Potential boundary dispute

[Sonnet]

I would really welcome some advice on this. We live in an old cottage which we purchased in 1999. Our garden is a rectangle with a short piece added (approx 8feet x 8 feet). This piece of land is clearly marked on our deeds.
I was approached by the daughter of the landowner behind us to say that there was a potential boundary dispute in the future. I assumed she meant about this extra piece of land but in fact she says we are also occupying an extra 6 foot strip across the back of our garden. This also affects our neighbours. I was extremely surprised by this as our garden (with the exception of the extra bit) is enclosed by an old stone wall.

Today I saw her with a chap with clipboard and pen walking our boundary, stopping and talking and writing things down.
Can she force a re marking of the boundaries dispite our deeds. This will effect our house price too.
I would really appreciate any help as I am worried sick at the moment

. Bump

Hi, I am not a legal expert in any way, but I got help with questions on www.gardenlaw.co.uk in their boundaries forum (I saw it recommended for info on mumsnet).

They often have some property experts (solicitors, surveyors etc) who respond on there. Link is www.gardenlaw.co.uk/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=4

Hope that helps.

Thank you Lambzig

It would have to be done through a surveyor initially . Presumably she is saying the physical boundary doesn't match the deeds ? If you can demonstrate that you or your predecessor have occupied the land for x years (adverse possession I think it is called) I think you would have a counterclaim anyway. What do neighbours say ?

At least she had the courtesy to forewarn you so it will be useful to keep that dialogue channel open.

The royal institute of chartered surveyors can advise you on this. Deed markings can be inaccurate so you may need professional advice.

Good luck

Adverse posession requires occupation for 12 years. Looks like you can prove that so I'm not sure what she's doing it for.

Check the land registry title plan. It's not a definitive map of the exact boundaries. The stone wall seems a more reliable guide to me.

Please get advice from a solicitor.We bought a property 10 years ago which had outbuildings which were on our deeds and lost them due to the land registry having 'made a mistake',they were transfered and we had no recompence from land registry and we have to put up with some neighbours delighting in telling anyone who will listen how 'those incomers stole property'.Really feel for you as a dispute can ruin your life.We were threatened and police were involved so now we cant sell without disclosing this.Hope you get things sorted.

We had neighbours who tried to make out that they were entitled to around two feet of our garden, based on the way boundaries ran on surrounding houses. They also implied that as we had "only" been there 8 years we wouldn't have a leg to stand on as we needed to prove 12 years. I had great satisfaction when their sols letter arrived letting them know that we had bought the house from my parents who had owned it from new since 1976 and here was a photo of 7 year old me next to the original boundary fence!

Land registry can provide a lot of helpful info too.

Boundary disputes are the most difficult to resolve. My neighbour had a dispute with his neighbour, each one's surveyor siding with them. My sis had the same with her neighbour.

From what my neighbour said, I know, as got the correct info from the council, that he was in the wrong, but he won the case as being in the right.

It's a nightmare.
Your photo of the wall being there for so long will likely to be your saving grace about that boundary.
Good luck

Please try, if you possibly can, to keep this amicable. I do realise that it's not of your making, but even so. Do get solicitors involved - your home insurance might provide legal expenses cover.

Having dealt with a few of these, it can sap your cash and your life away.

We've just had a similar problem here.

My solicitor advised me to apply for Possessory Title from the Land Registry, which I did in November 2012. I have lived in my property for 14 years and the piece of garden in question was also clearly marked on my Deeds, but somehow over the years there seems to be a discrepancy of where the boundary actually lay. I actually think there has been a monumental error somewhere (probably at Land Registry itself, though they wouldn't entertain that idea!). Land Registry decided to make a site visit and issued Statutory Notices to my neighbours in case they had a claim on it. The Statutory Notices gave the neighbours 20 days to respond. Fortunately, there were no objections and I was given Possessory Title last Friday.

Land Registry can supply a detailed map (for a fee) from the Title Register which may help determine who the land is registered to.

I am so relieved but also irritated that it took nearly three months of negotiations, which included aerial photographs of the land via Google Earth dating back to 1999 as well as photos of my young children playing in the garden - they are now adults.

Good luck, hope you can get something sorted out very soon.

Thank you all so much for the invaluable advice. I have an Aries photo taken in 1962 showing the boundaries as they are now so I am puzzled as to why she is doing this. Her parents struggle to maintain the land they have so why add more.
I will read your replies in more detail now

Aries photo should be ariel photo.

How strange . You would've thought they'd have noticed a discrepancy before now. We had a boundary dispute which was pretty cut and dried in everyone but the disputer's mind (LR, title plan etc all backed us up) but it still took five years to resolve - completely in our favour - and was extremely stressful . Good luck - it sounds as if the neighbours don't have much to go on.