Who is responsible for house boundaries

Leaning things against your neighbour's fence, hanging things on your neighbour's fence, even using your neighbour's fence as a makeshift retaining wall, will place a much heavier burden on the fence panels and supporting posts than they were designed to bear.

The consequences of such actions are easy enough to predict and you will be liable for the cost of any repairs. On top of that you will still have to do, and pay for, the work that you did incorrectly and which resulted in the damage to your neighbour's fence. In short, anything you do to your neighbour's fence without your neighbour's permission - including staining, painting or applying preservative to your side of your neighbour's fence - amounts to criminal damage.

Unless your neighbour agrees, you cannot: paint, stain or varnish your neighbour's fence to make it a more attractive colour; affix close boards or panels to your face of the fence in order to conceal the support rails; attach trellis or some other system to support plants that you wish to grow up your side of your neighbour's fence.

What you can do is: plant free standing shrubs or a hedge to conceal the fence from your view; erect your own fence alongside your neighbour's fence. My neighbour's fence makes my garden very dark beacuse his fence is high and his garden is on higher land than mine. If your neighbour's fence is within the height limits set by your local authority, when measured from the ground on which it stands not from the level of the ground on your side of the fence then there is nothing that you can do about it.

If your neighbour was to reduce the height of his fence, from say 1. Return to Top of Page Fences and boundaries It is normal practice when using a fence to mark a boundary to place the outer face of the fence along the boundary, so that the posts stand on the land of the of the fence's owner. If a fence post requires a footing, for example of concrete, to secure it into the ground then it is normal to allow the footing to lie partly beneath the adjoining land.

In keeping with the Party Wall etc. Act , this does not give the neighbouring landowner the grounds for a claim of encroachment. If it was you who ordered a fencing contractor to erect the fence, and if you keep detailed records of household expenditure, then the invoice presented to you by the contractor is the most reliable, even conclusive, evidence of the age of your fence.

If you have no invoice, then if you have two photographs in your family photo album that show the fence in the background, and if the photos reveal two physically different fences, then the fence must have been erected at some date between the dates on which the photographs were taken.

So now all you have to do is to work out the dates on which the photographs were taken. If your family photo album doesn't help, then there is some chance that you may be able to discover aerial photographs taken on different dates showing different fences.

Again, the fence will have been erected between the dates of the two photographs. It is tempting to think that a dendrochronologist would be able to help. Of course he will be able to analyse the tree rings and determine the dates during which the tree from whose wood the fence was made was growing, but this is not the same as determining the date on which the fence was erected. Return to Top of Page Fences and adverse possession If a house built more than one hundred years ago has boundaries marked by wooden fences then it stands to reason that the original fences will have rotted away a long time ago and that they will have been replaced several times over.

Return to Top of Page Replacement fence leads to confusion Sometimes a situation gives rise to confusion over the relationship between: the position of the boundary; the position of the fence; the responsibility for maintenance of the boundary; the ownership of the fence.

There are three possible immediate outcomes: A. He places the new fence on his side of the old fence, so that the new fence stands on his own land. He then takes down the rotten fence, and he ensures that his elderly neighbour understands that the new fence neither stands upon the pensioner's land nor is it the new fence the pensioner's property. He removes the old fence and erects the new fence in exactly the same position as the old fence stood.

He makes a gift of the new fence to the pensioner. He makes no statement to the pensioner as to where the fence stands or who owns it.

If they discover that scenario A is what actually happened then they will surely conclude that the boundary runs along the pensioner's side of the fence that the kindly neighbour had erected on his own land. If they discover that scenario B is what actually happened then they will surely conclude that the boundary runs along the kindly neighbour's side of the fence that now belongs to the pensioner's successor in title.

If they discover that scenario C is what actually happened then they will have to decide to either: — honour the original boundary line on the kindly neighbour's side of the fence , or — to accept that the fence belongs to the successor in title of the kindly neighbour and that enough time has elapsed for the boundary to have moved by adverse possession to the pensioner's side of the fence.

