Neighbour Boundary Gate and Ownership Dispute

Davesnave

stator wrote: »

No but he might possibly claim adverse possession and claim the land now belongs to him. I don't know if that applies to a boundary or not but 20 years is enough time.

He can't claim adverse possession if the entrance has been used non-exclusively, and it sounds as if the OP has been using it.

kev25v6

As mentioned on gardenlaw a lot of times, if a neighbour erects a fence on your boundary (not on their land) they essentially gift you the fence even though they paid for it. If the gate is on your land then it's your gate, if he paid for the gate he should have put it on his land.

Vectis

lois2409 wrote: »

... I am assuming he did erect the fence many years ago before we bought the house...

You've said that you assume that the fence belongs to him so, logically, wouldn't the gate attached to the fence belong to him too?

If so, it would have been wrong for you to have painted it. But, it does seem very trivial, especially if you have been maintaining it over the years.

I really can't see anyone taking this much further. No sane person would take you to Court over an old gate and, even if they did, what's the worst that could happen? You had to buy a new gate. Hardly worth the bother.

lois2409

Thank you so much for all your advice and thoughts. This has really got me down and the neighbour is quite pathetic to be honest. He appears to have nothing better to do. Me and my husband have ignored his email and I am expecting another one from him in the next day or so to say we have ignored his request to put the gate back to how it was blah blah blah, he may threaten us with legal action but it appears from all the comments that I do have a strong case. The neighbours wife even came out this morning and spoke to the young lad painting our garden fence to paint the gate back to it's original colour as it belongs to them! Nasty people and I had to go and tell the young lad to just refer them to me if they say anything further.
I am still waiting for my account to be activated on Garden Law and I will post my original message on there which many of you have kindly advised me to do.
This is my very first time on this forum and you have all been so kind and honest and I thank you all very much.

esmerelda98

I personally would not ignore him. People can get very offended by being ignored and this can lead to stronger action than a simple response that basically says you have painted the fence because you believe it to be yours. It is then up to him to prove otherwise and you can refuse to engage further until he produces evidence that suggests you are wrong.

stator

kev25v6 wrote: »

As mentioned on gardenlaw a lot of times, if a neighbour erects a fence on your boundary (not on their land) they essentially gift you the fence even though they paid for it. If the gate is on your land then it's your gate, if he paid for the gate he should have put it on his land.

Genuinely interested if you know of any case history for that? Because I believe it is the other way around. If you leave some objects on a neighbours land they still belong to you. If your neighbour destroys your property I believe they could be liable, even if you had no right to put it on their land.

stator

Can you illustrate the length and size of the gate? Does it form the whole of your boundary, or the whole of his boundary, or are they both the same? Is it identical to some other fences that are on his undisputed property or entirely on your property?

esmerelda98

I missed the bit where you said the fence might actually belong to your neighbour after all. It's an important point which would affect my response.

lois2409

I've attached a picture showing a rough plan of where the gate is. Not sure if I've attached the image correctly but if I have. The gate is clearly marked that I am referring to. It continues on from our garden fence and it is the gate to our paddock. It is a timber gate that is wide enough to have a tractor drive on the field when we require a cut. Does the size make any difference?

The neighbour's boundary runs vertically as the picture shows but as this gate is the only gate/fencing separating his drive from our paddock, I assume it is a boundary gate. Not sure how he would prove it is his as I have a copy of his deeds and I can't see it stated in there anywhere!

Have to edit this as the image is not working! Not sure how to attach a jpeg image? It is asking for the URL to web page which I don't have or know how to do this!

pinkshoes

You could youse something like photobucket to add the image.

I would write to him with a copy of your deeds, showing your boundary, and asking why, if he purchased the gate himself, did he gift it to the previous owner by installing it on his land.

Surely he would have noticed you staining it for 14 years and therefore knew you were maintaining it?

I would offer him his gate back as a good will gesture if he can provide proof of purchase, and as another gesture of good will, you will not he billing him for maintenance done to the gate over the last 14 years to prevent it deteriorating.