Practical advice on your boundary issues because you have to live with your neighbours.
Boundary issues between neighbours are a fact of life in England. We do not have defined cadastral boundaries, unlike many other countries where every square metre had been cadastraly surveyed and pegged.
Land Registry Title Plan documents are not the defined legal boundaries, as they are based on the OS plans and are covered by the General Boundaries Rules, which means they are for indicative purposes only. The authority for the boundaries of a title are contained in the wording and/or plans in the pre-registration Deeds, Conveyances and Transfers, which should be listed in the Land Register.
This Practice offers a sensible, cost effective service to investigate, on the ground, the problems and make, under RICS Guidelines, recommendations as to the best way to proceed aimed at reducing the levels of stress.
Practical Approach
This Practice uses a staged, cost-effective. programme under RICS Guidelines, including a site visit to investigate the issues, making recommendations as to the best way to proceed to resolve the issues and reduce everyone’s stress levels.
The company offers a fixed cost service to understand the scope of the issues, including investigating and tracking down of any available documents. Depending on what is required this allows for the preparation of one of these:
1. Preliminary and Informal Letter
Outlining in practical terms the issues and possible solutions. Our initial visit may lead to a recommendation to prepare a more detailed:
2. Letter of Advice and Recommendations
This is not designed to be compliant with Pt 35 of the Civil Procedures Rules (CPR), dealing with Expert Evidence, but provides initial practical advice to parties and their advisers as to the way forward.
3. Expert Witness Report
Following solicitor’s instructions, a full formal CPR compliant document on the matter can be provided in situations where this is required.
Resolving Boundary Issues
Working for a fixed fee for each stage, we can provide property owners and their advisers, something tangible to discuss and plan what needs to be done. These investigations may also recommend purchasing aerial photographs and historical OS maps to assist. These are expenses charged in additional to professional fees.
For many boundary issues matters OS maps are totally inadequate. We may also recommend engaging land surveyors who have the necessary sophisticated GPS and Total Station equipment to establish what is on the ground, which is then processed back in the office to produce a range of very accurate plans.
Many owners have legal expenses insurance included with their household cover, which will pay for these initial investigations.
Considering Selling? If you are considering selling the property, answering questions 1 & 2 in the Law Society’s pre-contact Property Information Form TA6 about boundaries makes you think if you are in a dispute!!
The final objective will be to get a Determined Boundary Agreement that all parties live with that can be recorded at the LR to end the matter.