Return to Top of Page. General Disclaimer: The information given on this web site is of necessity of a very general nature and cannot be relied upon to meet your specific requirements. Neither Jon Maynard FRICS nor Jon Maynard Boundaries Ltd can be held responsible for any action that may or may not be taken by anyone who accesses this site and acts on the basis of any information found within.

Whilst it is hoped that the reader may gain benefit from the information in this site, liability can only extend to specific advice given by Jon Maynard FRICS after completion of a formal engagement letter. Every case is different and the circumstances of your case will be a long story: we need to see documents relating to your land to give a meaningful answer. If you don't want to book and pay for a Boundary Advisor Telephone Consultation then you are most welcome to read the completely free Boundary Problems web site.

For the professional services offered by Jon Maynard Boundaries Ltd, see:. A Boundary Advisor Remote Consultation allows you to informally talk through with an experienced professional issues relating to your boundaries, your private right of way, or an easement that either benefits or burdens your land.

Your neighbour's fence Fences and boundaries Fences and adverse possession Replacement fence leads to confusion. Neighbour's fence: What can I do when my neighbour won't repair his fence? Fences, age of: How can I find out the age of my wooden fence? Please don't telephone us expecting an instant answer to a quick question about your fence, boundary or right of way. If you put a fence up on your own land then that maybe something to discuss and formalise with the neighbour to ensure that you are both aware of and in agreement as to where the boundary actually lies.

Neighbours can change but somehting you may wish to also make the council aware of. Comment by Hayley Wakeford posted on on 08 April I have recently purchased a house which has a separate garage which has 4 different garages on the block. In front of the garage is an allocated parking space. Previously someone has fenced off the the side of the garage which on the title deeds shows that the land is mine. Somebody has also laid a path on the land to gain access to the school which is also shown as my land.

Hayley - it's l;egal advice you need here if you intend to challenge any of the works done or use of the land. Anything else will really rely on legal help.

Comment by anthony corkin posted on on 10 April I have a property which neighbours a church and its cemetery. I bought the house approx. I planted a fir hedge in my garden about a foot in from the boundary bank. I have contacted the local church vicar, and churchwarden who have ignored me, the churchwarden just said we don't have money to repair the bank? I contacted the diocese who said that their legal team were confident that the boundary bank belonged to the church but then said its nothing to do with them?

Comment by AdamH posted on on 10 April Anthony - we can't give you legal advice and I would strongly recommend that you seek that from a conveyancer as to what options may be available. If you are looking for wider online comment then online public forums such as Garden Law can be useful resources re general comment and advice but it is specific legal advice you need here.

Comment by anthony corkin posted on on 11 April Comment by Janine posted on on 10 April Hello, we are looking at buying a property.

The Council's Local Plan map shows that the boundary line used to be around A fence was erected somewhere between years ago. On Google Earth and other images, it shows the same.

This has been fenced straight across instead, so losing a substantial strip of the garden. Janine - we can't advise you on what you can or cannot do re your boundaries and I would strongly recommend seeking legal advice before doing anything.

If the property footprint does not match the registered extent that is something generally raised wiht the seller in the first instance to clarify. Hi Adam, having done some digging figuratively speaking already, the fence was put up before the current owner bought it, so I don't think they'll know anything. Any other ideas, mainly on how to prove or disprove it? Thanks, Janine. Comment by AdamH posted on on 11 April The only time that is really challenged is if anyone notices or someone looks to claim land that they ahve then occupied for a number of years.

Comment by Jane posted on on 10 April I have a joint boundary with my semi detached neighbours. However it has never been confirmed who's boundary it is to maintain? And can not find this at the land registry. As I was having fencing work done in other areas of my property at the time I offered to pay for all the fence panels to be replaced on our joint boundary line, with a comment that if they moved out their house they made it clear to new owners, I owned the fencing and had paid for it to be replaced, so I was not to see the fencing being removed after I had just paid out for it all.

