Strip of land with new build not ours

Davesnave

I still think it is simply a retained hedgerow, which must be common on developments, because I can think of 3 without even trying.

In two of these cases, I know residents aren't fond of them because the trees cast shade, rob the soil of moisture/nutrients and cost an arm & a leg to maintain.

moneyistooshorttomention

It's going to vary.

The next door neighbour of the strip of land I know of does want their plants maintained/not touched by anyone else/etc so is quite happy with the arrangement.

Davesnave

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

It's going to vary.

The next door neighbour of the strip of land I know of does want their plants maintained/not touched by anyone else/etc so is quite happy with the arrangement.

The council and builders don't typically take account of what any single resident wants. The usual scenario is that the builder has to commission an environmental report as part of the planning process for a new estate or development, This will indicate what species there are, and in the case of existing flora, what might be beneficially retained.

Once those trees and the hedgerow are in the plans, that's it. Residents will be expected to maintain them in consultation with the local authority. In the case of trees 40' high, as in the road where we rented for a while, only approved tree surgeons could reduce them, at the residents' expense, and in consultation with the council's tree officer.

Maybe your friend doesn't have expensive trees to control, or maybe the council was formerly lumbered with the job which is nowadays handed to residents in some form or other, rather than the tax payer.

I came up against all this with the estate next to the bungalow ! inherited. On the plans, I got an open space on one side of the garden and a 5m wide wildlife corridor along the back. When I protested that this would mean the corridor filling-up with old mattresses, fridges and other random waste the council said, "Tough!" and handed me the relevant environmental bumph, which was about 2cm thick!

I don't know if my reasoning made anyone re-think. I doubt it. However, the following year the public space was shelved and a 5 bed executive monstrosity was magically shoe-horned in there instead, solving the problem by removing public access altogether.

MrsM71

And so it continues.....

We received a registered delivery letter from our builders on Saturday referring to our previous telephone conversations & stating that they would like to explain in more detail.

"When the transfer of your property was originally sent to land registry for registration, it appears that land registry has registered the transfer slightly differently, therefore in going through our files this has been highlighted as something we should & would like to rectify. The work involved will simply be a transfer of a slither of land, where the existing hedgerow sits, back to us. No documents will need to be sent to land registry, we will just hold the transfer on file so we have this for our records to avoid any future disputes. This is purely an administrative task but in making this change it would also remove any future potential maintenance costs or responsibilities of this hedgerow for you. Furthermore, this does not result in any loss of land as your existing fence position accords with the registered land registry title plan."

They have enclosed a copy of their land registry transfer document & out title deeds. They have confirmed their offer of £500 legal costs.

The title deeds provided show the strip of land as outside our registered plot. However it looks like the drawing attached to their transfer plan to land registry shows that the strip of land falls within our plot.

Am I the only one that finds it odd that land registry should correctly register our boundary based upon an incorrect instruction? Are the builders trying to dig themselves out of a big hole on the cheap? Am I overthinking the whole thing - should we just agree & forget about it?

You will note their comment about maintenance costs & responsibilities of the hedgerow that is outside our legal boundary!

As suggested in the event that we agree it will be on the basis that they pay all legal expenses. I still don't think it unreasonable that we should also be recompensed for our time & inconvenience.

lincroft1710

Do you want to keep this land? If so, tell them.

If not,

1. Ask them to explain exactly why they want it,

2. You will only agree to the transfer

a) on condition that you are absolved from any future costs arising from the usage and maintenance of this land

b) on condition that they pay all your legal and other costs incurred in effecting this transfer

c) on condition that you are suitably recompensed for losing x sq metres of land from your plot

And if there are any snagging matters still outstanding

d) all notified snagging matters to be put right prior to the transfer

stator

If your title plan is correct then you don't actually own the land, sounds like they just messed up their own title plan.
There must be a way for the Land Registry to correct the border of the builder's title plan, which I assume they would notify you about and give you the chance to object.
I don't see why it would involve any legal fees on your part since the land isn't shown on your title plan.

lincroft1710

stator wrote: »

If your title plan is correct then you don't actually own the land, sounds like they just messed up their own title plan.

The builder seems to believe OP does own the land.

michael1234

Is it possible that this strip of land is registered separately with the OP owning both his/her plot _and_ this separately registered adjoining land?

And regardless, I wouldn't sell it. What benefit is there for you?

tyllwyd

I wonder if there is a covenant or other legal protection on the hedgerow, so that if it is removed the builders face a hefty fine. If they have transferred the land to you without transferring the covenant, they might be panicking that if you damage the hedgerow they will be liable but they couldn't legally stop you because it's on your private land.


If it was me, I'd be inclined to just let them have it back as long as it was no cost to me. Otherwise, when you sell you might be obliged to inform the new buyer that there is a boundary dispute and a protected hedgerow on your property, and it might end up putting people off rather than being an asset.

lincroft1710

It isn't really a boundary dispute as the builders acknowledge that the land appears to belong to the OP.