, the owner generally cannot sue to recover the land.
For registered land, the position is different. The legislation.gov.uk page for section 15 notes that it is excluded by the Land Registration Act 2002 from 13 October 2003, and section 96 of that Act provides that the limitation period does not run against a registered owner. See registered land.
When the 12 years starts
Schedule 1 to the Limitation Act 1980 deals with accrual. Paragraph 1 says that where a person is dispossessed of land, or discontinues possession, the right of action is treated as accruing on the date of the dispossession or discontinuance. Paragraph 8 says the right of action only starts to run if someone is in adverse possession. If nobody is in adverse possession when the right would otherwise start, it doesn't start until adverse possession begins. If the occupier stops being in adverse possession before the period expires, the right is no longer treated as having accrued, and starts again only when adverse possession is taken again.
Paragraph 8 also says that someone's occupation is not automatically assumed to be by the owner's permission just because it doesn't interfere with the owner's use of the land. Permission can still be found if the facts support it.
What "adverse" means
The Land Registry's guide for registered land describes the elements courts look for: factual possession (an appropriate degree of physical control), an intention to possess (to exclude the world, including the owner) and no consent from the owner. The same ideas are used for unregistered land. If you use land with the owner's permission, you are not in adverse possession.
Successive occupiers
Under the registered land rules, successive and continuous periods of adverse possession can be combined (paragraph 11 of Schedule 6 to the 2002 Act). For unregistered land, speak to a solicitor about whether you can add a predecessor's time to yours.
The Crown and special cases
Schedule 1 to the 1980 Act changes the period from twelve to thirty years for the Crown and certain corporations sole. Check the specific land owner.
What if your land is not registered?
Unregistered land is increasingly rare. A change of ownership, a mortgage or other trigger can lead to compulsory first registration, and HM Land Registry's guidance explains how to apply. We could not open Practice Guide 5 on unregistered land, so we do not summarise how a squatter applies for first registration. Search GOV.UK for "Land Registry practice guide 5 adverse possession of unregistered land" and take legal advice.
Check the register first
Before relying on the 12-year rule, check whether the land is registered. HM Land Registry's online search service can tell you. If the land turns out to be registered, the ten-year application route, not the 12-year rule, applies.
Practical tips
- Keep dated evidence: photographs, receipts for fencing and maintenance, letters, witness statements.
- Do not accept a written agreement or pay rent without advice, because that can show you had permission.
- Owners should challenge occupiers quickly. Stopping the clock early is far easier than winning a case late. See removing squatters.
- Read boundary disputes if your issue is a fence line.
This is general information about the law in the UK, not legal advice. Property law is technical, rules differ between England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the facts of your case matter. Check the official sources linked on this page and speak to a solicitor, Citizens Advice or Shelter before you act. Last checked November 2026.
Sources
- Limitation Act 1980, section 15 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Limitation Act 1980, Schedule 1 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Land Registration Act 2002, section 96 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Land Registration Act 2002, Schedule 6: registration of adverse possessor (legislation.gov.uk)
- Practice guide 4: adverse possession of registered land (HM Land Registry, GOV.UK)