You can take
steps to avoid many of the problems described on these
pages, or at least to ensure that it is not you who
creates the problems.
Sometimes all it takes is a little forethought to work
out the consequences of your actions and whether they
would upset your neighbours.
Contents
DON'T BUY A PROBLEM
PLANTING TREES
MENDING FENCES
BUILDING TO THE BOUNDARY
BUYING A SUB-DIVIDED PLOT
DON'T BUY A PROBLEM
Don't buy a house with a boundary problem.
Make sure that the boundaries you can see are the
boundaries that Her Majesty's Land Registry (HMLR)
recognises.
What
you can do
HMLR operates an "open register". This means
that, for a small fee, anyone can ask for a copy of the
documents for any property. Before you buy the house of
your dreams, ask HMLR for an office copy of both the
register and the title plan for that property. Check them
to see if they match the boundary features you see on the
ground. If they don't, then don't buy the property.
Don't buy a house with an easement problem.
If the vendor (or his agent or solicitor) tells you that
there is a right of way (or other easement) attached to
the property, check that you will get what he is
purporting to sell you.
What
you can do
Again, ask HMLR for an office copy of both the register
and the title plan. Check them to see that any easement
granted to the property matches what you can see on the
ground. If there isn't a perfect match, then don't buy
the property.
Don't buy a house with a tree problem,
Or rather, don't buy a house with trees that will grow
into a problem. If there are trees along the boundary of
a property you are considering buying (whether within the
property or within the neighbouring property), check
whether they are mature or whether they can be expected
to keep on growing.
Any tree that is not mature could grow a lot taller and
broader than it now is. The consequences could be greater
shadow and less light over your garden and inside your
house; spreading branches reducing the amount of garden
available to you; tall, thin trees being bent by the wind
to hammer against your buildings; larger trees taking
large amounts of water from the soil leaving less for
your other plants; subsidence problems from water uptake
or heave problems from root development (both of which
could result in structural problems for buildings and
walls).
What
you can do
Identify the species of tree. Estimate its height. Assess
whether it is likely to grow further. If it is, and if
you don't want to risk the consequences, then don't buy
the property. [If you are not expert in tree
identification you can buy one of several field guide
books.]
PLANTING TREES 
This is not so much about what you plant as where you
plant it.
You might like to plant tall trees at the northern end of
your garden, to block off your view of the neighbours or
their view of you. But would you want to be in their
garden when the sun can no longer reach it? You may want
to maximise the space in your garden by planting trees
right up against your boundary, but that means that half
the spread of each tree will encroach onto your
neighbour's land. Would he want that? Would you be
pleased if he exercised his right to remove all of the
branches and roots that encroached onto his property
(which could result in the tree falling over into your
garden)?
What
you should do
Plan your tree-planting carefully. Work out a height
limit, beyond which unacceptable shadows will be cast on
neighbouring (or even on your own) land. Choose a tree
species that will not grow beyond that height. Then work
out what the spread of the mature tree will be, and don't
plant it any closer to your boundary than half the width
of its spread. If you are considering a fast growing
species like leylandii, think very carefully. If left to
grow naturally, leylandii will grow grow very tall and
very wide. It is possible to control the height of a
leylandii hedge by annual pruning, but it takes special
skill to train it into a narrow hedge shape and prevent
its spread from gobbling up your garden.
MENDING FENCES
Fences, walls, hedges, ditches -
all of these require maintenance, or replacement, from
time to time. Replacement, and sometimes even
maintenance, gives your neighbour an opportunity to take
offence, even though you may think he has no grounds for
doing so.
What
you should do
Your very first action should be to discuss it with your
neighbour. Check his understanding of who owns, or is
responsible for the maintenance of, the fence (or wall,
hedge or whatever).
If it is clearly established that it is your
responsibility, then discuss with him your proposals and
make sure that he accepts them. You may be well within
your rights to replace a 4 foot high larch-lap fence with
a six foot high brick wall, but don't impose the wall on
him - try to sell him the benefits of it before you start
building it.
Also, check that your neighbour believes that the
existing fence is in the right place, and make sure that
you don't build your structure further towards his land
than where the existing structure is.
If you cannot satisfy your neighbour on all of the above
points, you may find him starting a boundary dispute with
you.
If your neighbour has erected a fence that is too low for your liking then consider your options carefully. If, without first obtaining your neighbour's consent, you simply attach trellis to the top of it, or extend the posts upwards to take additional fencing, then you could be accused of criminal damage. Talk to your neighbour, and if your neighbour is unwilling for you to modify their new fence, then you always have the right to erecte a taller fence alongside your neighbour's fence, provided that your fence stands on your own land and is no taller than local planning guidelines permit.
BUILDING TO THE
BOUNDARY
You may want to build an
extension to your house, or build an out-building (such
as a garage), but for lack of space you want to build
right up to your boundary.
In addition to the considerations
noted under MENDING FENCES, you will have to
consider points such as:
- will the footings of your building, or any eaves or
cornices, encroach over or under you neighbour's land?
- do you need access to his land for the maintenance of
the side of the building that faces his land?
- are you planning on putting windows into the side of
the building that faces his land (compromising his
privacy)?
- will your building cast unacceptable shadows on his
land?
What
you should do
Discuss your plans as fully as possible with your
neighbour before you commission any building work.
BUYING A SUB-DIVIDED
PLOT
Because of population pressures and
financial considerations, many an owner of a large garden has sold
part of that garden as a separate building plot. A surprising proportion of
my work comes from these situations, particularly when the original
owner continues to reside in either the original or the new house.
Problems can be avoided by recording the
boundary properly at the time the original land is sub-divided
and having HM Land Registry note this on the register for both titles.
What
you should do
If you are the vendor, before the sale, mark out the boundary exactly where you
want it to be and instruct a land surveyor to survey a conveyance plan which
accurately maps the boundary. Ensure that your solicitor uses this conveyance plan
for the sale.
If you are buying a property that results from such a sub-division, check whether
the vendor has an accurately surveyed conveyance plan. If he has not, then agree
with the vendor exactly where the boundary is and insist that it is accurately
surveyed by a land surveyor. Also insist that the plan is submitted to HM Land
Registry and is noted on the register entry for both properties.
This page
was last updated on 08 May 2005