Boundary Disputes

 

• Most land in England and Wales is registered with general boundaries that show the extent of the land.

 

• When a property is registered the Land Registry creates a drawing called a ‘title plan’. This will only show the general boundaries of the property, unless the previous owners had worked out the exact boundaries.

 

• A boundary feature is any structure that separates neighboring properties, e.g. a fence, wall or hedge. There are no laws about who owns these or which side of the boundary feature neighbours are responsible for – neighbours can, however, decide this in a boundary agreement.

 

• We can provide advice and assistance in preparing the plans and help with identifying the boundaries.

 

• Where neighbours can’t agree, a boundary dispute arises. These can be very costly to settle through the courts.

 

• There is currently a Bill before Parliament for the settling of boundary disputes by Chartered Surveyors much in the same way and using similar legislation as is used for settling a dispute under the Party Wall Etc. Act 1996. This should also result in much cheaper costs to settle the boundary dispute for you.

 

• The Harrower Partnership is well versed in working within this framework and can provide assistance in settling boundary disputes