What is the law re. possession of land which someone else claims to own?

Question

Since the early eighties, I have claimed a piece of land 16x50ft. at the rear of my house.
I have a boundry fence, patio and mature trees and shrubs planted in it .
At no time did anyone inform me that I was tresspassing or even ask me to remove the plants etc.
Now I have been informed by the school who share a boundry with the property that they own it. They registerd the land in 1985.
Do I have any rights and if so what are they and what should I do?

Answer 1

Adverse possession protects you if you have occupied the land openly (as you have, with stuff on it) for the required period (which varies by state/country, but usually 10~20 years).

BUT, adverse possession does NOT apply to encroachment upon govt owned property (state, federal, etc.) So, if it was a public school, you are out of luck. But for a private school, can can claim adverse possession if you meet the other requiremetns in your state.

Answer 2

I called my brother on this one and boy was he mad. Seems I called at a "private moment" he and his wife were having. He called me back and said. See if you have a plot map at city hall. This will give you the measurements of your lot. You can pretty much decide if your legal or not from that. Said it doesn't matter what you did to it if you didn't buy it it's not yours, example, I mow a foot over the lot line for twenty years, is it mine? No.

Answer 3

Whomever has title to that land owns it. You claiming it makes no difference.