Spray all over the length of established planting, shrubs and trees my side of the fence! After a polite conversation with them about this, 3 years after 2 years ago they 'spray' the fence again, a different colour. No spray on my house, however spray again over my planting, killing off two established shrubs, after them slowly recovering from the last attack,also the tree bark infected again, where the tree has now totally died off this past 18 months.

I want to put some type of fencing screen up to the existing fencing posts on my side, approximately 6" higher than the existing fence panels. The panels are not currently at 6' high, they are lower. As next door feel it is ok to hand paint the top of the fence line, which is fine but spray the rest, not fine , refusing to accept that spray still gets through the lower panels causing damage, I want to put the screening up to prevent further damage, as maybe again this summer will see the sprayer coming out!

The screening will be something like Rattan or willow, maybe at a height of 6. Do I need planning permission for this? There is no talking to the neighbours. Jane - you'd need to contact the relevant local authority to see if planning permission is required. Comment by Angela posted on on 11 April We are in the process of buying a property that was built by the owner in the early 50's.

It was built on a plot of land that was then divided into two and a relative built their own property also. In the documents that we have, including a signed document which shows the gifting of the land to the relative the boundary line is straight.

However over the years, they have each encroached the boundary through mutual consent which has ended with a dog legged boundary being registered by the relative with land registry. Solicitors have looked into this and have asked them to transfer the land to the estate to bring the boundary back to its original straight line, and the estate will transfer any land back to them. However, they are now refusing to do so. Which document stands as being correct, the original deeds, or the altered registered with yourselves?

How do we resolve this? Angela - if the title was registered on the basis of the deeds and the 'gift' you mention then that will be correct.

Much may depend on how the title was registered and whether the 'gift' was in the form of a legal deed or whether the relative claimed it. The boundary line between the two properties in the deeds that we have for the property we are purchasing is a straight line. The two family members each encroached each other's land by mutual verbal agreement, to their own advantages. None of this was in writing, however in the relatives property was registered with yourselves for whatever reason and shows that they have part of our land and we have part of theirs but with no written documentation that I know of to support this.

Because our property is unregistered though it has resulted in the bit that was used by this property as being 'no mans land'. It does seem like a lot of work to resolve this which is why I asked if it is the original deeds or the register with yourselves that would stand as the legal boundary. Can we put it to land registry that we think the boundary is wrong, and therefore revert it back to the straight line without all this additional work?

Angela - the registered title defines the registered extend and general boundaries. I would suggest that you make enquiries as to the basis upon which the registered title was created as this should fill in some of the gaps here. If nothing was in writing and mutual agreements made that would not, in my experience at elast, equate to the scenario as described.

You can apply to correct what you believe to be an error but it seems to me you need to establish what error has been made here as it seems that is unclear as you do not know on what baqsis the registered title extent was created. Comment by Kathy A posted on on 13 April My neighbours have erected a new fence which encroaches onto my land and the communal land of the private development I live on but they do not.

When I had a new fence 5 years ago, I erected it within my boundary, and due to fence panel size, a small corner of my land ended up outside of the fence. I never considered this to be anything other than my land, despite not being contained within my fence. Their new fence has been moved out to meet my fence post, thereby taking that corner into their garden. There was no discussion or warning of this new fence, and I have not yet had a chance to discuss it with them.

The boundary is clear on my deeds. What should I do first? Has this complicated any potential house sale in the future? Comment by AdamH posted on on 16 April Kathy A - the first step is to consider whether you need legal advice before approaching y0our neighbours to resolve the matter.

A fenceline or any physical feature cannot be assumed to be the legal boundary as they can be moved so that is correct. However if you put a fence up inside the perceived legal boundary there is always a risk that someone may assume that is the legal boundary and act accordingly. The key here is to now discuss this with your neighbour, explain and share understanding over what has happened and why and look to resolve it.

Comment by Chequetere posted on on 15 April I'd like to repair one of the boundary walls in my front patio which is currently leaning towards one side. I'm pretty sure it's mine but the property title does not specify boundary ownership.

