Making the Boundaries Clear

Boundary disputes may often seem trivial &ndash unless, that is, you become embroiled in one yourself, in which case they tend to assume gargantuan proportions. Unfortunately, they are also depressingly common. This is due to the fact that boundaries in England have not always been precisely defined.

Since mid-October 2003, it has been possible to file a precise plan (on payment of a small fee) with the Land Registry, to show exactly where your boundary lies. Unless you have obtained the agreement of the adjacent landowners in advance, you also normally have to serve a notice on them that this has been done. If they do not object, within twenty days, the application to register the boundary will usually succeed and the plan will be accepted as showing the true boundary, with your title documents amended accordingly if necessary.

Needless to say, there are limitations on this. For example, third party rights must not be infringed. There is also a right for the owners of adjoining land to object to the plan.

For more information on boundary registration, see the Land Registry website at http://www.landreg.gov.uk or contact us. In particular, if you receive a notice that one of your neighbours is intending to register their boundary, do not delay in checking the notice and, if necessary, take advice as soon as possible.