land at the back of my garden has been sold/ the landregistry shows they have half of my garden?

Question

How can I stop them claiming it.?as far as I know the boundary has always ben where my fence line is

Answer 1

Have it surveyed,
I had a property line dispute, it amounted to the other guys surveyor used the wrong marker point for survey!

Answer 2

nightmare. Probably the previous occupant of the house just "moved" his fence backwards and hoped nobody would notice.

I almost bought a house like this 2 years ago. The guy had a nice garden but when my lawyer looked into it, it turned out that half the land actually belonged to British Rail. All a previous occupant had done, was to put up a fence, erect a garage on the land and hope no-one noticed. This happened in the 1950's incidentally.

You need a lawyer NOW.

I was told that after a certain time, if nobody claims the land it is yours but this is certainly not the case in Scotland at any rate.


I wish you luck with this. You will have a hard fight on your hands, becaue you might have to go after the person who sold you the property and the lawyer who (mis) handled the sale if this turns out to be the case.

Answer 3

Land Registry plans are not always accurate. I purchased a house once that was the centre one of a row of three but the land registry plans showed just two houses with the properties either side on me each having half of my house on their plans.

Another possibility is that the previous owner of your house moved the fence back at some time or other..but if that is the case then of utmost importance is WHEN..for if the land was claimed more than 15 years ago then it is your by default in any event.

Don't bother calling in a surveyor you will waste your money for for a surveyor can only measure distances from one point to another and as there in clearly nothing concrete here then the surveyor will have nothing to measure from/to ..nothing in fact to survey.

Moreover, a surveyor is but a private individual and carries no authority in law. This be so, the other party can simple choose to ignore whatever findings he may come up with.

The only advice I came give is instruct a solicitor toot sweet.

Answer 4

When you purchased your house the title deeds should have been searched and this comes with a plan. If your requested the searches It is possible that either your solicitor did not do a thorough search (in which case he is negligent and you can sue) or that your plan does not correspond with that for the adjacent land. Solicitors would normally search adjacent land too to look for easements or restrictive covenants. Go back to your purchase solicitor and demand they sort this out.
How long have you lived in your house? If more than 12 years and the fenceline has not been altered your time of ownership then you could acquire this land by prescription and will need this to be reflected in the land registry plans for both plots.
You must return to your solicitor. If they made an error they should try to correct this without further cost to you, but if they refuse you only have a limited period to sue for negligence. It may turn out that they have acted correctly and the adjacent plan is incorrect. There are several possible routes and outcomes for you to pursue. Don't bury your head in the sand.

Answer 5

I foound this on the Land Registry website. It seems their plans are not conclusive evidence but, unless you can agree the position with the new owners, you'll have to take them to court.

"My neighbour and I cannot agree on exactly where our boundary lies – can you decide it for us?

We cannot normally decide where the legal boundary lies between your land and your neighbour’s. We can only go as far as showing the general position of boundaries.

If you and your neighbour need more precise detail, and you cannot agree between yourselves, the dispute will need to be decided by the Adjudicator to HM Land Registry or a court judge. However, this action is expensive and you could be ordered to pay the legal costs."

Answer 6

Have the property surveyed. Many people fail to consider this a priority when buying property, but it really should be. Several years back, a man in Kansas City, Kansas, discovered to his dismay that the border between Kansas and Missouri actually ran through his house -- seems the developer kind of messed up the original subdivision surveys. Lesson: ALWAYS GET A SURVEY BEFORE YOU BUY.

Answer 7

UK ?
The land registry will have the true boundary on your records but you may put a lien on the title if you have good cause - check with your lawyer. I think there is something about claiming land if you have used it for 7 years, but you need legal advise.

Answer 8

You do not list where you are, but most areas of America there is a rule of law known as "Adverse Possession". It states that if one actively has possession of a piece of property for a determined period of time, then true possession becomes theirs. This means that for a given time limit (say ten years) one uses and maintains the land, claims it as his/her own verbally and no-one disputes it even once during the (locally) legal time limit, then owner ship passes to that person. Show proof (photos showing passage of time [kid growing up], dated letters discussing garden, written neighbor testimony) when discussing with real-estate attorney. Time is of the essence in this as you must legally defend your claim in a reasonable amount of time.
In Massachusetts's the limit is 20 years
In Connecticut the limit is 15 years
Check your state's laws regarding time limits and burden of proof. Above all - get a lawyer.

Answer 9

Hi Piper,

This issue could get messy, there are a number scenarios that can be applied in law, all of equal merit and argueable in a court.

I am not going to give you examples here because one point leads to another and becomes quite complex, this would only serve to confuse you.

You must seek specialist legal advice as soon as possible.

Good luck

Answer 10

back fence is not always the boundary as these can be shifted. go see a lawyer