However, this wall: -Is built with the same bricks that my front wall and second side wall are built with, which are completely different from the bricks my neighbour's front wall, pier and other side wall are built with. Can I claim ownership of the wall based on the three facts mentioned above and proceed to repair it without previous consultation with my neighbour? Many thanks. Chequetere - we can't answer that for you I'm afraid and I would recommend that you do discuss and agree a way forward with your neighbour before undertaking any works.

As the article explains the registered details can help but they are rarely definitive re such matters and assumptions should not be made where details are lacking or uncertain. Comment by Paula posted on on 16 April My boundaries are clearly shown on my deeds and these are not in dispute.

This being the other side of my fence, to the side of my property via the Cul de Sac next to my property however I have been informed that I am now trespassing by a resident in the Cul de Sac!

Ridiculous as this piece of garden has always been well maintained by me at my my expense and they have never complained before. They refer to it in either terms.. Any advice would be welcome Thank you. Paula - it's legal advice you need here as to what your options are. Comment by Paula posted on on 17 April Thank You, I have contacted the local council, whom have been very little help!

I have a copy of my title deed as held by Land Registry. Getting an answer from the local council is a minefield, they suggested I should obtain a certificate if lawfulness when I move the fence, yet more expense Thank you again.

Comment by Gavin posted on on 17 April The gate to the alleyway that leads around the back of a row of 10 terrace houses that provides access to these properties is hanging off and all ways open providing no security who owns this gate and is therefore liable to fix please help.

Comment by Emilie posted on on 18 April We bought a property in which included an area of unregistered land within the boundary. We understand from neighbours that the previous owners moved the boundary to include this area around We are now looking to submit an adverse possession claim to retain this area as part of our property.

We have had no disputes about this from any neighbours. What I would like to know is what evidence we could submit to show when this area of land first became included within the current boundary line? Is there a data source that I can contact to obtain historical images or boundary maps? Comment by AdamH posted on on 19 April Comment by Tommy Divers posted on on 19 April Hi I Have semi detached house and my Neighbour has an extension built on the back of his house and its right on the boundary line but had to have his soil pipe remove so he could build onto the boundary line the thing is his tiles are hanging into my boundary and his gutter is obstructing my soil pipe I have contacted a solicitor and he says they are clearly encroaching into my property could they be made to move their wall back as this is in Scotland.

Comment by ianflowers posted on on 20 April Comment by deb posted on on 20 April Hello, there is a stone wall that forms a boundary between land at the back of my house and my neighbour's garden. His garden is approx 2 feet higher than the land at the back of my house. Does that have any bearing on who is responsible for maintaining the wall?

There's nothing marked on the title deeds. I also don't own the freehold for the land at the back of my house, I simply have the right to 'pass or repass' over that land. Again, will that have any bearing on who is responsible for maintaining the stone wall that forms a border between my neighbour's garden and the land at the back of my house. Thanks for any advice you can give. Deb - No, the height of the respective properties wouldn't have a bearing on the responsibility for maintaining a boundary structure.

The boundary is essentially between your neighbour and whoever owns the freehold for the land at the back of your house. So that may affect any discussions that you may want to have regarding the maintenance of the wall. As mentioned in the blog, even where there is mention of a boundary structure in one of more the properties' deeds, this is only part of the picture, and it will essentially still involve the affected parties reaching an agreement as to the way forward.

For example, agreeing to treat the wall as a party boundary where responsibility is shared. Comment by deb posted on on 24 April Comment by Bibby posted on on 20 April Hi, I have acquired a piece of line to the side of my property;an old coach toad.

What should I do? Bibby - we essentially have an administrative role and cannot advise on how to proceed where you disagree or are in dispute with your neighbour. Some of the options open to you are referred to in the blog such as contacting the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

As to providing clarity of ownership, as mentioned in the blog, the title plans that we prepare show the general boundaries of the property and the exact line of the legal boundary is left undefined. These along with information in any conveyancing deeds may therefore assist with any discussion with your neighbour, but ultimately where there is no agreement, these matters may need to be resolved in other jurisdictions such as the courts.

