Plot rights and growing crops.
Mar 29th 2015, 11:29 am
#1
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Plot rights and growing crops.
I have a question for which I am looking for clarification. I apologise if it has been brought up before in one of the other threads, but I cannot find a thread relating directly to it.
I have recently heard that if a farmer is farming your land, (i.e. you own it but they are farming it for their own use), then after a certain number of years that land automatically becomes their property, unless you have some form or contract/written agreement in place.
Previous to this, my understanding was that if a farmer/person sows a crop on your land (with your permission) then then have the right to reap that crop. Which sounds reasonable to me.
If anyone has any experience/knowledge in this aspect I would be really appreciative of any further info.
Many thanks!
I have recently heard that if a farmer is farming your land, (i.e. you own it but they are farming it for their own use), then after a certain number of years that land automatically becomes their property, unless you have some form or contract/written agreement in place.
Previous to this, my understanding was that if a farmer/person sows a crop on your land (with your permission) then then have the right to reap that crop. Which sounds reasonable to me.
If anyone has any experience/knowledge in this aspect I would be really appreciative of any further info.
Many thanks!
Mar 29th 2015, 11:01 pm
#2
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Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 2,095
Re: Plot rights and growing crops.
I have a question for which I am looking for clarification. I apologise if it has been brought up before in one of the other threads, but I cannot find a thread relating directly to it.
I have recently heard that if a farmer is farming your land, (i.e. you own it but they are farming it for their own use), then after a certain number of years that land automatically becomes their property, unless you have some form or contract/written agreement in place.
Previous to this, my understanding was that if a farmer/person sows a crop on your land (with your permission) then then have the right to reap that crop. Which sounds reasonable to me.
If anyone has any experience/knowledge in this aspect I would be really appreciative of any further info.
Many thanks!
I have recently heard that if a farmer is farming your land, (i.e. you own it but they are farming it for their own use), then after a certain number of years that land automatically becomes their property, unless you have some form or contract/written agreement in place.
Previous to this, my understanding was that if a farmer/person sows a crop on your land (with your permission) then then have the right to reap that crop. Which sounds reasonable to me.
If anyone has any experience/knowledge in this aspect I would be really appreciative of any further info.
Many thanks!
If it is agricultural land the law now requires the user to register themselves as the user at the land office. Even the owner has to register themselves as the user as there is no assumption that the owner is the user. If the person registering as the user is not the owner then a contract with the owner will be required before the land office will accept the registration.
If you are letting someone use your land you should have a contract or written agreement for your own safety and to avoid misunderstandings. Normally if someone sows a crop - with permission - then they would be entitled to the crop. It is usual for usage agreements to run from autumn to autumn to allow for planting and harvesting.
Mar 30th 2015, 9:02 am
#3
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Re: Plot rights and growing crops.
Thank you for your very informative and helpful reply Peter.
The land is used for agricultural purposes, but I do not know how one would define 'agricultural' in this context. The land itself is part of an approx 5000 sqm residential plot. The farmer uses a part of the land and always has, although we have used some of it and reclaimed some back from time to time for our own use, there has never been any question about it.
I know another neighbour who moved in around the same time we did, who reclaimed the whole lot and now farms it himself (I use the term 'farm' lightly as he does seem to get himself into a pickle).
We do grow a small amount of crops ourselves, but it is unlikely we will ever use the whole plot. Obviously when we bought it we thought we would (hindsight is a wonderful thing)
The land is used for agricultural purposes, but I do not know how one would define 'agricultural' in this context. The land itself is part of an approx 5000 sqm residential plot. The farmer uses a part of the land and always has, although we have used some of it and reclaimed some back from time to time for our own use, there has never been any question about it.
I know another neighbour who moved in around the same time we did, who reclaimed the whole lot and now farms it himself (I use the term 'farm' lightly as he does seem to get himself into a pickle).
We do grow a small amount of crops ourselves, but it is unlikely we will ever use the whole plot. Obviously when we bought it we thought we would (hindsight is a wonderful thing)
Mar 30th 2015, 11:39 am
#4
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Re: Plot rights and growing crops.
What happens if, hypothetically, land which I have neglected for years and someone moves onto it to live and farm without my permission and they stayed for 15 years? Would I have lost the right to recover it even if the "farmer" never enquired who the land belonged to?
