Thank you for clicking on today’s informative Property Surveying blog post topic.
Through today’s post we are going to be looking at boundary disputes.
Boundary disputes, boundary determination and boundary surveying is one of the most common and typical services that we undertake here at Stokemont on a daily basis.
Unfortunately, boundary disputes are conventional and common and in many cases can arise even where neighbourly relations are good, or have been good for a long period of time.
In our experience here at Stokemont, boundary disputes tend to arise when there is going to be some form of interaction or change with the existing current boundary line. Typical examples of these changes include, however are obviously not limited to;
CHANGES TO FENCES
It is not unconventional for owners to want to upgrade and refresh their gardens. Typically this will be done in the warmer months of the year, or just in advance of the warmer months of the year, so that the owner undertaking the landscaping and garden works can gain the full benefit of them.
Typically this refresh to the garden will involve the replacing or existing fences, which in many cases are outdated, dilapidated and deteriorated.
In many cases, when these types of discussions take place, one of the neighbours can take a particular issue with the set out or location of where the fences are to be installed or the direction in which they are to be installed.
This is a very typical and conventional dispute that we see here at Stokemont on a daily basis.
PLANNED CONSTRUCTION WORKS
Another typical example of boundary dispute that we see here at Stokemont is when one owner is planning on undertaking works to their property.
These works will inevitably interact with the boundary in some shape or form. Usually, with the intended flank wall of the new extension being built up to, or astride the boundary line.
This can often raise issue from the neighbouring owner, as equally, just as with the fence point mentioned above, they may take issue with the placement or location of where that wall is going to be and how it interacts with the boundary line.
With any planned works, our advice here at Stokemont would be to ensure that open discussions are had with the neighbouring owner as soon as possible.
In many cases, an informed neighbouring owner is usually going to be far more susceptible to the idea of the works and ultimately that could bode well for a positive Party Wall Notice response in due course when the Party Wall Notices are served.
ONGOING DISPUTE
The final element of typical boundary disputes we see here at Stokemont is ongoing boundary disputes.
A good example of this could be an issue whereby the neighbours have for a long time had a disagreement on the boundary line, however never actually put in place protocols or procedures to address or deal with the matter.
This type of scenario is incredibly common and the above two options will often result in this historic boundary dispute being jolted back to life and thrown into the mix at a pivotal junction of time.
Our advice here at Stokemont, is that if there is grumblings of boundary disputes, we would advise they are discussed as soon as possible with the neighbouring owner and some form of procedures administered and put in place to best minimise the effect of the boundary dispute snowballing and getting out of hand.
Ultimately, boundary disputes are an incredibly stressful procedure and in many cases the instruction of a boundary surveyor and boundary dispute specialist will just be the starting point.
What can likely follow will be the boundary surveyor’s inspection and reports, comprehensive discussion with the neighbour in respect of the boundary surveyor’s report outcome and finally if there is still a dispute between the respective owners ultimately this could end up in court or the first tier tribunal.
The latter obviously being the worst possible outcome as it will not only affect the overall neighbourly relations often rendering them unrepairable, but will also carry with it significant cost for both respective owners not to mention the stresses that come with such formal procedures.
Here at Stokemont if you are reading this and finding that a lot of the points are resonating with you and ringing true to your position on site and at your property, we would advise getting in touch with us as soon as possible, or failing that getting in touch with another boundary surveyor.
The key thing when there are boundary disputes is to act quickly, transparently and be in full possession of the facts.
If you would like to discuss this blog post, boundary surveying matters, boundary disputes, or any other boundary matter, please feel free to give our experienced and qualified boundary surveyors a call today and we would be more than happy to assist and advise you.
We are also very proud to offer 30 minutes free no strings advice to any new enquirer.
All you need to do to take us up on this is to give us a shout by telephone. Alternatively, you can simply ping over a bit of information via email and we will review and come back to you with some initial advice from one of our experienced surveyors.