Comment by Different Deb posted on on 22 April We are purchasing a new build property and the plans show that our garden fence will be positioned some distance away from the actual property boundary i. By not having the fence at the boundary, isn't this just asking for problems later? Are we right to be concerned that "our land" will just be seen as part of the communal area? Comment by AdamH posted on on 24 April Comment by Sam posted on on 24 April We have purchased an area of garden from our neighbours that ajoins our own and this has been registered without issue.

However, there is a small strip of land between the end of the garden and the river bank that was not part of our neighbours title deeds. This area of land is unregistered and has been used by both the person who sold it to us and the previous owner as part of their garden for over 15 years.

What do we need to do to claim legal ownership and register this land? Comment by AdamH posted on on 25 April Comment by Miss Dowdle posted on on 24 April My neighbour has passed away and her family are now selling her house.

We have a copy of the title plans showing our boundary comes off the corner of our house although our fence is set back around three feet from the front of the said boundary. Our houses are at right angles so kind of an L shape.

Most of the properties on this estate of 27 houses have left the frontages open plan as was the original design. Not only would they not get a vehicle through the gap the cars would be passing right under our lounge window! It shows on the title plans there is a gap where the gat now is. If they were that adamant, surely they would have had the gate removed when the previous owner put it in? Thanks so much. Miss Dowdie - it's rare for registered details to include measurments and even where they do it is often impossible to then accurately relate them to the reality on the ground as things have mnoved and you can't be sure who measured from where etc.

You cna certainly check the registered details and specifically any deeds referred to on the register as 'filed' if any. Whilst it may not be the right time to do so if changes are proposed then agreeing what happens next is often crucial.

Comment by Mike posted on on 24 April An elderly neighbour has just died and I think the garage he used to use actually belongs to my house - how can I check that? Mike - check what is registered and the title plan s as appropriate to see what is included. Comment by Colin posted on on 27 April Is there a time limit on reclaiming land that according to my deeds is mine but has been claimed by a neighbour.

Comment by ianflowers posted on on 27 April Colin - It really does depend on the individual circumstances. For example, whether your neighbour has lodged a registration application in respect of the land, such as an application for adverse possession commonly referred to as squatter's rights. If the neighbour has encroached on land, for example, by repositioning a physical boundary, then it would be a matter of trying to find a resolution with your neighbour, if possible. Where there is a disagreement or dispute which cannot be resolved, then this may result in the matter needing to be considered in other jurisdictions, such as the courts.

Comment by Sarah jones posted on on 28 April Good evening, I'm trying to find some answers regarding communal garage blocks, on my estate there are 15 garage blocks in various states of disrepair, how do I find out who is responsible for their upkeep, I have a feeling that a housing association may be responsible for the outer edges of them, but don't know where I would start to track this down, local council is unsure, but as part of the residents association we would like to try and help improve these parts of the estate, yet as I don't live in the parts of the state that have the garage blocks I have no access to deeds etc.

Comment by ianflowers posted on on 30 April Sarah - if the land on which the garage blocks are situated is registered, then you may be able to check the ownership online. Once you are on the Find a Property page, as your search relates to a non-residential piece of land, I would suggest you select the Map enquiry option. Use a nearby road and town name to search, and once you get a map of the area, change the options at the top of the map from Ordnance Survey Map to Birds Eye View.

Once the payment has gone through, the title register s or title plan s that you have purchased will be available in PDF format for you view. Comment by Patricia posted on on 29 April Patricia - I am sorry to hear of the difficulties you have experienced. We essentially have an administrative role in registering ownership and other interests in land and so we can't offer advice on a legal issue such as this I am afraid. I should also mention that the property information form is not one of our forms and it not required as a part of the registration process.

