Legal Assistance with Municipal Land Issues

Questioner

My question is about land on loan from the municipality, for which after 60 years of use an agreement suddenly has to be signed. In addition, it is possible to buy the land. The situation from the past: the strip of land of approximately 1.5 m wide was a ditch until 1957. This was filled in by the municipality after which the residents were allowed to use this land. No agreement was signed for this by residents, this is also not officially recorded, only the data from the Land Registry indicates that this strip does not belong to the resident's plot. What complicates the situation is that the house is located on leasehold land with the water board. The offer of the municipality to buy the land seems strange to me, since the other land is not owned, so this strip cannot be added to this plot as such when the house is sold in the future. On top of that, there is also a drainage pipe from the municipality in this strip of land, with an inspection pit for this pipe on my plot. What makes the situation even more unclear: residents on the street where I live who have paved their front garden only have to enter into a loan agreement and do not pay rent. Residents like me with a garden with a hedge at the front (which was planted by the municipality at the time as a separation for their own maintenance) only have the option of a rental or purchase agreement. The rental and purchase prices are derived from the municipality's Land Prices Guide for snippergroen. My question: - Could there be a limitation period in this situation (situation has been like this for 60 years, without a recorded agreement)? - Can the municipality designate land that it has put into use without an agreement as 'fragment green space', meaning that I now have to pay, while residents who have paving laid do not have to pay anything? - The situation as a resident on leasehold land from the water board makes this situation even more unclear to me. Is there any information about this?

Lawyer

You yourself indicate that in your eyes there is a loan situation. You have not taken possession of the land. Therefore there can be no question of you acquiring ownership as a result of prescription. The distinction that the municipality now makes between paved land and land that is not paved (snippergroen) seems artificial to me and possibly in conflict with the principle of equality. What is the motivation of the municipality to no longer want to lend you the land.... The fact that buying is (understandably) not a realistic option for you, because the subsoil of your home is not your property, does not seem to me to be relevant in a legal sense. In what sense does your leasehold make the situation unclear for you.

Questioner

For clarification: Regarding the loan, there is no signed agreement about the loan of the strip of land at this time. I became a resident in 1975, only in 2004 when the road was raised it became clear that the strip was the property of the municipality because the drainage pipe had to be replaced. It was then announced that the residents could use the land. From the moment the ditch was filled in, this strip of land has been used as a garden by all residents along the road. The municipality is currently running a large-scale boundary project, mostly on green that residents themselves have appropriated in municipal green strips. In this context, the strip is also being discussed for us for now, although the situation may be slightly different. The municipality is using one line. The motivation for giving residents with paving a loan agreement and residents who have the strip of land as an extension of their garden is this: In order to reduce parking pressure, the municipality would like people to park their cars in their front garden. That is why residents with paving are offered a loan agreement, residents without paving can only choose to rent or buy. I find this reasoning rather dubious, the question is whether you know whether there is legislation or regulation that endorses such a motivation of the municipality. Regarding the leasehold: the road I live on is the only one in the municipality where the parcels are leasehold land from the water board, a unique situation in the municipality. What happens if I buy the land and when I sell it in the future, the new buyer turns out not to want to buy it? A separate purchase contract is drawn up for it. Am I then stuck with a strip of land?

Lawyer

Regarding your explanation. I infer from this that you may have owned the land since 1975, and that this may also have applied to your legal predecessor, so that 'prescription' could play a role. I must, however, be very cautious here. After all, you can only state that your leasehold right now also extends over the strip of 'municipal land' by prescription. Or, at most, you could state to the municipality that you are also the leaseholder of the municipal land, as long as the leasehold of the subsoil (the Hoogheemraadschap!) of your home lasts. There is something to be said for the municipality violating the principle of equality by providing free use of paved land. The motivation you have reported actually means that the municipality is providing certain residents with a free private parking space.... Given your leasehold situation, it seems to me that purchasing municipal land could indeed mean that you are left with the strip of land at the end of the leasehold. If you would like further consultation, please contact me via the direct contact option of rechtswinkel.nl