Has anyone had a boundary dispute and if so how did it go?

Associate
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Hi all, so bought my house about a year ago. At the time the back garden was so over grown you could barely access a lot of it. After it was all hacked back I noticed a sizeable chunk of the side of the back garden had been taken by next door.

Basically what they have done is put a wall between our garages (I should be able to walk down the side of it acccording to deeds) and then put a wall on the back of the garage. As in the picture below.

Left: How it should be. Right: How it is.

QW2meRk.jpg

I looked at Google earth and rolled back the years and see it happened around 10 years ago. It looks like there used to be a big thick hedge. Which he has removed and then put a wall in right over my side.

Now I was considering wether to bring it up or not, presuming if I do it will be the end of friendly relations. My dad decided to bring it up with him and he aggressively replied "it always been like that" and then was heard slamming his bins and kicking things about in his garden. So to get anything done I would think would need to be via other channels.

How has this worked out for others? I'd rather get on with my neighbours but at the same time I don't think its right.
 
Tea Drinker
Don
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You might regret any dispute if and when you come to sell, same for your neighbour, it would be much better to mutually agree something. Solicitors rub their hands together writing letters back and fourth albeit you should at least formally raise something if only a letter with copies of the boundaries and your concerns.
 
Associate
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Badly. I wouldn't bother unless it's of significant financial gain (which it doesn't look like it is). His reaction sounds like he knows it's wrong, I have the same at work with hundreds of sites that the company owns.

Lands tribunal is the most expensive court in the land and people get mega retarded over inches of land. Not unheard of £250k in legal fees...each...and the winner gets a few feet of land. I think Vinnie Jones ended up in one a number of years back.

If you want to trust me a postcode I'll send you a snap shot from the Land Registry to show you how it is registered. I have access to the mapsearch system. The changes to the LRA 2002 and Adverse Possession make it almost impossible to claim registered land these days.
 
Man of Honour
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Nothing to add but I don't envy you - one of my neighbours where I lived before where I am now was embroiled in one (albeit a bit more complex as it involved the council and national rail) and a lot of money later it was no nearer resolution at the time we moved.

One thing you have to keep in mind though - people who knowingly do this, they aren't your friend(s) no matter how cordial relations might be.
 
Soldato
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Surely if it’s your land you should be in your rights to remove his fence and erect your own to re-establish the correct boundary.

That's exactly how a boundary dispute starts.

So OP waits for neighbour to go on holiday, and then erects a new fence along the original boundary, neighbour then comes home and destroys the fence, OP calls the police, police say civil matter and it ends up in the court.

OP could just as well do the reverse - take down the fence, as long as you haven't vandalised it, the police will refuse to get involved and say it'll need to go through the court.

As SeatIbiza says, unless there's a sizeable bit of land, it's probably not worth the effort. You could go round to your neighbour and show him the deeds and say either he buys the land off you, or he puts the fence back on the original boundary. But you either take it further, or you bluff and get him to believe you're serious about taking it further and hope that he folds.
 
Soldato
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I've got a neighbour like this. I've got a small corridor of what was inaccessible space on my front garden that adjoined next doors drive due to the way the front garden was landscaped.
Moved in to the property and they had a couple of their plant pots on it which I said was fine, they then put another plant pot there without asking me, and eventually progressed to placing their recycling box there, at which point I had enough and got a gate put in the fence to enable access and asked them to remove it all.

The point is, I think some people just aren't happy with their lot and want something for nothing and genuinely believe they have some entitlement to land which isn't theirs because it isn't being used.

As per the OP's situation don't let them get away with it. Get a fencer in and have them demolish what's there and reestablish the boundary.
 
Sgarrista
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Grab the deeds from land registry for both properties and see where it is. Then a stern letter saying you will be taking it back or he buys it off you, set a date you will be "correcting" the situation, and put up something that the only way for him to remove it is criminal damage.

Its how one of my neighbors did it to a rather unpleasant family living next to him. They made a lot of noise and threats but when D day came he, and his workers just got to work and that was the end of it.

Make sure his fence and any other "property", plants I guess, are left on his side without being destroyed also, lots of proof.
 
Soldato
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Imo not worth the grief it will cause.

Living next to neighbours that you hate is the worst thing i can imagine

The trouble is people who take liberties such as this do so on presumption the other person will let it slide because of the perceived awkwardness and animosity it'll create if they challenge it.

Whereas if the OP had been the aggressor, given the reaction of his neighbour when he got told about the boundary being wrong, there's no way he'd let it slide.

It's tantamount to bullying, and the OP shouldn't be intimidated to tackle the situation. It's his land he is in the right.
 
Soldato
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The trouble is people who take liberties such as this do so on presumption the other person will let it slide because of the perceived awkwardness and animosity it'll create if they challenge it.

Whereas if the OP had been the aggressor, given the reaction of his neighbour when he got told about the boundary being wrong, there's no way he'd let it slide.

It's tantamount to bullying, and the OP shouldn't be intimidated to tackle the situation. It's his land he is in the right.

ok so you get a small piece of land back and spend the rest of The time living there giving each other filthy looks, suspicions back and fourth every time something happens. Also neighbour disputes have to he mentioned when selling house.

If someone tried to do it whilst i was living at the house then it would be a different situation, moving in a year ago and finding out that its been like that for ages is different.
 
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The trouble is people who take liberties such as this do so on presumption the other person will let it slide because of the perceived awkwardness and animosity it'll create if they challenge it.

Whereas if the OP had been the aggressor, given the reaction of his neighbour when he got told about the boundary being wrong, there's no way he'd let it slide.

It's tantamount to bullying, and the OP shouldn't be intimidated to tackle the situation. It's his land he is in the right.
Bingo. It’s not about taking someone else’s land it’s about reclaiming what has been taken.
 
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ok so you get a small piece of land back and spend the rest of The time living there giving each other filthy looks, suspicions back and fourth every time something happens. Also neighbour disputes have to he mentioned when selling house.

If someone tried to do it whilst i was living at the house then it would be a different situation, moving in a year ago and finding out that its been like that for ages is different.
Why though. He’s not taking the mick he claiming what he legally owns. If the neighbour is willing to be a dick about something that can proven and is merely a case of reclaiming what has already been taken, what else can he be a dick about.

Do it the right way and with a smile on your face. What comes as a results is a reflection of the neighbour.

It’s easy to take the easy route all of the time but sometimes you’ve got to stand your ground or in this case reclaim that ground.
 
Associate
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Why though. He’s not taking the mick he claiming what he legally owns. If the neighbour is willing to be a dick about something that can proven and is merely a case of reclaiming what has already been taken, what else can he be a dick about.

Do it the right way and with a smile on your face. What comes as a results is a reflection of the neighbour.

It’s easy to take the easy route all of the time but sometimes you’ve got to stand your ground or in this case reclaim that ground.

Until you get dragged into court...this is not good advice. The titles show a straight line boundary between the pair and also shows the garages touching, unlike the diagram so either something has changed or the plans aren't quite right.

OP - sent you email. Pics would help analyse better...!
 
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