Boundary Disputes

Boundary disputes can be one of the most acrimonious and costly types of court cases

Never resort to self help by just moving the boundary structure. If your neighbour calls your bluff and he is found to be right, then you will be very sorry indeed.

Always seek to negotiate the alignment of the boundary. It is always worth paying a moderate sum of money, rather than risk legal fees.

If you cannot reach agreement, get your evidence together to prove the true line of the boundary. Look at all conveyancing documents going back as far as possible. More importantly, get the recollection of witnesses. A Judge once decided that Ordnance Survey had got plans wrong, given what the witnesses before him had to say. Such decisions will become less likely as digital mapping techniques become more widely used.

If you do not intend to develop / use the land for some time, make a photographic record of the boundaries and their position. Get a surveyor to make a detailed, measured plan, with distances to be taken from structures which are not likely to be moved or demolished over time.

Boundaries can 'creep' over the years. It is very difficult to get witnesses to cast their mind back as to the precise position of the boundary structures of some overgrown, rubble strewn, patch of land in their locality.

Be precise and that will impress a Judge. Besides if you do this now, you may never end up going up before a Judge. Your neighbour will recognise the force of your evidence immediately and may not contest your view.

Related topics you may find useful:

Property- Residential
Buying a London Property

Call Michael Breeze on 07900 195 195 or call 0845 270 2511 to set up an appointment