You would need to consider getting further independent advice, whether from Citizen's Advice or a solicitor, as to the legal position. Comment by Selina posted on on 30 April Hello, My partner and I bought a new build last year. We understood from the builders that there would be a fence behind our parking spaces 2 cars wide. But now the builders are saying that there is no fence and are refusing to put one up. Our neighbour has the same house mirror image of ours and has a fence behind his parking spaces length of two cars.

We have mentioned this to the builder but they have refused to comment. There is a building site at the back of our houses and the builders had asked us to give them access through our parking area. Now they don't need any access. They said that we should have checked the plans for the fence but the plans only show boundaries. How can we resolve this?

The sales office and solicitor have been very unhelpful. Also, without a fence, people will use our parking area to drive through to get access to the flats behind the houses although there is another route. Comment by AdamH posted on on 01 May Selina - I'm afraid this is not something we can help you with or offer any advice on other than to recommend you go back to your conveyancer for advice.

Comment by David Humphries posted on on 30 April I have a fairly new neighbour who has recently put a new roof on a garage at the bottom of his garden - the garage wall runs alongside the property divide.

His new roof enters my land by 16 inches and includes new soffits and guttering. He did not ask permission and we did not grant him any - can he be asked to remove the overhang? David - I'm afraid we can't advise you on such matters and it is really legal advice you need here.

If you are looking for wider online advice then forums such as Garden Law or Money Saving Expert can be useful resources also. But it is sspcific legal advice you really need. Comment by Zenno posted on on 01 May We bought our first home, a semi-detached property and moved in recently. There is a garden fence between my free side and neighbor, which is erected by my seller.

Our neighbour offered to replace the fence with solid wall as he is interested in building a lean to. We requested him to build the wall in his side of the property rather than to replace the fence. Later he claims that my seller has encroached his property and he wants us to move the fence by few inches.

I feel that he should have raised this issue with the seller in the first place. Also I am gutted to lose the piece of land for no mistake of my own. How can I approach this? Should I involve the council?

Do I need to speak to my solicitor? What could be the legal cost? Please advise. Aenno - very much one to get legal advice upon. The Council will not be involved unless they are the neighbour. Costs can vary enormously depending on what steps you take but very much somehting only you and your neighbour can resolve normally. If you can't agree then the only arbiter will be a court of law. Comment by Lisa posted on on 02 May Hi my neighbours live on a corner plot, their boundarygarden fence ran in line with their house.

My question is if this was their land wouldn't the boundary fence have been there in the first place? Comment by AdamH posted on on 02 May Lisa - fencing may not always be erected on the legal boundary so every scenario has to be looked at on merit. Whether that is what your neighbour is attempting to do here we would not know and you may wish to seek legal advice on what options are available to you and them for example. Comment by Alec posted on on 04 May Hi, some land adjacent to me was sold with an unresolved boundary issue with the old owner.

The new owner now claiming I'm on his land, which the previous owner could not prove or resolve before he sold it on. Where does the new owner stand in respect to what he has purchased? Comment by ianflowers posted on on 04 May From a registration perspective, nothing will have changed other than that a new owner has been registered.

Regarding the unresolved dispute, it remains the case that the title records can be of use in reaching an agreement with your neighbor, but ultimately where there is a dispute or disagreement which cannot be resolved and this is pursued, then it may have to be resolved in other jurisdictions, such as the courts.

On a property sale, a buyer will receive a Property Information Form which has been completed by the seller with provision for giving information on boundary issues and any outstanding disputes. Comment by Gill posted on on 06 May Comment by AdamH posted on on 09 May Gill - you will need legal advice as to how best to proceed and to register your claim as to ownership.

Comment by James posted on on 06 May My property is located in a fairly isolated rural area. I have a long border with commercial forestry owned by a large estate. When I bought my property in , I noticed that the boundary on the map was wrong. The vendor signed a sworn statement prepared by his solictor that he had always had use of the land in question as if it was his own and that he had never been prevented from doing so. Similarly, I have used this land that I have owned for 30 years with no questions asked.

