Is it possible for someone to take possession of your land having been using it ?

[les Favets]

Situation:  Daughter purchased property where the original owners permitted a neighbour to use part of my now daughters land as a small allotment.  My daughter now wishes to make use of the said area of land.  Do the neighbours have any legal claims to continue using the land. ?

Regards les Favets

[Ron Avery]

If anybody has a legal right to access, graze or use your land, it would have been mentioned in the sale contract and the person would have been present at the signing of the contract and signed the contract "as seen".  If your daughter has any doubts check with the Notaire.  However, while your daughter has  every right to her land, if she is just taking it back for the sake of it, she should be aware that this could cause resentment, particularly if the user has no other means of growing their own produce, a bit of tact and discretion over this, will ensure a continued harmonious life with the neighbours.

[les Favets]

Good evening Ron,  Thank you for your reply.  Situation being that the old gentleman who lived near my daughter was a friend of the person selling and used it for growing various things.  Not a big piece of land but my daughter is a bit concerned that if and when she wishes to resell the property, there could be a problem.  The person who used it is now in a retired home and some cousins are making use of the same land.   It was just that someone said that if my daughter was not receiving any payments or rewards, she had no problem and then another person has stated that this is not the case and is a misconception many of us are under.

Regards les Favets

[Teamedup]

Your daughter needs to contact her notaire and ask exactly where she stands with this. Maybe even the Chambre de l'Agriculture and is it SAFER too, although I am not sure about them.

Why did she let this man's family take it over without doing anything about it.

 

[daniel]

The chambre d'agriculture and SAFER have nothing to do with this. You should ask your notaire. If this is a small village, get in touch with the "maire".

First, your daughter should check she is the "only" owner of the land as it might be in "indivision". Even if this is not the case and the land is yours, the neighbour may belive the opposite. This may be checked at the mairie : tell them the "cadastre" number (as mentioned in the "acte de vente" : usually a letter followed by a number) and they should be able to find the name of the owner(s) in their computer. Sometimes they would agree to print this for you, otherwise you can go to the "conservation des hypothèque" and pay (cheap) for an official document.

Now assuming the land is yours and only yours, the seller may have rented the land to your neighbour. In any case (rented or not) there should be a statment about this in your acte de vente. If there is no mention of a "bail" (rental contract) in your acte de vente and if your neighbour is unable to show you such document, then he has no right at all on the land. Let him know by sending him a "lettre recommandée" and if he keeps using your land go to the gendarmerie and request a "main courante".

[Teamedup]

I have to disagree Daniel, you and I have no idea as to how these who are using this land are registered. If by chance they are registered as anything to do with agriculture then someone other than the notaire will most certainly be involved if this is an ongoing thing.

 

You and I both know how land disputes are in France and how difficult they can be to resolve.