land boundaries issue

moneyistooshorttomention

..and I thought the previous owner of my house had landed me in it and left all sorts of problems to be sorted out....:cool:

The previous owner really shouldnt have asked the Council if they would give him some of next doors garden - and its not surprising that "next door" current owner is upset about that (but their "beef" is basically with the previous owner of your house for having done that).

But I'm guessing you didnt know what previous owner of your house had done at the time you bought it - so the dispute isnt really "yours" in that sense.

Since the previous owner has done this - then I guess the thing now is to get written proof that part of next doors garden was given to your house. If you can get that proof - then duly provide copy of this to the neighbour to prove that that bit of garden has legitimately become your houses' property (ie was officially given by or bought from the Council).

Maybe the neighbour believes your house acquired that bit of their garden by squatting it - and that's why they are creating about it. It will put it in a bit of a different light if they know it was legitimately acquired (ie by purchase or cheeky request being granted).

Cakeguts

Does the next door neighbour own the house or is it still council owned? If it isn't council owned any more it looks as if the council has sold it using plans that have never been updated?

It might be an idea to ask the council what they sold to the next door neighbout because if these changes happened 50 years ago the next door neighbour might not have been told and may be relying on a plan that is out of date.

Norman_Castle

pilavas wrote: »

When the previous owner bought the property off the council he decided to apply for more side space from the other property as it was council owned.

If the other property was council owned and is now owned by the neighbor the neighbor should have disputed the boundary as part of their purchase.

Take lots of pictures showing the area and mark where the boundary was for the pictures. take pictures of all changes.

loveka

I have been in this position, but in my case I have lived in the house for 17 years, and the neighbour was new.

Boundary disputes are horrendous, and c as n be very costly, even when you are in the right, as you are.

Whatever the why's and wherefore's, the land belongs to your house if it has been part of t he property for that long. The neighbour has no right in law to do what he is doing.

The problem is , how to enforce the law. It costs money. And even if you end up in court and win, you may not be awarded costs. Our solicitor told me that judges hate boundary diisputes , they think people should work things out between them. Very unfair in my opinion!

You need to get a solicitor to write to the neighbour in the first instance, threatening you will call the police for criminal damage and trespass. If he carries on after that, call the police, but a also mention a breach of the peace.

You need to try and talk to him sensibly- he doesn't sound like the sort, but at least try.

If he wants the land, he should really take you to court to get you evicted from it. He would lose if he did this- the land is yours!

In the end we split the land with our neighbour, which I regret now. But we were facing potentially huge legal bills to fight him for a tiny strip of land. I am on anti depressants, the stress and upset have been immense. We are trying to sell up now, as I cannot bear to live next door to someone who has bullied me , and I just can't bear the sight of him. He has ended up with 4 inches more width of land, and for that he has destroyed our relationship, dug up and destroyed my plants in order to claim his land, pushed me to the edge of despair... I hope your neighbour is not as stubborn as mine, I really do!

Davesnave

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

. It will put it in a bit of a different light if they know it was legitimately acquired (ie by purchase or cheeky request being granted).

I don't think councils have ever acceded to requests, cheeky or otherwise, without receiving appropriate payment and going through the correct legal procedures. That's how councils work.

As there was a solicitor involved, it's fair to assume that the previous owner didn't do anything underhand, but it's entirely possible that a deed of variation has somehow been detached from next door's paperwork.

Cakeguts

It might be an idea for your solicitor or someone to ask the next door neighbour to prove the land belongs to them. Including asking them if the fence was in that position when they moved into the house because if it was then they need to have what that means explained to them.

pilavas

I am in full contact with the previous owner who sent me a letter dated 6th December 1979 from the solicitor he used mentioning he has submitted plans for the driveway and garage, and I can see on the ordnance map that the garage is there, surely planning permission would have have been granted without a drive path to your own garage.

I managed to get the police to talk to him and he tried to show them he title plan but the just told him to stop the building and seek a solicitor.

Now it's just a waiting game, have installed CCTV and in the process of acquiring a land surveyor to check the boundaries but to be honest he is really trying to pull a fast one with me thinking I would just let it go.

Luckily behind the garage there is a brick wall which has been there for a while and it etches out 12 inches to his side showing the true border and the fence in the front is also untouched just the middle he is playing around with. I would assume the land surveyor would just need to connect the dots and say hey your new wall is wrong as it makes the border uneven and should be a straight line according to the plan.

So his argument is that the map is all wrong and thinking he should correct it. the fact he waited so long to make any changes shows he is trying his luck with me but I am not going to give in and will fight to the end. Since the police have spoken to him he has not done any work and I now have CCTV watching his every move.

pilavas

kathrynha wrote: »

Have you got legal cover on your house insurance?

decided to get buildings insurance instead never thought in a million years this would ever happen.

Davesnave

pilavas wrote: »

decided to get buildings insurance instead never thought in a million years this would ever happen.

Legal assistance insurance is available as an add-on to house insurance, just as it is with car insurance for car-related matters, like pursuing a claim against an uninsured driver.

moneyistooshorttomention

At the moment though - I cant see anything on here from you saying what the proof is that this bit of garden is officially yours - ie that bit of land has been bought from the Council (ie by previous owner).

All you have told us to prove the land is yours is that the previous owner of your house has verbally told you its yours.

Do you have written proof that the land is yours? - ie proof that it was bought from the Council?

If you don't have that written proof that it has been officially acquired by your property - then one can understand why the neighbour believes it still belongs to his property.

So - do you have written proof it has been bought from the Council?