Mar 30th 2015, 12:03 pm
#5
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Re: Plot rights and growing crops.
Hi
If the land is part of a residential plot then it is not agricultural regardless of what crops are grown on it. It is the classification in Land Office that matters in this respect. However the ability to claim ownership on the basis of usage is not restricted to agricultural land.
If the land in question is easily defined (for example neighbours fences of like sized plots extending either side of the plot in question) then IMO the person using the land could not (and probably would not) claim rights on the basis that they used it and did not know it was not theirs. If the land is not easily defined then the user could cause problems in the future but the first thing a court would do is to send a Land Measurer to measure the plot and then you would get back what is yours based on what the Measurer measured and what is registered in Land Office. (The Law states that in cases of dispute what is registered in Land Office is taken as definitive and there is another Law that states if a property is purchased with an unencumbered registration then no one can claim rights over that property after the purchase date).
In order to avoid problems in the future it is probably worth having an agreement stating what they can use and a notice period to cover when you want it back. With this type of agreement notice to terminate is usually given in July or August and the usage would go from September to September (to allow for growing seasons and crop planning)
If the land is part of a residential plot then it is not agricultural regardless of what crops are grown on it. It is the classification in Land Office that matters in this respect. However the ability to claim ownership on the basis of usage is not restricted to agricultural land.
If the land in question is easily defined (for example neighbours fences of like sized plots extending either side of the plot in question) then IMO the person using the land could not (and probably would not) claim rights on the basis that they used it and did not know it was not theirs. If the land is not easily defined then the user could cause problems in the future but the first thing a court would do is to send a Land Measurer to measure the plot and then you would get back what is yours based on what the Measurer measured and what is registered in Land Office. (The Law states that in cases of dispute what is registered in Land Office is taken as definitive and there is another Law that states if a property is purchased with an unencumbered registration then no one can claim rights over that property after the purchase date).
In order to avoid problems in the future it is probably worth having an agreement stating what they can use and a notice period to cover when you want it back. With this type of agreement notice to terminate is usually given in July or August and the usage would go from September to September (to allow for growing seasons and crop planning)
Mar 30th 2015, 12:41 pm
#6
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Re: Plot rights and growing crops.
Hi
If the land is part of a residential plot then it is not agricultural regardless of what crops are grown on it. It is the classification in Land Office that matters in this respect. However the ability to claim ownership on the basis of usage is not restricted to agricultural land.
If the land in question is easily defined (for example neighbours fences of like sized plots extending either side of the plot in question) then IMO the person using the land could not (and probably would not) claim rights on the basis that they used it and did not know it was not theirs. If the land is not easily defined then the user could cause problems in the future but the first thing a court would do is to send a Land Measurer to measure the plot and then you would get back what is yours based on what the Measurer measured and what is registered in Land Office. (The Law states that in cases of dispute what is registered in Land Office is taken as definitive and there is another Law that states if a property is purchased with an unencumbered registration then no one can claim rights over that property after the purchase date).
In order to avoid problems in the future it is probably worth having an agreement stating what they can use and a notice period to cover when you want it back. With this type of agreement notice to terminate is usually given in July or August and the usage would go from September to September (to allow for growing seasons and crop planning)
If the land is part of a residential plot then it is not agricultural regardless of what crops are grown on it. It is the classification in Land Office that matters in this respect. However the ability to claim ownership on the basis of usage is not restricted to agricultural land.
If the land in question is easily defined (for example neighbours fences of like sized plots extending either side of the plot in question) then IMO the person using the land could not (and probably would not) claim rights on the basis that they used it and did not know it was not theirs. If the land is not easily defined then the user could cause problems in the future but the first thing a court would do is to send a Land Measurer to measure the plot and then you would get back what is yours based on what the Measurer measured and what is registered in Land Office. (The Law states that in cases of dispute what is registered in Land Office is taken as definitive and there is another Law that states if a property is purchased with an unencumbered registration then no one can claim rights over that property after the purchase date).
In order to avoid problems in the future it is probably worth having an agreement stating what they can use and a notice period to cover when you want it back. With this type of agreement notice to terminate is usually given in July or August and the usage would go from September to September (to allow for growing seasons and crop planning)
This was just something I heard from a friend of a friend, so just thought I would check it out.
