When you purchase a Property, Land or both. The area in which you own is marked with a boundary line. This boundary line is visible within your title plan which is held by HM Land registry. Some boundaries are marked clearly by the presence of walls, fences, hedges or a tree line. However in some circumstances there can be a boundary line through an open piece of land.
The Boundary lines, in many circumstances are not exactly clear, and this can cause the potential of a Boundary dispute.
Disputes can be;
- who has responsibility for repairs or the maintenance of walls, fences, trees, hedges and so on…?
- trees or hedges growing onto another’s property
- encroaching onto another’s property
- refused land access
- objections to extensions
How to prevent disputes
As the exact boundaries of a property can be unclear. A boundary agreement between two or more parties can provide more clarity. Upon approval between the parties, you can apply to have the boundary agreement added to yours and your neighbours’ title plans. In addition to this, a surveyor can be tasked with drawing a detailed plan of the properties with exact boundary lines clearly drawn up. This agreement and plan will then also be stored at the HM land registry for future reference.
If you are wanting to make changes to your property or land which may affect another party, it is very important to have open discussions with that party, and where possible have this communication either entirely or clarified in writing.
This way if any issues are to arise previous correspondence can be reproduced. One thing to watch out for is if your neighbours are renting you may need to have approval from the landlord, not the tenant currently residing in the property.
If require any advice on boundary issues you can contact our associates at Butterworths solicitors for advice, by using the form below;
[contact-form-7 id=”191″ title=”Contact form Boundary Disputes – Butterworths Solicitors”]
This page has been sponsored by our Associates at Butterworths Solicitors who are regulated by the SRA under SRA ID: 76501