The neighbouring land was registered in based on the old map which was at least 40 years out of date and I was not informed or consulted I have now been contacted by the agent for the estate and he has agreed the boundary as it was when I bought my property, so we are not in dispute. The question is; should the estate inform Land Registry that they had provided the wrong informed in their registry application or would it be sufficient for me to provide the correct mapping when I make my initial application for registry in the near future?

James - your claim as to ownership of that land has never been registered. It is that which you should now consider appyling for. But the key is your claim so that would always need to be registered irrespective of whether they had registered the larger or smaller area.

Comment by Micky posted on on 08 May Does this mean that I Own the other 3meters? Is there a correct way of finding out if I own the extra land? Perfectly possible that you do but veyr much something only you and your neighbour will be able to decide upon. Comment by Vicki Alexander posted on on 09 May My Mum is selling her house and there has been a delay as the buyers solicitor has picked up that the boundary out the front of the house on the title plan is not quite right.

The buyers solicitor is insisting it gets altered before they will proceed. Is this likely to take long to resolve? Comment by AdamH posted on on 10 May Vicki - it can do depending on what needs to be done. If I have read it correctly there should be less, not more, land. If so then that may be easier to resolve but the devil will be in the detail. As you Mum is selling her solicitor should let us know that and ask us to expedite the process.

Any significant delay is invariably down to the wait time from receipt and actual consideration so shortening that part can make a difference. Comment by Louise evans posted on on 10 May Hi, I live in a mid terrace house neighbour to my left legally has an access gate to take bins etc through my garden. The house has been in my family for almost 70 years and I inherited it. The fence and gate was old as my grandparents put it up it eventually rotted and fell down.

I was in the process of repairing and replacing fence panels in the garden when my next door neighbour had a concrete post put in and a new gate and 1 fence panel. This is on the boundary half theirs half mine. I painted the side facing my garden to match the rest but was careful not to touch any areas that were visible for next door.

Louise - it's not something we can advise you on I'm afraid as it's legal advice you need. But it's really legal advice you need here. Comment by Diane posted on on 11 May We own a narrow private driveway over which our neighbour has a long standing easement to reach a plot of land to the rear of his property. This land historically had an outside tennis court and small pavilion building upon it, both of which have long since been removed and the land now sits overgrown and unused.

Am I correct in thinking that should they wish to build residential properties upon this land, thus resulting in a change of use, that they would also require to apply through the courts to amend the easement to allow a different access and that this could only be granted with our consent? Comment by AdamH posted on on 14 May Diane - I'm afraid we can't advise you on the law here and it's legal advice you need.

If We register the land and rights and ultimately any changes made but we are not involved in the proces sof change of use or alteration of such rights unless they then result in a change to the registered details. So it's legal advice you need as to the process of change for example. If you are looking for wider comment then public online forums such as Garden Law can be useful resources. Comment by Diane Ridley posted on on 15 May Comment by Catherine Carter posted on on 12 May There is a small bit of land at the bottom of the garden that is not included in the registered land on the title plan.

The back of the garden goes down to another road at the back of the houses. According to neighbours the land used to be common land but it is at the end of a close and was never used so about 30 years ago some of the neighbours registered the sections at the end of their gardens. They are all now fenced in. The one we want to buy is fenced at the sides with the neighbours but there is no fence at the bottom. The title plans show a small section not included in the red boundary of what we are buying but we have no idea how much land it is in reality and there is no mention of it in any documents.

In real life there is no clear boundary at all. We are actually currently living opposite the plot at the moment and on our plan which looks more up to date the plot that we are buying has a black line including the land at the bottom - so it is in line with all the other neighbours that registered the land. But obviously this is for our plan so there is only a red line around our plot showing the boundary. The sale is currently quite difficult because of other reasons and taking a long time.

I would like to know if the sellers should be registering the land before we buy it? Roughly how long does the process take? We essentially just want it to be in line with the direct neighbours properties taking in land that is not used by anyone and was sold to us by the estate agent as part of the plot.

