Boundary Disputes

If a man’s home is his castle then his boundary is surely to be defended at all costs. However, where exactly is that boundary? Should it be defended and what will it cost?

It comes as a surprise to most people that the red line on the Land Registry plan only shows the general boundary of your property. The lines on plans are known as “general boundaries” as those plans are prepared using Ordnance Survey maps and are not guaranteed to be completely accurate. This means that there can be discrepancies between the plan and the physical reality on the ground.

These general boundaries show the approximate position in relation to a hedge, wall, fence or other feature. Of course these features are not permanent and their removal or alteration can cause the boundary to appear changed. A fence that is reinstated every few years with a change of a few inches can soon be a few feet from its original position.

This can all be very confusing if the plans are not accurate and the ground does not stay the same, which means there is almost no certainty. However, the one certainty that does exist is that neighbours who embark on a dispute in relation to boundaries are almost always at immediate logger heads.

In order to fix the boundary exactly, a process known as “determining the boundary” has to be entered into. “Determining” requires the agreement of the neighbours to where the boundary is. This is somewhat difficult if the neighbours are unwilling to speak to each other. The neighbours need to prepare a very detailed plan with measurements which they agree shows the exact boundary.

If an agreement cannot be reached then the dispute may be determined in Court, which can be expensive and time consuming.

However, there is an alternative to Court; neighbours could agree to mediate. This process is less formal than Court and any resulting agreement would be binding and capable of being registered by the Land Registry as the exact or determined boundary.

Neighbours should defend their boundaries. However, boundary disputes can be complex and technical, but by agreeing to mediation or alternative dispute resolution this will help to keep costs down.

For further information, please contact Ian Dorward or Paula green.