NEIGHBOUR CROSSED THE BOUNDARY BEFORE EXCHANGE

This is what I would do too.

I may be short sighted here, but surely if OP owns the strip of land they can just tell the neighbours that they are putting a new fence on the boundary line and give them 2 weeks to move their possessions from it, else the fencing company will just come and reinstate the boundary line in line with the deeds? Attach a copy of the deeds to the letter, then hey - sorted? Then leave all their fencing materials etc piled up on the neighbours side of the boundary once you've removed them from their side?

Also - edited to add that you could also attach any photos to the letter, e.g. photo of Google earth, the property listing etc.

I get why this sounds satisfying but it’s messy to sell land when you have something like this going on. Waiting to try and force the neighbour into giving the land back threatens to make OP’s life far more difficult. Either she starts a dispute she needs to declare and adds stress and potentially antagonized neighbors to her life or she risks missing out on a better offer right when she needs to sell (as the current sellers have) if she doesn’t clean up the title.

It’s the sellers who deserve revenge here. OP is currently happy with the price and needs to put herself and her future first here. Getting caught up in the seller’s drama with the neighbour is unlikely to make her life better.

I agree.
I would take the price reduction for the annoyance, but no make any adjustment to land register, retaining ownership.
Keep all the land in your name and title and wait things out.

Revenge is a dish best served cold.
Let things settle until you have time and energy to review this properly.

At the time my friends couldn't be arsed getting into it.
Years later the had, and did.
It was very satisfying.

No that isn’t what you’ve agreed. They have basically given you a discount to offset the annoyance. You’re now within your rights to reclaim.

@Newlittlerescue this is the best course of action IMO

A very good point made upthread - if you are just looking for an easy life then you should just transfer part title, leaving the 'disputed' strip in the sellers hands. It's quite normal to do this with rural properties (e.g. when the seller wants to retain a particular paddock, or access to a water frontage etc), and your conveyancer will have come across this before. Given you are perfectly happy with the size of the new plot, this really will put you in the situation you want to be in - a perfectly clean title, a solid fence, no ill feelings on any side, no disputes to declare, no need to get involved in any land registry shenanigans, no issue when you come to sell (as you would only be selling the plot you occupy).

The issue with the current solution put forward by the sellers is it burdens you with a mucky title.

This. It’s incomprehensible.

Letting them steal part of an established property just to have an easy life? It’s baffling. And I guarantee will cause future issues.

I’d be on their doorstep with a solicitor’s letter giving them one week to remove the fence. If they failed I’d hire my own crew and have it hauled away.

The incompetence of the supposed professionals advising the OP is amazing.

Yes I know - I mean if they built without planning permission the enforcement officer would contact the owner of the land.
Same if they burst a water main on the strip of land, the land owner would have to pay to have it fixed.
A member of the public could injure themselves and sue the land owner.
The owner of the land is responsible for the land and the CF trespassing neighbours could be doing anything.
I would be concerned.

You don’t need to own the land to get planning.

If the CF neighbours were to do something illegal on the strip of land (building without planning permission, drilling through an electric cable causing injury to a third party) then the land OWNER would be responsible ?

Ooft, I just would not have been able to let them get away with that. Even if it meant bulldozing the wall after moving in.

Also, looking at your initial diagram, if you wish to extend the back of your property in the future, it would need to be 'dog legged' in, as building back in a straight line would be virtually impossible, as you would have virtually no access past your CF neighbour's new fence.

Some of these replies are so short sighted!

It's all great now, the OP has their new home, the seller gave them a discount, CF neighbour has stolen some land of theirs, but it really doesn't bother the OP at all......

Fast forward into the future. I guarantee this will cause further issues one way or another, and the stress, solicitors and money trying to sort it out will be huge.

As others have rightly said, they want this extra land for some reason, and I agree they will more than likely want to build on it. It is all part of their grand master plan.

I, like so many others posting on this thread, have been involved in a boundary dispute in the past. Trust me, the amount of stress, worry, arguments and money it costs IME really isn't worth it.

30% discount, as if! 😂 Living up to your user name nicely, good job!

I think you have a pretty good result OP,

A 10K reduction for something that has minimal impact on you. Don't trust your neighbours to borrow so much as a cup of sugar though!

If the impact is small I wouldn't bother registering any changes. Why give them the land for free and pay for the privilege?

Perhaps raise the dispute if your neighbours are selling paricularly if it is clear on the deeds just to cause them hassle- they might end up paying you for the land too. Even if all they get is stress at least then they won't have got away with their behaviour scot free.

In fact if the neighbours ever brag about their actions it I would be tempted to say "It will be difficult to sell with the boundary disputed though won't it".

It might even be worth looking into what you need to do to prevent the land becoming theirs after 12 years - might need to send a letter as I think to take land 12 years have to go by undisputed.

