Reply to: Boundary dispute

[PokemonStay]

Real contractors live in mansions not terraces so should not be a problem......

If they have terraces, they do not have mafia neighbours....

[WTFH]

You are presuming the conveyancer did their job properly.

That's what you pay them for, but then some people like to go for budget solutions that maybe aren't quite as thorough.

[SueEllen]

Your solicitor should have brought it up with you if they felt there was an issue.

You are presuming the conveyancer did their job properly.

[WTFH]

I assume you cemented the status quo when you bought the house and didn't check the boundaries lined up with the neighbours drive

GPWM.

Your solicitor should have brought it up with you if they felt there was an issue.

[SimonMac]

I know

Yeah, I wouldn't go in blazing, more along the lines of "Hey Peter, do you know if the boundary always been curved like it is now?" problem is, even that could come across as a bit accusatory. Any better ways of approaching it?
We do get along with him reasonably well so wouldn't want to sour that.

We're going to get rid of the hedge at the front which would give a bit more room, and we should be able to fit just about, but my wifes main concern is if we're spending money to put a drive in, it would be good (if the boundary should be straight) to put the drive in straight rather than cementing the status quo.

I assume you cemented the status quo when you bought the house and didn't check the boundaries lined up with the neighbours drive

[Lance]

Ask the conveyancing solicitor you used when you bought the house how come the boundary doesn’t match the drawing. They should know.

[Wilmslow]

Real contractors live in mansions not terraces so should not be a problem......

[barrydidit]

You should see if you can find programs like Neighbours At War online and make your wife watch an episode or two.

She may then use different tactics.

The one where Adolph wants Danzig back is a good case study for how these things can escalate

[Mordac]

Is there away of going across his drive even with his car there to get into your space?

Point is see if there are other alternatives you think you could both work with rather than argue about strips of land.

You will have to live next to him for years.

More importantly, you now have to disclose any such territorial disputes, so when you come to sell you might find nobody wants to buy...

[DimPrawn]

Come, on get the lawers on the fecker!

£750K in legal fees and 5 years later, and that 4 inch strip of land is yours!

[original PM]

Bring it up in a friendly chat.

Had similar with my neighbour and we agreed where to build based on what looked and worked best.

He may turn out to be a ****** but at least you tried.

[BlueSharp]

Document and collect evidence that the neighbour asked for permission to do this as it proves ownership is yours and not disputed. The fact he asked for permission is important for things like prescriptive rights of way. Even if the land is yours he can acquire rights to it if it's been used as a right of way for 20 years +, but asking for permission could prevent this. Check out gardenlaw.co.uk, a great forum for things like this.

Sort it out amicably if possible. Personally I would reestablish the boundary with the new drive but still allow him to continue the same access as being neighbourly.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

It’s very hard to dispute boundaries based on title plans alone. Title plans do not indicate a legal boundary. They are based on what OS would have found on the ground at the time of their last survey.

Of course if the boundary is clearly a straight line and now it curves then it seems likely that the neighbours driveway is in the wrong place. Thing is, it’s very hard to resolve this if the neighbour is not amicable without a formal boundary dispute and legal action.

Even if you went down the legal route, if the boundary feature has been there for long enough then the neighbour could claim adverse possession. AFAIK they cannot do this if at any point they admit that they disputed land used to belong to you so make notes of anything they say in that regard!

How much disruption would it cause the neighbour to put the boundary back to how it should be? Would they still be able to use their driveway? What if you offered to pay for any necessary modifications to their driveway including replacing any soft landscaping? It may not be down to them that the boundary is the way it is now.

[vwdan]

Bear in mind that disputes like this need to be disclosed when selling. In other words, any advantage you get from sorting out a slither of land will easily be forgotten by people not wanting a problem.

I do get the desire to be right about this stuff and it is a bit cheeky if it's the case, but tread so very carefully.

[SueEllen]

We're going to get rid of the hedge at the front which would give a bit more room, and we should be able to fit just about, but my wifes main concern is if we're spending money to put a drive in, it would be good (if the boundary should be straight) to put the drive in straight rather than cementing the status quo.

You should see if you can find programs like Neighbours At War online and make your wife watch an episode or two.

She may then use different tactics.