I hope this makes sense! Thanks for any help you can give me. Catherine - adjoining titles will not offer any indication as to what is included in an adjoining title. If you have checked the seller's title plan and the land is not included and it is also unregistered then we do not know who owns it.

If they are looking to include it in the sale then they would have to provide evidence as to their ownership, namely deeds or evidence to support any claim. However that is something only they can advise on and naturally what evidence the seller provides is decisive as to what advice they provide.

Please do rely on your solicitor's advice here. Comment by Fred Moore posted on on 13 May Hi Can I build a fence on my side of a boundary? My neighbour has cut the hedge between our properties to around 4ft from 6ft. It's his boundary but I would like to put a fence up on my side of the boundary. Can I do this? My garden is no longer private.

He has put string line up to mark the boundary. Can I cut back the hedge? And fit a fance a small distance away from the line? Thanks, Fred. Fred - we can't advise oyu on what you can or cannot do re the boundary or own land. There are online forums such as Garden law or Money Saving Expert where such matters are often aired and discussed.

You may find them a useful resource. For examle if you do put a fence up on your land can or does the neighbour or any later neighbour assume that's the legal boundary? Comment by Nicola Setchell posted on on 14 May We are in the process of selling our house and our buyers have raised concerns that our boundary is incorrect, as on Map Search it includes some of our neighbour's garden. This is definitely not the case as our boundary hedge is the original one planted when the house was built.

The buyers do not want the land but are concerned that when they come to sell the discrepancy might cause issues. Is there a simple, swift way to resolve this? Comment by AdamH posted on on 15 May Nicola - Mapsearch does not provide a guaranteed result so it is important to check the actual title plan s involved to identify what is included within a registered title. I would recommend checking the titloe plan s for the property land as appropriate and then dicuss what options are available with your solicitor.

If the titles are not as you expected then there is unlikely to be a swift way to resolve it and much will depend on whether an error was made or whether you now need to make a claim as to ownership.

However you must confirm what is registered first using the title plan s before deciding next steps. Comment by Nicola Setchell posted on on 15 May I have looked at the title plan and the shape of the boundary is roughly correct. I think the issue is how can we tell if the boundary does go into the neighbouring property at the back as the title plan only shows my property with no relation to the neighbour at the back.

To further complicate it goes over a footpath and cable easement that divides our two properties. This is shown on both the original building plan and also Mapsearch. However the facts on the ground and evidence from long-standing neighbours confirms no land has been sold and no boundaries moved.

Do we go with what's on the ground? Comment by AdamH posted on on 16 May To determine who is responsible for the boundaries the first place that you need to look is the Title Register or if the property is not registered you will need to check the Title Deeds.

These will often set out which boundaries specifically you are required to maintain. Often boundaries are not marked out in terms of precise measurements. The Land Registry Title Plans are always to scale. However, you cannot rely upon this as an accurate measurement to determine the boundaries. What do I do if there is an issue with the boundaries?

You should never make changes to the position of the boundaries without consulting your neighbour. If a dispute does arise as to the position of the boundaries then the first thing that you should do is consult the Title Plan to your property or if the property is unregistered then the Title Deeds. You may be able to reach an agreement with your neighbour to set out the precise boundaries of both of your respective properties. This is known as a Boundary Agreement and you are encouraged to seek independent legal advice before you enter into such an Agreement.

If the boundary between the two properties is a hedge which is then later replaced with a fence the RICS advise that a hedge is always considered to be a general boundary and not a precise one.

The only way to decide where a replacement fence should be position in such an instance is by agreement between the two parties having use of the boundary.

If a dispute does arise between two neighbours then often the way to resolve the matter is by appointing a Chartered Surveyor qualified by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors — RICS to draw up a precise boundary plan of both properties.

If the parties agree beforehand that what the Surveyor determines will be binding then the Surveyor can set out precise boundaries for both properties which can then be incorporated into a Boundary Agreement. This is known as applying for a determined boundary.