It is a well established principle in the UK that landowners and occupiers should be properly compensated when land, or rights under or over land, are taken using compulsory powers.

Section 5 of the Land Compensation Act 1961 broadly provides for market value to be paid for any land taken and for any reduction to the value of any retained land, and for actual losses incurred in being ‘disturbed’ ie being forced to vacate the area.

Compensation can sometimes be claimed even though no land is taken, most notably under Pt.1 of the Land Compensation Act 1973.

But the right to claim doesn’t last forever. The Limitation Act 1980 provides time limits for most types of claim, including those arising from the exercise of compulsory powers, and in most cases that is six years.

It is vital not to lose the right to claim by failing to take appropriate action before the deadline has passed, and to know exactly when the six year period starts running.

It is surprising how many claims pass the deadline not just without being settled but with claimants or their agents having failed to take simple steps to ensure their rights are not lost.

The six year period normally starts when an event occurs which, in the absence of statutory powers, would give rise to a cause for legal action. In the case of a Compulsory Purchase Order this is the date the acquiring authority takes entry or, if they are using a General Vesting Declaration process, the date the owner knew or should have known the vesting date. But what about when entry is taken in stages, or onto land not included in the CPO, or when a new compensatable event occur at a later date? 

The start date for a Pt1 claim is the first claim date, one year after the road opens, but what about a road which opens in stages? And will the conduct of the parties be taken as evidence of an intention to extend the period? Ongoing negotiations aimed at reaching settlement are unlikely to be enough to create a situation of ‘estoppel’.

There may also be uncertainty as to who is the counter-party – for instance in the case of damage outside the scheme limits should you pursue the acquiring authority or their contractor – and whether the jurisdiction of the court or tribunal extends to the issue in question.