Boundary Essentials

Jon Maynard Boundaries Ltd, Boundary Demarcation and Disputes, Rights of Way, Expert Witness, Chartered Land Surveyor

BOUNDARY
PROBLEMS

An Internet resource provided by Jon Maynard Boundaries Ltd

Boundaries: The Essentials

 You are here:    Boundary Problems  |  Boundaries: the Essentials

If you have no time to read the rest of this web site then this brief summary gives you the absolutely essential knowledge for understanding property boundaries and boundary disputes in England and Wales.

Boundaries are created when an owner of a large piece of land divides that land into smaller pieces, or parcels of land, and offers the smaller parcels for sale.

Boundaries are defined in the earliest title deed (be it a conveyance or a transfer deed) that describes the parcel of land in question. The definition may be expressed as words in the parcels clause of the deed, in a plan drawn upon or attached to the deed, or a combination of both.

Inaccuracies in boundary definitions found in conveyances are not the exception but the norm. This is because the descriptions were written by people who did not know how to measure land, nor how to draw accurate plans, and who lacked the understanding of either geometry or trigonometry that is necessary to prevent errors when making maps and plans. These people operated under the ethos of caveat emptor - let the buyer beware - at least until the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 came into law.

Dimensions found on conveyance plans cannot be legally binding: see the preceding paragraph on inaccuracies in boundary definition.

Developer's plans form the basis of many conveyance plans and transfer plans dating from the mid-twentieth century onwards. Developer's plans tell you what the architect intended to be built and where - which could be significantly different from what was actually built and where it was built. In these cases it is important to recognise that it is the original fences erected by the developer or his contractors - and not the lines on the conveyance plan or transfer plan - that define your boundaries.

When the information contained in the deeds and the deed plans leaves the position of the boundary unclear, then it is worth considering the question: "What did the vendor intend by the deed that created the piece of land whose boundary is in question?"

Land Registry does not define property boundaries. This is so important that I will repeat it.
LAND REGISTRY DOES NOT DEFINE PROPERTY BOUNDARIES. Land Registry compiles and maintains a register of titles to land. That register is simply a record of the information submitted to Land Registry by applicants who are obliged to register their titles to land. Land Registry has traditionally exercised little or no control over the accuracy of the information submitted to them, insofar as it affects the positions of boundaries, by those applicants.

Land Registry does not define property boundaries. Even when applying for a Determination of the Exact Line of the Boundary, it is the applicant (or their professional or legal adviser) who has to tell Land Registry exactly where the boundary is located.

Title plans show only the general positions of boundaries. Land Registry bases its title plans on Ordnance Survey maps, which are maps of physical features made without enquiry as to the positions of property boundaries.

Scaling from Ordnance Survey maps will not tell you the position of your boundary. Ordnance Survey makes its maps without any enquiry as to the positions of property boundaries: those maps show the physical features of the land but not the property boundaries. Moreover, there are accuracy limitations that make it dangerous to try to scale exact distances from Ordnance Survey maps.

Professional advice, from a surveyor specialising in Boundary Demarcation and Disputes, may (or may not) establish exactly where your boundary is. Even when it is 100% correct, such professional advice has no legal force and enjoys the status only of a professional opinion, and opinions (even professional opinions) are always open to challenge. If the question that needs resolving starts with the word "where" (e.g. "Where is my boundary?") then you should seek professional advice before you consider going to a solicitor.

Legal advice from a solicitor who specialises in property law or property litigation is essential if the question that needs answering revolves around the legal rights or obligations of yourself or of your neighbour.

Your legal boundary according to paper title is based on its description in the title deeds and its position may be established by a good boundary demarcation and disputes surveyor in a well researched and analysed expert witness report.

When the title deeds carry an unclear or ambiguous description of a boundary then the adjoining landowners may agree the exact line of the boundary provided that the agreement is for the purpose of clarifying the uncertain or ambiguous description in the title deeds.

Adverse possession of another person's land requires both actual possession and exclusive enjoyment of the disputed land for a period of at least twelve years if relying on legislation that pre-dates the Land Registration Act 2002. This Act came into force on 13 October 2003 and allows applicants to register their possessory title to neighbouring land after a period of ten years possession. On receipt of an application, Land Registry will alert the registered proprietor of the affected land, who has two years in which to evict the squatter. A squatter still in possession two years after his initial application to Land Registry may re-apply and will automatically be granted possessory title.

Adverse possession is not a criminal act. Whatever a landowner might think, the law does not recognise the concept of "theft of land" or such language as "My neighbour has stolen my land".

A legal boundary according to paper title is defeated by a successful adverse possession claim. It may also be defeated if the legal principle of estoppel comes into play. These are both matters for legal advice.

Your solicitor may try, with the best of intentions, to settle a dispute amicably through correspondence with your neighbour's solicitor. But rather than using the correspondence as a means of making offers that narrow the gap between them, the parties all too often turn the correspondence into an escalating series of demands and accusations that only widen the gap and make the dispute ever less resolvable.

Alternative Disputes Resolution methods, eg. Mediation (effectively, a negotiated settlement), may be used to resolve boundary disputes.

Courts: When neighbours are otherwise unable to resolve their dispute then they may refer the matter to a court of law. The available courts are:
The Adjudicator to HM Land Registry (which is a court within the Tribunals Service of the Ministry of Justice);
The County Court;
The High Court.

In the course of a trial, the court will try to resolve a civil dispute between neighbours by handing down a decision or judgment. The trial is not a criminal proceeding and the litigants should view the court process as a means of settling the dispute and not as a means of pursuing justice.

Seeking professional and legal help:

Boundary disputes are a specialised practice area. If you need professional help then you need specialist professionals. Too many chartered surveyors take the view that a boundary dispute is a property matter and that they, as a property professional, can deal with it. What the landowner in a boundary dispute needs is a surveyor who specialises in boundary demarcation and disputes to advise on the true position of the boundary and, if necessary, to act as an expert witness.

Again, the landowner will not necessarily be well served by a generalist solicitor but needs a solicitor who specialises in property litigation. Unlike the NHS, with the surveying and legal professions you cannot expect a general practitioner to diagnose your problem and refer you to the appropriate specialist: it is up to you to identify the appropriate specialist yourself.

 

  Return to Top of Page