“The Legal Boundary:
A legal boundary deals with separating ownership of land. It is an invisible line dividing one person’s land from another’s. It does not have thickness or width and usually, but not always, falls somewhere in or along a physical boundary feature such as a wall, fence or hedge. The exact positions of the legal boundaries are almost never shown on registered title plans.”
“Land Registry title plans identify the general position of the boundaries of a registered title. The word “boundary” has no special meaning in law but in land ownership it is understood in two ways:”
The above is an excerpt from Land Registry How is ownership of boundaries defined?
Boundary disputes can be a very emotive subject and positions become very entrenched leading to a complete breakdown of communication between the parties. Quite often the only way to resolve this disputes is through the legal system. This will entail the need to gather evidence. This evidence is often historical photography, more often than not, taken from the air by aircraft.
Prevention is better than cure, one way to prevent boundary disputes would be to discuss any planting of hedges or erecting of fences with the neighbor concerned. Sometimes this then in itself leads to a dispute. In new properties this can be prevented by accurate surveys (with GPS these can be very accurate) also taking photographs from an elevated viewpoint. With this in mind it is a good idea when you first move into a house to go upstairs and photograph the boundaries as they exist at that time. Date the photographs and keep them carefully, maybe considering engaging a Low Level aerial photograph using a mast, such as the service we offer. If you have a potentially contentious area consider having this done annually. This will head off any potential suspicious neighbour.
Should a dispute arise and you require historical images then please contact us as we have access to an extensive number of historical images from both civil and military aerial surveys going back to the 1940′s. We are able to license these images to be used in court cases and can provide a statement as to the date and time taken.
For more info visit Land Registry Public Guide 19 – Title plans and boundaries