Neighbour may have stolen part of garden

Clearlier

I'm hoping that somebody can correct me if my thinking on this is incorrect.

We agreed a price to purchase a house more than 3 months ago. The house was immediately taken off the market and as it's a probate sale with the vendors not living nearby nobody has been in it since. We finally got confirmation on Wednesday that we are being offered a mortgage so I arranged with the estate agent to take a quick look to make sure that everything was as we expected it to be. During the visit the EA pointed out that the neighbours to the rear had replaced the fence. I was surprised because I didn't recall thinking that the fence needed to be replaced and annoyed because it is slightly shorter than the old one which means that it's possible to see into the neighbours kitchen/dining room.

The biggest drawback of the house (and the reason we could afford it) is that the garden is very small. Looking at it again it seemed smaller than I remembered but at the time I put it down to 3 months worth of grass growth and my memory but it has since occurred to me that in replacing the fence the neighbour may have been appropriating a small part of the garden. It's small enough that even a foot would make a big difference. It was so tight that we actually measured it with a measuring tape and spent a fair bit of time working out whether we could live with the garden or not. It has also occurred to me that if you were trying to steal a part of a garden that the point between a sale being agreed and the completion of that sale where the house is vacant would be an ideal time to do that.

If part of the garden has been taken I'm thinking that my options are to:

1. Just let it go and take it as it is. or
2. Tell the vendors to sort out before we go ahead with the sale.

As an aside we have to leave our rental in 3 weeks time and if we go down route 2 the vendors who were already markedly impatient even before the mortgage company messed up at every juncture will almost certainly decide not to sell to us.

I suppose I'm asking if there's an option where we go through with the purchase and then pursue the neighbours for the part of the garden that has been taken. I can't imagine there's a sensible one but I'd be interested in any thoughts.

P.S. I will be in contact with my solicitor first thing Monday too.

BobQ

You should ask your solicitor for the plan of the property you are buying. Alternatively pay £4 on line and download a copy from the land registry website. You should then check the situation on the site.

The fence is largely irrelevant. What matters is where is the boundary line. Unless there has been an agreed sale of part of the land which would be recorded on the plan and registered, it should be pretty obvious where the rear fence is from the neighbours rear boundary fences.

Either way you are buying the land with the stated boundary. If the fence is your side of the boundary line you can remove it (but be sure you are right). If you get the plan check your facts and speak to the neighbour and see what they say.

DVardysShadow

Take a look on google maps. That will give you a snapshot from before the new fence. Go back and have another viewing and check it out after you have looked at google maps. Check the corners where the new fence meets the old - there are likely to be clues. I think the first step is to decide for definite whether the fence has actually been moved. Note that the boundary plan is unlikley to be of sufficient resolution to resolve this.

If the boundary has moved, personally, I would not take the place until the annexors had been put back in their box. Although there is option 3 which is to note that the boundary has been moved and reduce the offer accordingly in the hope that the vendors go with option 2.

The one option I would not consider is to take the place on and fight it after purchase. It will be hard enough for the executors to resolve. It will be 10 times harder for you to resolve after you buy and I imagine you would lose for lack of evidence.

Don't get pressured by moving out of your rental [is there any scope to extend it?] - the grief which can come with this is too much to commit to a purchase while it is unresolved.

G_M

I agree with DVardy. Either accept it as is, or sort it before you commit.

The Land Registry will not help. Their Plans are not detailed enough to show a one foot change.

Yes, if the fence is on your land, of course you can remove it. But proving it is on your land, and the boundary is beyond the fence, will be hard.

Do you have to move out in 3 weeks? What plans has the LL for after you go? Has he a new tenant lined up? If you explain/discuss he may well be willing to allow you another week, 2 weeks, whatever.

Hump

Apart from increasing the size of their garden, has the moving of the fence line benefited the neighbour in any practical sense i.e. securing access to a shed, garage, alleyway, some aspect of the house? If it has, then it's more likely premeditated and they will likely be more resistant to steps to revert to the original fence line.

If not then it might be a simple mistake by them or their contractors in erecting a new fence..... or not!

Clearlier

Thanks for all the replies.

I have a copy of the land registry document and although the curved boundary is accurately described it is of course not detailed enough for this purpose.

I had a look on google maps but the boundary is obscured by trees/bushes that overhang the boundary. I have however two photographs of the boundary taken by the estate agent for marketing purposes. Interestingly the fence on one side (not the one of the neighbour in question) has different colour panels so it should be very straightforward to spot whether this has changed when I take another look.

Unfortunately there's no leeway on our rental - we didn't give notice and the accidental LL's have made it clear that they want to refurb and sell ASAP - and we haven't any family with 250 miles. I recognise that the bigger picture is important here though so we'll find a way to manage.

The motivation for the neighbour to increase their garden size is simply size. Their garden is also tiny and north east facing. Comparing theirs to the one that we're planning to buy I'd estimate the depth of their garden at a max of 25 feet.

I hadn't thought of reducing the offer but although nothing is certain until you try I would be going down this road with the belief that the vendors will withdraw which wouldn't be our ideal outcome.

DVardysShadow

Clearlier wrote: »

Unfortunately there's no leeway on our rental - we didn't give notice and the accidental LL's have made it clear that they want to refurb and sell ASAP - and we haven't any family with 250 miles. I recognise that the bigger picture is important here though so we'll find a way to manage.

A s21 notice does not set a deadline for moving out - it sets a deadline for the Landlord starting legal action. If your deposit is not protected and you have not been given the prescribed details, then the S21 is invalid. If you are in this sort of position, don't set the Landlord straight until you have to.

Clearlier

DVardysShadow wrote: »

A s21 notice does not set a deadline for moving out - it sets a deadline for the Landlord starting legal action. If your deposit is not protected and you have not been given the prescribed details, then the S21 is invalid. If you are in this sort of position, don't set the Landlord straight until you have to.

Thanks DVardys. The S21 was served correctly and our deposit was protected and we were given the appropriate details. I understand that we can just stay and force them to instigate legal proceedings but it's not a route that I would follow unless I felt I had absolutely no alternative options and I'm sure that we can work something out even if it's a long way from ideal.

Hoof_Hearted

Get a ladder and look over the fence. You should be able to see where the old fence was. If it's a few inches, I wouldn't bother as you do benefit from a new fence. Otherwise fight it before you move.

spinningsheep

Also, as well as considering the new fence benefit, consider this, for the sake of a few inches of garden space, you may cause an issue between you and your new neighbours, and if you intend you live there for more than a year or so, it could be the start of a very frosty relationship between you & neighbour. Is a few inches worth the grief?