Boundary dispute

[Bluebird29]

Bought a bottom flat which is leasehold and it had been empty two years. The upstairs flat (only two flats) are trying to use 3 ft of the concrete yard. They have while it was empty installed an outside tap and a washing line and keep their bins there. I moved in at the beginning of the year and asked them not to use my yard. I want to put a fence up at the edge of my land but they refuse and say it needs to be 3ft in so they can use the tap and the washing line. The plan that is registered with the land registry shows the yard is my flats. There is also shared land around the flat and they are using it for their car and there’s no room for my car and if I leave my bin on the shared land they move them to the yard. I put my car on the shared drive when they were out once and they screamed at me banging the door until I moved it. My lease shows it to be shared land clearly and the yard mine alone. They want to use the first 3 ft of my yard. Can I put a fence up to stop this along the boundary or do I have to let them use my yard? Freeholder not interested and won’t get involved. I just don’t want them in my yard and I want to be secure. Am I wrong?

[Bluebird29]

I did but I didn’t realise about the land. There are dated photos showing it before they stole the land so they can’t say they have had it 12 years.

[Bluebird29]

I’m calling my legal helpline on my house insurance. I think it’s the only way.

[wowfudge]

This is horrible for you, but you must act. These people are bullying you and stealing what is rightfully yours.

[PotteryLady]

As a ground floor flat you have right to privacy so I imagine them taking 3 ft around the property would encroach on that and they can't do it- could you post a diagram - we love a diagram.

[wowfudge]

Any notion of rights to privacy is not material here: the OP has the title documents which clearly show what is hers and what is shared. These CFs have got away with having the place to themselves for two years at least and have lost the plot now a new owner has moved in.

[SimonBridges]

I’m guessing they own, so they must have copies of the land registry and such like.

[notapizzaeater]

Hope the legal insurance sorts it, a solicitors letter might be enough

[Jon66]

Bolt crop the padlock off, remove the tap and anything else on your property then have a fence erected pronto. The ball is then in their court to take legal action if they aren't happy rather than you having to do so. They won't.

[Jon66]

It's 10 years for adverse possession not 12.

[wowfudge]

It's not good advice to cut the padlock off and remove the tap although it would be what you'd want to do! Cutting the padlock would be criminal damage of the neighbours' property. As for removing their tap - the OP may have no means of isolating the water supply. Given their past behaviour, things could quickly escalate very unpleasantly.

The OP would do better to send them a solicitor's letter giving them a few days to sort things.

[Thegirlisnotright]

When you bought it, it sounds like the conveyancing wasn’t done thoroughly.
We had the opportunity to question any boundaries during our recent purchase. Also, the conveyancer actually visited the property to check the boundaries were all as they were supposed to be. I would be getting in touch with your solicitor asking why these discrepancies weren’t noted during your purchase.

[Bluebird29]

Is it usual for the solicitor to visit the place?

[Bluebird29]

I’ve been advised to send them a letter stating everything that must be moved including boundaries.

[Thegirlisnotright]

I don’t know if it’s usual, but ours certainly did to be sure of boundaries (he was a conveyancer not a solicitor in fact)

[Thegirlisnotright]

Just did random search to find this www.myerssolicitors.co.uk/property-boundaries-and-rights-of-access-what-are-they-and-why-do-they-matter/

It does seem to suggest that if the legal process has been done properly then potential boundary disputes should have been looked at, to make sure that everyone has the same understanding of the boundaries

[wowfudge]

Sorry but that's just bollocks: no conveyancer would visit and check the boundaries, unless perhaps they were doing their own conveyancing for their own purchase. They will check there are no discrepancies on the official records and advise a purchaser to check that everything is as they expect on the ground, i.e.at the property. Any potential issues the purchaser notices can then be flagged to the conveyancer/solicitor to be looked into.

OP I would strongly advise that you don't write to your neighbours asking them to 'move the boundaries'. From your threads, the boundaries are clear on the title documents, it is the fact that they have fenced off areas which aren't part of their title and erected gates which they have locked which are now preventing you from accessing your own property and property over which you have shared access rights which are the issues.

[wowfudge]

I'll rephrase that last post: it is highly unusual for a conveyancer to visit a property. The OP has already said she didn't realise they'd co-opted part of her garden, etc. What that doesn't mean is that she forfeits her rights to have things put right.

[Thegirlisnotright]

😂 I’m glad you rephrased- it did sound extremely rude but I’m sure you realised that. Ours did, and I’m glad of it. At the very least they should have checked that the title deeds matched the purchaser’s understanding of the boundaries on the ground so to speak.

[Thegirlisnotright]

And I didn’t say she had forfeited her chance to put things right, just that it would be worth talking to the solicitor she used for the purchase to see how this discrepancy could have happened.

[wowfudge]

The OP has already said herself upthread she did not realise what they had done until she'd lived in the flat a while.

With very little to base your comments on @Thegirlisnotright you told the OP her conveyancing wasn't done thoroughly! You then back tracked.

Had the OP realised something was amiss, the vendor would have needed to put things right before the sale went through.

[Thegirlisnotright]

Based on my obviously unusual experience of house buying I did think it hadn’t been done thoroughly. I consider myself corrected. It seems we have a more in depth conveyancing process where I live!

[Bluebird29]

I’ve asked them to remove the fence and return it to the position on the map.

[Bluebird29]

I’m still waiting for a call back from the insurance claims department but the phone line told me to right it all down.

[Bluebird29]

Right? Write damn autocorrect

[wowfudge]

Fingers crossed - have you set a time limit?