ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with issues such as adverse possession and fixtures and chattels with no particular attempt to treat them as intrinsically connected. Adverse possession, or squatting, is a doctrine that truly reflects the feudal origins of English land law and the common law systems based upon it. Adverse possession embodies one of the most fundamental principles of English land law: that a person may only own an estate in the land, not the land itself. It is well known that the Land Registration Act 2002 has effected radical changes in the way modern law approaches claims to title by adverse possession. The student needs to have an understanding of the doctrine of estates in English land law, a working knowledge of the Limitation Act 1980 and a feeling for the purpose behind the principle of limitation of actions. The rules concerning fixtures and chattels are often more important to practising conveyancers than students of land law.
