4 ms·

How does one currently find the owner if he is not registered?

• Neil44 8y ago
  The land that the farmer is claiming subsidies for could be referenced to the land registry as part of the process. Although a lot of farmers rent land to each other so that complicates things a little.
  • Broken_Hippo 8y ago
    Only slightly. You can simply require that farm subsidies only go to land that is registered, even if the land is not owned by the person getting the subsidy.
    • masklinn 8y ago
      I assume farm subsidy submissions register where the activity is occurring: Caroline Lucas MP has submitted an amendment to the current Agriculture Bill which would require that > the land on which any activity is to be undertaken […] and for which the financial assistance is sought is registered with Her Majesty's Land Registry. So farm subsidy submissions would be cross-referenced with the Land Registry, and any such submissions listing unregistered land would be rejected off-hand.
• IshKebab 8y ago
  Sounds ridiculous but you basically can't. You can ask neighbours, try to look at historical maps etc. But there's no guarantee you will find the owner (if they exist). If you can't find the owner that doesn't mean there isn't one. They can turn up at any point with a deed that nobody else knows about and only they have a copy of and say "this is mine". Yes it's stupid.
  • Sniffnoy 8y ago
    I think the question is intended to be, "How does the owner presently receive farm subsidies if the land isn't registered and we don't know who owns it?"
    • masklinn 8y ago
      The subsidy recipient is not necessarily the owner e.g. following mutual agreement a farmer could graze their sheep on the neighbour's land which they don't own (because friendliness or usefulness or family history or specific allowances when the land was sold a hundred years back), and that land could be unregistered. I expect the idea here is that the subsidy seeker probably has an idea as to whose land it is they're using, and thus could go ping the owner for registration so they can get their subsidies back. This is especially likely if the registration is easy and free: chances are the owner simply has not bothered registering the land because they have no need to and can't be arsed, being asked to by an acquaintance would be sufficient a motivation to eventually check in with the local authorities.
    • TheOtherHobbes 8y ago
      They - or more likely a front company - claims the subsidies. If a form goes in and the claim looks plausible, subsidies are paid. I strongly suspect title isn't checked. Interestingly, the UK has a "squatter's rights" law not many people know about. If you fence off some land and use it, it effectively becomes your property after a number of years if no one challenges you. I've seen people use this to extend their gardens into common land.
      • robin_reala 8y ago
        12 years (or at least it was in the early 90s): we let a neighbouring farmer graze his sheep on some land we had, but had to ceremoniously turf them out every so often to reset any possible claim in law.
        • Sniffnoy 8y ago
          Note that legally speaking you didn't actually need to do that -- if they're there with your consent, it's not adverse possession.
      • bradleyjg 8y ago
        That’s a part of the common law where it’s called adverse possession. In the US flavor of common law at least one can never adverse possess land owned by the government.
• deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
• 7952 8y ago
  It is common to just attach a letter to the gate.
• benj111 8y ago
  I think that's part of the problem, there isn't really. I suppose you could squat on it, and wait for someone to evict you.