Millionaire Couple Win Dispute Over 8ft Strip Of Lawn Using Squatters' Rights

A millionaire couple have successfully used "squatters' rights" to defeat their neighbours in a court battle over an 8ft patch of lawn.

Liz Dobson and Andrew Pleming, a former British Airways executive, had maintained the small triangular area of grass outside their £1.3 million home in Dorking, Surrey, since purchasing the property in 2009.

However, tensions began after Alison Unsted, a chief executive, and her husband Darren bought the neighbouring £1 million home in 2021 and claimed the land as their own. The couple removed plants that had been placed there by Dobson and Pleming.

Mr and Mrs Unsted argued that the 8ft by 3ft strip of lawn belonged to them under the property's title deeds.

But a tribunal has now ruled that the deeds should be set aside and ownership of the land transferred to Dobson and Pleming. The decision was based on evidence that they — along with the previous owners of their home — had maintained the land continuously since 2002.

The long period of use allowed them to claim adverse possession, a legal principle often referred to as "squatters' rights", which allows people to gain legal ownership of land if they occupy and care for it for at least 10 years.

The two homes share a driveway, with the disputed patch of lawn located at the end. Judge Elizabeth Cooke, sitting at the Upper Tribunal, said Dobson and Pleming had clearly demonstrated their possession of the land by mowing the grass and planting herbs.

"People do not generally mow their neighbours' grass without their agreement," she said. "Nor do they allow their children to play on it, replace topsoil or plant herbs there."

Dobson and Pleming said they had always treated the triangular patch as part of their property after moving into their home on Pointers Hill in 2009.

But the dispute escalated shortly after the Unsteds moved in during August 2022.

Judge Cooke said the Unsteds attempted to assert their claim over the land by removing the couple's plants and "re-taking possession of the disputed land ... by removing the appellants' plants and installing a garden gnome".

E&K Solicitors