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Old boundary fence becomes legal?
Zeppy
Posts: 1
About 8 years ago -we put a fence up in our garden about two feet in from the boundary because the previous neighbour refused to cut back bramble.
we have now removed the fence which is damaged, but the new neighbours say that because the fence has been there for some time, that the boundary has now changed- surely this is nonsense and the boundary line is that shown on the title deeds?
0
Posts
" this is nonsense"
To take that to a ridiculous extreme, if you put a hedge or fence down the middle of your garden that would then become their new boundary.
LOAD OF OLD TOOT!
The neighbour is wrong. There is something in law about gaining ownership of land if it has been unclaimed by the rightful owner for an extended period and a new 'owner' has fenced it. I don't know the details of the law, but the timescale required is a lot more than 8 years.
It is utter nonsense. The last I heard was 20 years but that was decades ago and has probably changed again to even more. Since they've recently acquired the house they must have seen deeds showing where the boundary line lies or you can consult your own copy. If you're still paying a mortgage that will be at your bank or solicitor's so may cost you a fair penny. Go the gentle, friendly and maybe even smiley "don't be daft" route first.
Last edited: 10 August 2017 13:52:29
Since you erected the fence, you can put it where you like. If the land is registered at the Land Registry it cannot be claimed as someone elses, under any circumstances. The old rule only applied to unregistered land. He is wrong.
Your neighbour is talking about adverse possession. He would have needed to occupy the site for 10years if the land was registered and 11years if not registered. By removing the fence and taking occupation you have ended the timescale i.e. The 10 years start again. He would also Need to apply to the land registry for adverse possession and demonstrate he has occupied the land (cut the grass, planted, maintained). If he can demonstrate he has done this for 10 years then he has a case. It sounds like this is not the case. However, I would suggest, remove the fence, cut the grass, hedge etc and demonstrate you occupation Including taking photos.
Sorry fidgetbones this is not correct! The point of adverse possession is to bring land that is not being used back into use. Whether the land is registered or not only related to the timescale before you can apply for a cautionary title.
Last edited: 10 August 2017 14:32:17
My cousin used to live in a row of houses where all the gardens turned at an angle of about 20 degrees roughly half way up. They are all houses built in the 19th century or earlier. She'd never bothered to look at the deeds but pulled them out one day to discover that, on there, all the garden boundaries were straight, at 90 degrees to the property. Nobody has any idea when or why the fences were shifted, but all did agree that it was not reasonable or practical to expect everybody to return to the original boundaries.
She had been in the house since 1966 and only spotted this on the deeds a matter of 5 years ago.
Hop over to: www.gardenlaw.co.uk for expert advice.
Your neighbour is wrong, total nonsense.
You may need professional help if your neighbour doesn't back down and give in. One letter from a solicitor should solve the problem.