Right of way not showing on title plan / deeds

[tiba]

Does it mean it does not exist?

We are end of terrace and the empty property adjoining has a gate into our back garden which as far as I can tell hasn't been used.

The empty house has recently sold and new owners will be moving in in the next few months.

We would like to extend and it would mean that the right of way over our land would need to be dissolved or moved.

I've just checked title deeds, title plan and searches from when we bought the house and nothing mentions any right of way to next door.

We have also been told by a company that backs onto the end of our garden, that our rear boundary line is where our trees are and not where the fence is.

This company want to remove said fence and create an access point to next door house on the other side.

I cannot for the life of me work out from the title plan if what he says is correct or not as it's just a red line drawn on a roughly drawn map.

What can I do here too?

Have you got the deeds of the company behind? I would buy them too to see where their boundary is and if it's the fence or trees.

If the trees are the boundary then the company behind have probably put the fence on their land within the boundary for security. Talk of adverse possession, etc is unnecessary and irrelevant. The OP just needs to be sure who owns the fence and that removing it isn't removing/damaging her property.

In the OP's position my concern would be security if a route through to the back if the houses is created where previously there wasn't one, even if it's on someone else's land.

So if there is a right of way it will be in your deeds, or theirs.

However, if the right of way has been used informally for a number of years it can become a legal one. This would involve ex owners of next door swearing that they had used the gate for however many years.

A right of way can be extinguished legally, it costs about £900 in legal fees plus whatever the other side wants in payment. It's very unlikely that anyone would give up a right of way if they wanted it though.

I would try and talk to the new owners and see of you can compromise around all these issues. Your first step should be a boundary surveyor who can try to establish where the boundary is. A solicitor can't help with that part.

I have just been through a boundary issue with a neighbour. It was horrendous. I am on anti depressants now, and we are having to move from our forever house. We were bullied and harassed and threatened over an 8 inch strip of land. The neighbour got what he wanted in the end as fighting was costing us so much money. Our solicitor told us we would win in court, but costs would be about 30k which would probably be awarded to us. Probably.

Our neighbour has built a 9 metre wide extension that is now just 4 inches wider. It's unbelievable. He destroyed one whole border of our garden and now refuses to pay compensation to us. He just laughs in our faces.

Just thought- would the compromise be you allow them to create an access from the back, they give up on the right of way meaning you can have an extension?