Potential boundary issue with the house we're buying?

[ForTheLoveOfFaff]

Hello, was wondering if anyone can give me a steer on how best to proceed with this?

We've had our offer accepted on a house and have just instructed solicitors. When we viewed the house we noticed that the garage wall is built approx 25cm from what we believe to be the boundary of the property. The eaves and gutter of the garage extend out about the same distance - i.e. up to the boundary with next door.

The issue is that the neighbour appears to have extended the paving of their pedestrian path right up to the garage wall - i.e. under the eaves of the garage - there's no fence between the two properties for the length of the garage; the fence line in front and behind the garage is in line with the eaves. Fwiw I don't think this is a recent "land grab", the neighbour's pathway looks pretty well bedded in, iykwim.

Is this something that we need to inform our solicitor about? I'm a bit concerned that if we don't get it on the table and the situation clarified, it could come back and bite us on the bum later. Or is it a none-issue?

Any words of wisdom will be gratefully received!

If you're concerned, speak to your solicitor.

I would contact your solicitor now to work it out

We had a boundary issue where the owner built over the boundary wall. He was desperate to sell in a tough market so we said he needed to remedy the issue before we proceeded. The estate agent and his solicitor told him that the same thing would happen again if he didn't sort it out.

Sort it out now!

Thanks for the responses. Sounds like we need to alert the solicitor asap then. The house was previously sold about 5 years ago (it was a renovation project) so hopefully it will have been picked up then and will have been sorted out. We have the vendor's phone number, it might be worth speaking to the directly to see if they looked into it when they purchased.

So they paved a small strip of land it seems. Mention it but this is common. We have this (except next door built and extension inside their boundary) it's really not an issue

Hi Op,
We have encountered pretty much the same situation so was wondering if you ever managed to resolve this?

Are you likely to ever need a 25cm strip on the far side of your garage?

What could you do with it that wouldn't require you go into your neighbour's garden to upkeep?

I imagine if it's paved, it's best left as it is.

@ChocolateDeficitDisorder

Are you likely to ever need a 25cm strip on the far side of your garage?

What could you do with it that wouldn't require you go into your neighbour's garden to upkeep?

I imagine if it's paved, it's best left as it is.

Hi, Normally i would agree but in this case it does matter because we are planning to remove the garage when we are in possession of the house. And once we do - we will risk being left with the awkward situation of disputing with the neighbours, who actually own that little strip of land. Land registry titles show all garden boundaries run in straight lines so that strip should belong to the house we plan to buy. But whether the neighbour will agree is another thing. In a way i kind of answered my own question. Most probably best clarify and have an agreement before we exchange.

Is it not possible that to keep it looking neat and tidy the sellers (or those who lived there at the time) arranged for it to be paved at the same time to match? Unless they have fenced off or are using your land, it doesn’t sound like a boundary dispute as it’s quite reasonable to have matching/shared paving/patio that goes across the boundary line.

I'm sure this was sorted one way or another as this is from Oct last year