House boundary question

[Wemdubz]

Hi everyone.
Photo attached (under review by admin so may not be visible straightaway). I’ve lived here for 16 years and my elderly neighbour sadly died earlier this year. When I first moved in, she said to me “I’ve got a bit of your garden” and explained that when the fencing was put in years before I moved in, it was started at one end (the back garden), then at a later date, added to from the front garden but was obviously not done correctly and found to not meet in the middle! Hence the bridging piece and some garden being lost on my side.

It has never bothered me and was left as it was rather than moving the concrete posts several inches over. I had not noticed this when I bought the house and it was never mentioned by the previous owner who I bought from.

The house next door has just gone up for sale and I’m wondering if I should just leave the fence boundary as it is or whether I should try and confirm exactly where the correct boundary is prior to any sale (as I’m aware I’m going off my neighbours say so!).

I’m thinking about this now because I’m planning to sell within the next 18 months and wonder if a buyer
might question the boundary and it become a lengthy process.

Has anyone experienced a similar situation?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

You need to get a surveyor and get this sorted. But you could ask if the owner of Nextdoor is willing to support the cost, as having it uncertain may affect the sale. But that bit of land might now belong to Nextdoor as the boundary has been wrong so long.

There unlikely to be any legal documents that indicate the fence line to within inches, it'll likely be sold as seen.
If I were selling (or staying) I wouldn't be legally contesting moving concrete posts a few inches.

Thanks for the replies. I’m in agreement with what you are saying about the boundary having been like this for so long and there likely being no concrete evidence of where it should be. I’m inclined to just leave it and hope it’s not an issue when I sell.

Start with getting your plans and the neighbours plans from all around you. Hold them in your hand and pace out your boundaries, note where the fences are and if there is any divergence. You don’t want any divergence.

Get a surveyor, notify the neighbours and/or the selling agent and get it sorted out. Now. Giving away good land that has a dollar value does no one any favours.

And, ffs, when does “I hope it isn’t a problem later” hold any legal weight?

It should be an issue when you sell OP. Get it sorted now.

Are you happy with the boundary where it is? If so I can't imagine what problem could be caused by it being a few inches wrong.

Because maybe the next owner won't be happy with it @JumpingPumpkin . We always ask clients to check the boundary against the title plan when buying. It's better to get it sorted now given that OP knows it might differ than cause a delay when she's selling.

That’s not a thing as the fence was put in by consent of the previous owner and the OP has always known and also consented to the fence being there.

Adverse possession (which is what you are thinking about here) is when land is occupied without consent of the owner for a continuous period of 10 years and with the intention by the other party of acquiring ownership. None of that applies here.

No one has yet indicated that they are a lawyer in this area nor am I, but my knowledge is that boundaries on the title plan are indicative, your neighbour may be mistaken, the fences may be owned by different sides, one fence may be shared and the other not, one may have been put in by the builders and one later.
But I agree there's a chance it could cause issues if an eagle eyed buyer was concerned
I would recommend the simplest option is to take out one post and cut the last panel and put it at an angle, then it won't look obvious and it can be the informal boundary

Sorry @johnd2 , do we need to announce ourselves?

Residential property solicitor here!

Thanks for the input. As mentioned, I don’t have a massive issue with it (although it is unsightly!) but I imagine that a new buyer might disagree and had I known about it when I was a buyer, I might have been inclined to try and rectify it.

@TheSandgroper I do intend to get the plans and I realise it might be frustrating to see someone say “I’ll worry about it later” but I’m dealing with 2 family members with dementia and a stroke so this just feels like a potential battle I don’t want to take on but deep down know I probably should.

I’ve just downloaded the title plan from the land registry but it doesn’t really help me much. I’m going to see if I still hold any of the paperwork from when I purchased (think it’s all in the loft) to see it there’s anything useful in there. I think next steps then need to be a surveyor.

Not at all, I was just saying that no one had, I didn't say that there was any obligation to. Sorry for the lack of clarity on that.

I’m also pondering whether because I purchased the house ‘as is’ and my solicitor/surveyor didn’t raise this issue, and nor did I, is it too late to now pursue this.

Like you OP, I probably wouldn’t be bothered too much BUT we’ve seen enough on here about boundary disputes so I would definitely look into it.
At some point it might make a difference to a new owner.

That's the thing, unless a formal agreement has been made of the precise position of the boundary the Land Registry plan doesn't show the exact position of the boundary.

@Wemdubz it was for you to raise at the time. Conveyancing doesn't pay enough for home visits, so you would have been sent a copy of the plan and asked to say if you thought there was a discrepancy.

Look at your registration from the Land Registry. If the same transfer document is mentioned in both the A and C registers and it says "copy filed", there's a fair chance that it has a more detailed title plan. You should have been sent a copy of that transfer when you bought your house.

Thank you x