gates / boundary

Josie11

I find myself in an interesting scenario and would welcome any advice.
I purchased a new build property in May 2014. The house is one of 2, and was and still is set inside a plot that is fenced and had been landscaped with red robins in front of the fence and a large gravel drive way serving the 2 identical houses. These houses are set behind electronic gates. In all the marketing materials we received and in the possessions listings and all other documents we received on purchase, the gates are clearly mentioned (along with our obligation to maintain them jointly with our neighbours. The plots were finished  in c.early 2013 and the gates put in somewhere in 2012, so at least 7 years ago. The land registry papers shows a red line around what looks, on paper, to be the full plot up to where the fence was placed (before we purchased the property).
It turns out the man in the house at the bottom of the drive way sold off some of his garden and other land in order for my home & my neighbours home to be built. However, he kept a sliver of land that includes where the gates are positioned and a small  area behind the gates in what we thought was our plot (ie within the fenced and landscaped area). He has since built another house behind the fence and is now claiming that the gates are not only on his land but prohibiting him access to the sliver of the land he has behind the gates. Having checked all the legal documents we do have right of access over the road leading up to the gates and over the sliver of land he owns otherwise we would not be able to access out properties. But he does own the land.
He now wants to either reposition the gates or remove them. We believe (and have been advised this is the case) that this is a clear case of misrepresentation. The man lived next to our houses when they were built so clearly knew how the property were being marketed, agreed to the plot layout and the fence being on his land and the gravel extending all the way so as any buyer would clearly believe they were buying the full plot. He also took a % of the profit from the houses so it was in his interest that the houses sold for the  highest value so has never mentioned any issue with the gates or the plot layout on his land until now.
We believe that moving the gates or removing them would see a decrease in the value of our property and we purchased the house with the security of the gates as we wanted that security as we have young children. In addition, we have paid for all repairs and maintenance of the gates for the last 6 years. What can we do? I assume he would need to seek court approval before removing the gates?
Any advice much appreciated
thanks

greatcrested

Forget misrepresentation.

Focus on who owns what and who has what legal rights.

The land registry papers shows a red line around what looks, on paper, to be the full plot up to where the fence was place

Yet you also say:

he kept a sliver of land that includes where the gates are positioned

So which is it? Who owns that bit of land?

You say:

In all the marketing materials ....the gates are clearly mentioned (along with our obligation to maintain them jointly with our neighbours.

Again - forget the marketing materials. What do the Title deeds/ registration say? If you have an obligation tomaintain, then clearly no one can remove them (even if they own them).

Would moving the gates remove your security? Where does he want them moved to?

I assume he would need to seek court approval before removing the gates?

Depends. If I own some land, with a gate on that I own, I don't need court approval! But if you want to stop him, you could apply for a court injunction to prevent him, in whoch case you'd have to argue your case.

Josie11

Apologies if I was not clear. He owns the land the gates are on and a sliver of land behind the gates. My point was that he And the developer deliberately set up the gates on land that did not belong to the houses being sold, fenced off and landscaped a plot that again included a sliver of land that again did not belong g to the plots being sold. This was deliberately done to achieve the highest value. No issues for 7 years. Now it’s a problem. The Feds just shows a red line around a plot. But we have sought legal advice to clarify the land is his.
the gates are mentioned in the property fixtures and fittings document as is the obligation to pay the electricity and maintenance costs. 

I think he wants to remove them all together which would obviously be a security issue. So we own the gates. But not the land they are on!

Does that clarify? Any thoughts? Should we seek an injunction? 

tacpot12

I don't think he would need a court order to remove the gates, they are on his land. You could sue him if he damages them though. 

The best option may be a compromise where he pays for the gates to be moved onto your land as a form of compensation for the loss in value in your property. You probably aren't losing as much as you think you are losing in value as any future purchasers will not know where the gates were originally located.

I can't see how there has been misrepresentation if you have been able to determine whose land is whose. This determination could have been made at the time of the sale, had it been looked into. The developer does not seem to have told you that the gates were on your land. It's a reasonable assumption for you to have made, but it was an assumption. 

princeofpounds

This is a more complicated situation legally than it seems, because you are dealing with multiple packages of land, and a neighbour who was involved with your development in some way. Issues around access can really turn on the details, and your description isn't nearly strong enough to get a picture of what's really going on here.

A diagram would help, to include all the features, including the new property he is seemingly trying to obtain access to. 

Partly this will revolve around who owns what. It's not clear who owns what land from your description. You may or may not have established a right to site these gate on his land, but that will depend on details around the initial development and his involvement.

But equally (more?) important will be rights of access, or 'easements', for each plot in relation to the others. Google 'ways to obtain an easement uk' for more information on how they can arise. Again, it's impossible to tell the situation from your description. But it's quite probable your neighbour has an easement to his 'stranded' strips even if nothing was explicitly written in the deeds. What is much less clear however, is whether he has an easement to his new property beyond that. He seems to believe he does, but nothing you have said so far suggests he does. If not, the solution could just be to move the gates (or install new ones) off his strip.

I assume his apparent objective is to be able to use 'your' driveway to access the new property behind (?) his original one?

I'm concerned you seem so unaware about these stranded strips. This is something your lawyer should have talked you through before purchase.