You have agreed to buy the house as it is. That is with the neighbours fence on your land. That doesn't mean that you need to give then the land.

One thing that struck me is that absolutely nobody seems to have spoken to or written to the neighbours about what they have done. They must be laughing up their sleeves.

Exactly this. It is beyond my comprehension why nobody has confronted the thieving neighbours and why everyone seems happy to let it lie. The very idea that, at some time in the future, the land register will be updated to reflect the thieving neighbour's ownership is unbelievable. But, having said that, they have erected a very high quality fence, we wouldn't want them to have wasted their time and money on that! 🙄

I understand that you wanted to take the pragmatic approach to get the sale over the line on a house you love and with the time pressures of completion and having to move from your current home, @MummyToBeAgain1 . I also understand that you didn't want to risk losing any money, be involved in a protracted process in dispute with the auctioneers, agents and seller, and have therefore negotiated a discount instead. I can see that you want to proceed with positivity and I wish you every happiness in your new home. At the same time:

I need further advice before proceeding.
Yes, you most certainly do.

I want you to ask yourself these very simple questions: Why have the neighbours stolen that particular strip of land? Why do they want and need it so much that they are prepared to blatantly steal it and put up a very substantial and expensive fence to secure it for themselves? It is quite an extreme thing to do and something most of us wouldn't do.

In the cases I have known where similar has happened, it is because they want to build or extend on their plot but haven't quite got enough room for what they want to do. That strip of land juts out into your garden and towards your house, if your diagram is correct. How would you feel if they use it in future to enable them to, for example, build an extension, a garage with a room over, an outdoor bar and hot tub area, a home office or gym, an annexe for a family member or to let out, a workshop, a septic tank, oil tank or heat pump? You might think that you wouldn't mind but the reality is most of us would mind when all those things can result in increased noise, windows opening out into your garden, and loss of light and privacy. What if it turns out that you need that land for something unforeseen in the future?

My advice would be to move in, let the dust settle and get over this unexpectedly stressful buying process. Later on you will be able to seek advice and think more clearly beyond the relief at getting over the line, having your new home and at a discount. Personally I would not be assigning the land to the neighbours via the Land Registry process. As a first stage, I suggest writing to them when you have settled in informing them that you are the new owners of the house, they were observed on x date by witnesses and instructing them to remove the fence and reinstate the boundary within 14 days.

One thing that struck me is that absolutely nobody seems to have spoken to or written to the neighbours about what they have done. They must be laughing up their sleeves.

@Netaporter As you know, the red line on the plan registered at the LR is only valid to within +/- 0.5m.

As far as I remember from the OP's early posts, the strip might fall within this as being less than half a metre wide along the length of part of the garden. Is that correct, OP?

I understand why OP wants to move on, but we’ve twice had issues with land that has made me realise how important it is to have clarity in deeds. In the first case, a tiny strip of land (1m wide) on one section of our property, with dubious ownership, required us to pay for insurance when we sold our property to cover the buyer … in case someone came back to claim that strip after we sold it to them. The second, a strip of land that is ours, but next to the neighbours house. We’ve had to send them copies of our deeds to stop them building on it.

OP might have resolved an issue to her satisfaction, but it could flare up again when either she or the neighbour sells their property in the future and a third party is involved.

Why would you knowingly inherit an unauthorised occupier?

Well OP, if you are happy with the situation then that is really all that matters.

I personally think this could potentially get very messy and extremely costly.....

I'm now off to do my shopping - and if anyone wants to dip into my trolley when I have paid for everything, I'll just let them, as this seems to be acceptable to let people help themselves to something that isn't rightfully theirs......

I would wait until the property is yours absolutely then send a surveyor and have the neighbours prove where their boundary is. They shouldn’t be getting the land for free, or at all.

That is a really good point @Netaporter and others

Reading this again it does sound like you are buying the whole plot complete with disputed bit, then agreeing to split the plot into 2 pieces. But who will own the disputed bit before and after you do the split? I can't imagine the sellers will be interested in keeping it or "getting it back" themselves and as you say there is no question of actually giving it to the neighbour.

It looks to me that you will be splitting the plot basically for your own convenience so you have one plot with your house on that is "free of dispute" so you can sell it, and a separate ransom strip that you own the title to but your neighbour is squatting on. Does that sound right?But if that is the case why does your agreement to split the land need to be part of the deal with the vendor at all?

@MummyToBeAgain1 I despair of trying to give you advice because you are not prepared to listen to your rights! the land has not be purchased by the cf neighbour. they know they are trying to steal the land! you have the right to take it back, no matter what you pay to the vendor!! stop being a sap and get on with it! you dont need to contact land registry. you need to demolish the cf fence and take your land back. it doesnt matter how much cf paid for their fence!! they knew they were doing wrong!