Boundary question

[alc3254]

Whose responsibility is it to determine the exact limit of the house's boundaries?

We have offered on a house that we thought/were told by the EA probably had a small fence buried with the boundary mess of brambles and hedge. There is no fence. The width of this bramble mix ranges from just under a metre to less than half a metre, in fact at the bottom of the garden it has collapsed in itself. The land around one side and end of the garden is private land.

My solicitor has shown me the land registry map but has suggested we pay for surveyors once we complete to be sure that when we put up a fence we are accurate. I think he will do anything for an easy life and this is the easiest suggestion for him, but is it our only option? Do the vendors have any responsibility here (we have yet to exchange if that makes a difference).

Thanks for any advice.

EAs will not usually get involved in these kinds of things. Your solicitor's suggestion sounds sensible to me. The difficulty with translating boundary lines from the title plan to the ground is that there is a margin of error and it's easier to be accurate when the plans show identifiable features you can line up with. This might be more difficult in a situation like yours. But if there were to be any issue over where the boundary fence has been put then the fact you had consulted a surveyor would show you had acted reasonably.

Thanks for your answer wowfudge. Do you think this is something the vendor has any responsibility for?

Also...I have no clue with these things. Is this type of survey something that would cost £500 or £2500? Anyone have any experience of this?

Hi @alc3254 In what way? What do you think they might be responsible for?

Responsible for knowing/determining where their boundary is.

The title plan shows where the boundary is, nothing else is required from the vendors. Ring some local surveyors and ask what they would charge for advising on the boundary line on the ground. Tbh this is largely academic - if you can be sure your fence is within the boundary on your side then it's fine. You may need to let the other owner know you have put the fence on your land, not along the boundary so there's no confusion. For all you know the other owner may be happy to work it out between you and even share the costs of putting a fence in.

Thanks again wowfudge. The private land belongs to a development company hence why this could get tricky. We would want to put the fence right on the boundary as we would look to extend the property and will need every cm. I will contact surveyors and speak again to my solicitor.