Boundary disputes can be extremely costly and the source of much antagonism between otherwise peaceful neighbours.
When moving into a new home you will often take on a Conveyancer who’ll do all sorts of searches on your behalf, one of these being a Land Registry Search.They’ll do this by checking out a document called the ’Title Plan’ of your property.
Most land in the UK is registered, and the Title Plan illustrates a rough boundary of your property.If you’re trying to define the limits of your land yourself, you should go to the Land Registry website and download a copy of your Title Plan for a small fee.
Title Plans are something of a rough guide, often compiled via the deeds of the house and Ordnance Survey maps.Exact boundaries are very rarely drawn up and many people will rightly avoid contesting where the exact boundaries of their garden lie in order to avoid a confrontation which wouldn’t have otherwise occurred – in most cases neighbours can come to some agreement.
Other cases are trickier and all sorts of agreements are needed.If you plan on building new perimeters or building a new extension, you might want to define your boundaries more exactly.
This is done by employing a surveyor to draw up a plan, which will be sent to the Land Registry.The boundary must match the title deeds of your property, and ideally a signed agreement with your neighbour will aid the process.Your neighbour will always be given the right to object by the Land Registry, so it’s best to discuss the matter and have them on board.
If you and your neighbour can’t come to an agreement regarding the boundaries of your respective homes, you may need to seek the advice of a lawyer.A judge or a property tribunal will then decide on where the boundaries lie.
When you move into a new house you should pay careful attention to where your boundaries lie and make sure your solicitor knows if you have any plans to extend so that they can get the correct information from the Land Registry.
People often find that they move into a property and then neighbouring building work starts which their lawyer hadn’t informed them of.Unless a lawyer is aware that the client needs more information on the surrounding area, they’ll generally be looking solely at your property’s Title Plan.Find a Conveyancing service from a reputable firm such as Saga.
