{"product_id":"vragen-61230-stukje-grond-verjaard-of-niet-verjaard-wij-wonen-in-een-woning-gekocht-in-2016-die-oorspronkeli","title":"Clarity on Prescription and Land Ownership","description":"\u003ch4\u003e Questioner\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\n Piece of land expired or not expired?\n\n We live in a house (purchased in 2016) that was originally a rental property, but was sold by the housing association to a non-landlord in 1997.\n Our neighbours were tenants from the beginning (1993) and bought the house in 1999.\n\n From the beginning (1993) it was unclear where the border between the gardens was, due to the shape of the plot ('fan shape').\n A fence was then placed at the bend of the path (the back of the gardens),\n \nIn 1997, the new residents and our neighbors placed a fence. This was placed on the spot of the fence. And not on the plot boundary, which, before the house was sold in 1997, was indicated to the surveyor by the housing association and an employee of the notary's office.\n\n By placing this fence, an extra piece of garden land was added to the piece of garden land that our neighbours were currently using as tenants. The housing association was the landlord (owner) of the then still undivided plot (block of 5 rental houses).\n\n The fence, which was installed in 1997, blew over in January 2018.\n We and the neighbors agree that this needs to be replaced.\n We now want this to be placed on the cadastral property boundary so that we can also get our piece of land back. \nAfter all, they were tenants (holders of the land) and the housing association was the landlord, so the owner\/possessor of the land. The neighbours only acquired possession in 1999 when they bought the house from the housing association.\n However, the neighbors claim that our right to claim the return of the piece of land has expired and that the new fence must be placed where the current fence stands.\n\n Who is right? And if they are right, can we do anything about it?\n\n\u003ch4\u003e Lawyer\u003c\/h4\u003e \nIn order to invoke prescription, it is always necessary that you own the land. You must be the owner of the land. Possession is different from ownership. You can own something that you do not own. Land that is owned by the municipality can therefore be in your possession. The law states that you own something if you keep it for yourself. It does not matter that you actually know that the land you own is not yours. For example, a thief who steals a watch is not the owner but does own the watch. He has taken possession of the watch. He has taken possession of the watch by gaining actual power over the watch and acting as if he were the owner. A piece of land can also be taken into possession by exercising actual power over it.\n \nIn order to determine the limitation period (10 years or 20 years), it must be determined whether or not you are a possessor in good faith. If you are a possessor in good faith, a limitation period of 10 years applies. If you are not a possessor in good faith, a limitation period of 20 years applies.\n\n There is good faith if you consider yourself the owner of the land and you could reasonably consider yourself as such. If you know or should have known that the land is not your property, then you are not acting in good faith. If there are good reasons to doubt whether you are the owner, then there is also no good faith.\n\n If you are not acting in good faith, then, as mentioned, a limitation period of 20 years applies. There must be uninterrupted possession of the land for 20 years. You do not have to have been the possessor yourself for 20 years. You can be a successive possessor.\n\n\u003ch4\u003e Lawyer\u003c\/h4\u003e \nThe limitation period of the neighbours only started to run in 1999 when they became the owners of the plot of land on which their house stands; it was only at that time that they obtained legal possession of the piece of land that belongs to your plot. After 20 years (counted from 1999) the right to claim restitution of the land expires and the neighbours become the owners by prescription. You must interrupt the limitation before the term has expired, by sending or serving a notice in which you demand restitution of the land. If this is not complied with, you must initiate a procedure for restitution (revindication) within 6 months. In order to prevent you from making formal errors and thereby 'running out of time', I advise you to engage a lawyer or legal expert to interrupt the limitation period.\n\n\u003ch4\u003e Questioner\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\n The neighbours claim that they have owned the piece of land for 20 years (since 1997), because they succeeded the housing association in ownership.\n\n But as a tenant you are the holder, aren't you????\n \nThe ownership of the entire plot was transferred to the buyers by the housing association in 1997 through sale!!\n\n\u003ch4\u003e Lawyer\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\n The housing association did not own the land because they did not use it themselves, so the neighbours cannot add the period during which the housing association was the owner to the limitation period; this period only started to run when the neighbours became the owners of the residential plot, from that moment on they did indeed own the strip of land.\n\n\u003ch4\u003e Questioner\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\n So if I read it correctly, they only became the owners of the extra piece of land in 1999, when they became the owners of the residential plot through the purchase of their rental home.\n\n We are therefore still the owner of this piece of land and can therefore demand that the new fence be placed on the cadastral boundary.\n\n\u003ch4\u003e Lawyer\u003c\/h4\u003e \nThe neighbours became the sole owners of the residential plot in 1999. At that time, the limitation period started for the strip of land that belongs to your plot, of which you are still the owner. There is a limitation period of 20 years, if this is not interrupted (see my previous answer) the neighbours will become the owners in 2019. You can indeed demand that the fence be placed on the cadastral boundary, if the neighbours do not cooperate, you must immediately take the steps that I indicated in the first answer.\n\n","brand":"Rechtswinkel.nl","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55004711190877,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.rechtswinkel.nl\/en\/products\/vragen-61230-stukje-grond-verjaard-of-niet-verjaard-wij-wonen-in-een-woning-gekocht-in-2016-die-oorspronkeli","provider":"Rechtswinkel.nl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}