In Parliament

Constituency Question - Adverse Possession

CONSTITUENCY QUESTION – ADVERSE POSSESSION.

Wednesday, 28 October 2020

Mr NEWBURY (Brighton) (13:46):

My Constituency Question is to the Minister for Planning, and I ask: can the Minister inform me what protections this Government has in place to stop fake and costly adverse possession claims being used as a device to oppose residential development?

Elwood residents Adrian and Nataly Gardiner had a dream of renovating their residential property. Despite the proposed changes being within the planning scheme, the Gardiners’ dream has become a nightmare. Their neighbours have launched an adverse possession claim to shave off centimetres from their property boundary and stop a terrace being built.

Typically, the bureaucracy has not got the processes in place to protect the Gardiners or offer adequate right of reply.

The Gardiners have spent thousands on a caveat and lawyers’ fees, and the Department has sat on the claim for a year not knowing how to deal with it.

What is the Government doing to protect the Gardiners and the broader community from fake adverse possession claims?