When the woman next door sold her house she retained some of the garden for my father to look after rent free. My father has recently died, and we are unable to trace the woman who moved away. How would we go about claiming the land?
I think you will need a solicitor’s help with this to check whether the deeds to either house contain mention of this unusual arrangement. The retained area of garden may be registered at the Land Registry in its own right. It’s possible the Land Registry will grant you “possessory” title to the land if the owner can’t be traced, depending on how long your father used it for and whether he incorporated it into his own garden.