How do I claim turbary rights?

Answer 1

You did not mention a country so I will address turbary rights in Ireland.

Turbary rights go back at least to the nineteenth century in Ireland and probably much further back than that. They refer to the right of tenants to cut peat from the bogs of the landlords for heating, cooking and other purposes. To quote the article in the link below, "in many cases the rent was not made out of the holding, in consequence of the inferior qualities of the soil, but the holding largely consisted of bog, and the tenant had the right of cutting turf, not only for household use, but for sale . . . ". Therefore, turbary rights are an easement right.

You may need to have your title to your interest in the property examined to determine if the PROPERTY has turbary rights. You would also need to research Irish law to determine the status of those rights under current law. Of course, you would need to consult with an attorney who is an expert in the law of real property.

Another quote: "From the beginning of recent Irish land legislation (1896) there had been two tendencies. One set of provisions were intended to induce tenants to buy their farms. Another set transferred to them so many of the property rights of the landlord that they made it better for them to be tenants than owners. There was no part of Irish property which was more valuable than turbary, and there was none more easily deteriorated. Everyone who knew anything of land in Ireland knew that, if turbary was cut in a careless and improvident manner the powers of reproduction were destroyed, and the bog would become flooded with water, to the great disadvantage of the landlord and tenant alike. The great protection against this had been, and was, the supervision of the landlord . . . ".