Physical Boundaries
This property has two boundary structures, i.e. an old stone wall and a fence boundary. The boundary line will most likely be assigned to the boundary wall as it was the first to be erected. Each possible boundary will follow a different ruling. A further consideration is that the wall may be a party wall fence.
Land Registry Mapping
Because of the way that the legal boundary is determined it is not safe to rely on the Title Plan. This reasoning becomes more meaningful when you consider the following:
1 The Title Plan provides boundary details in a general way only, i.e. lacking precision when looking closely at small areas, and for this reason it should only be used as a general guide whenever a boundary issue arises. This position is confirmed by the Land Registration Act 2002, section 60, which states that the boundary is shown in a general way unless it is Determined by the Land Registry. To have a boundary Determined an application must be made to the Land Registry, having first agreed the boundary position with your neighbour, and will only be granted if the Land Registry agree with your findings.
Extract from a Title Plan showing the Land Registry Red Edging and the OS Black Edging
2 The reasoning behind the Title Plan being shown in a general way only is that the Plan’s red edging is copied onto an image of the property as shown on the Ordnance Survey Map. The red edging is plotted to the outside of the OS’s black edging. When the property is looked at closely it becomes apparent that the width of both the black and red inks have a thickness that may amount to inches or larger on the ground; most boundary disputes relate to small areas of land.
3 Ordnance Survey do not determine a property’s boundary. They carry out a survey and map the physical features on the ground as they are at the time of the survey. If there are no physical features they do not insert a boundary line. This is indicated on the Land Registry Title Plan who insert a dotted line to represent the general position of the boundary.
Physical Boundary
A Boundary Wall, Fence and Hedge
The physical boundary of a property is determined by an actual inspection of the boundary from the ground. The inspection would usually involve the noting of various physical features that boundaries often have or had, e.g. old fences, fence lines, a stream, old posts, buried wall bricks, trees, hedges and the like.
Boundary lines often, but not always, run in straight lines. Hedges are often planted in the centre of the boundary and then grow wider. This may be so, also, with trees. Where a garden boundary is a wall and it joins with the wall of a semi detached house, the boundary is generally assumed to run through the centre of the wall.
Accordingly, the physical boundary must often be rendered from a network of High Court judgments that have been given over time and which embody what lawyers call Case Law, or Common Law. The lower courts must follow the High Court decisions, which means that a presumption can be made in certain circumstances that may be applied to you case unless there is evidence to the contrary.
Having the legal ownership documents available will provide a good starting point for a physical inspection and as a general rule it is only likely to fail in identifying the boundary when small, narrow areas of land are involved.
Chartered surveyors are often appointed to conduct a boundary survey, but it would be prudent to record your own observations first, using the Title Plan and Title Register for comparison, to note your observations and ask your neighbour to inspect the property with you to see if he will agree with your notes. This is the preferred course of action as substantial costs can be avoided and the court’s time will not be mis-used.
Apple Books
House and Garden Boundaries
The author of the book, House and Garden Boundaries, has more than 25 years experience in the field. The Book is more than 200 pages long, and deals with all aspects of boundary identification. it is fully illustrated and descriptive of all types of boundaries, including ditches & hedges, trees, hedgerows, fences, fence-wall boundaries, non-tidal rivers, non-tidal river islands and streams. The book demonstrates how to find details of express and implied boundaries from the Title Register, Title Plan, Lease, Lease Plan, Conveyancing Deeds, and deed Plans. In addition, there are details of boundary presumptions and boundary fence protocols, all of which are fully illustrated. There is a template for an Informal Boundary Agreement, which can be adapted to each reader's needs. Finally, actual examples of case studies occupy the substantial final chapter of the book.
