You did illegal construction and now in trouble.. How can you claim the land belonging to your brother? Are you both owners of the plot?
Brother's Land and I constructed house which is in my possession
Me and my brother purchased 2 plots vide register sale deed in 1989. After this I constructed 2 houses one on my plot and other on his plot with common wall.. I had obtained licence which was for my plot.. He was not aware of this fact that I have constructed house on his plot .. I also constructed first floor house in 2011 which is to an extent of both houses and I am in possession of these houses.. I have rented these houses from 1990 itself and I have electricity bill of these houses in my name.. I also tried to include this excess house in my municipal Katha (complete house in my brothers plot) .. But was cancelled by then DC..now my brother came to know about this some days back and he is claiming he has constructed house which is in his plot without obtaining licence and he has permitted me to rent out his house.. He is also showing cancelled Katha by then DC and claiming he has approached DC and cancelled my Katha.. I am 72 years old and I don't want to give the house to my brother.. He is not willing to accept alternative options as well...complete property is in my possession ..how can I save this property and house from my brother as I have constructed the house..
Asked 3 years ago in Property Law
Religion: Hindu
13 Answers
Dear sir,
You can go for settlement and compromise and pay the compensation amount. Since there was no consent of the brother for constructing the building in his plot, you also cannot claim the costs of the building. the only solution is to compromise this issue by paying the costs equivalent to market value to your brother
Thank you
Claim defence of adverse possession as you are in open , hostile and uninterrupted possession for over 12 years
As you have admitted, the title and ownership of the other plot is in your brother's name, even though you are in physical possession of it. The mere fact that you have constructed a house over your brother's plot shall not entitle you legally to be the owner of it. In law, you brother has every right to reclaim his property from you. Though the building has no approval, this fact shall not deprive your brother of his legal title and ownership over the plot. He may get the building regularized by the local authority in future; that is his botheration. In the circumstances, it is better for you to reach an amicable settlement with your brother on compromise terms. If your brother goes to court, you may not defend your case successfully, given the facts of your case.
- As per Supreme court Judgment, provisions on adverse possession are made under the Limitation Act, 1963. In case an owner does not stake his claim over his property for 12 years, a squatter can acquire legal rights over the property. The prescribed period in case of for government-owned properties is 30 years.
- Further, to claim his ownership, the person who is in possession has to prove that his occupancy of the property has been uninterrupted for the entire period. You cannot break the period into halves.
- Further, he will also have to prove that he has been the sole occupant of the property. There cannot be under the provisions of the law multiple claimants.
- Further, the squatter will also have to let his intentions known to the owner, with an element of hostility into his action. Starting reconstruction work, for instance, would amount to a squatter's attempt to claim ownership. However, he is not liable to inform the original owner about his intentions. This means the entire responsibility of monitoring the movements of another occupant lies on the original owner.
- Since, you are in possession of that house since 1992 , then you can claim the ownership on the ground of adverse possession.
You need to file suit in the appropriate civil court of your jurisdiction
I have rented this house which is in my brothers plot and have all rental agreements till date.. But they are not registered... And this property was part of partition suit which was filed by my brother in 2000.. Later we partitioned only my father's property and all self acquired properties were removed from partition suit.. Can I claim adverse possession based on the fact that I have rented out that house from 1990 and still I have possession.. My brother is threatening that he. Will make a gift deed to his son and regularise the construction which is in his plot.. If I don't give back his part of plot along with house.. Can my brother claim back house which I have constructed in his plot and in possession if he regularises the construction... Can I file adverse position suit based in above facts or what are the options available for me to retain the property
Asked 3 years ago
You can claim adverse possession if you are in possession of property since 1990
you can file suit claiming adverse possession
It will be difficult for you to claim the property on the basis of adverse possession. Your brother may very well sue you for breach of trust. He may even ask you for accounts and pay him the rental collected from his property. You may at best ask your brother to share some part of the original construction cost and put him in possession again. It is in your own interest to avoid litigation in the matter.
The construction what have done on your brother's plot without his permission or consent itself is illegal, besides suppressing the fact, you are refusing to allow him to allow him to avail the benefits of his own property citing your own reasons which are not acceptable either in law or in the natural justice.
In fact if he is claiming his vacant plot through court and proves his purchase, then the court ma pass an order to even demolish the structure and direct you to deliver the possession of the vacant land to him.
Hence it is advisable that you go for an amicable settlement by negotiating or bargaining the terms.
You cannot establish the rights in the property legally becasue your construction is illegal and your claim is also against the law.
Therefore no legal case from your side in this regard would be maintainable.
Law of adverse possession may not be tenable in this situation because it appears that you constructed the structure without proper approval from the authorities concerned neither you had taken permission or consent from the owner of the plot for constructing the structure.
The only thing what you can do is that you may adamantly refuse to vacate or return the building to him and ask him to claim his relief through court where you can challenge the same on merits and documentary evidences in your support.
Dear Sir
If you are not inclined towards a mediation settlement, the other available option would be to claim adverse possession.
It is in your favor that the land has been in your possession since 1990.
However there is no guarantee that this will work unless you are able to prove that you were in uninterrupted open and hostile possession.
If you are able to establish the adverse possession the rest will follow easily.
Thank you
- The detailed reply as i have mentioned above
- Rented out the property cannot be a ground for adverse possession , but your continuous possession by way of tenant can be a ground for declaring the owner of the property .
Yes you can to that but proving adverse possession in court is not an easy task