Land use by Neighbour... what to do?

Mistral001

Keell said:

Davesnave said

OK he has been using it, but did you read my question which was" "Did he fence it off  from the then owner(s) of your house?"

He has to have had exclusive use to claim adverse possession.

Yes he has, the builders put the fence in the wrong place when building the houses 18 years ago and no owner of either side has noticed before.

I see.  This is not some piece of land that the neighbour has invaded, but it is down to where the builder put the fence when both houses were built.  You are both victims of someone else's mistake, but you cannot claim anything off the culprit because of the time that has ellapsed since the mistake was made. 

The fact that part of his garden is not owned by him will mean that his house is practically unsellable, but if he has no immediate plans to sell there will be no incentive for him to do anything.  

Davesnave

Keell said:

Davesnave said

OK he has been using it, but did you read my question which was" "Did he fence it off  from the then owner(s) of your house?"

He has to have had exclusive use to claim adverse possession.

Yes he has, the builders put the fence in the wrong place when building the houses 18 years ago and no owner of either side has noticed before.

Hurrah! 4 pages in and we get the essential missing piece of the jigsaw....

I think you'd better talk.

Mickey666

If the builders put the fence in the wrong position and it has remain unchanged for 18 years then it's very likely that a boundary arbitration surveyor - if it ever came to that - would declare that the fence IS is legal boundary.  Boundaries can move over time - there is lots of information, and many examples, of how this can happen on the gardenlaw website I referenced earlier.

Even if that is not the case, there is also the very real possibility of an adverse possession claim. 

I think this is going to require formal legal advice to resolve, rather than just a discussion on a money-saving forum - especially given the way new facts are dribbling out.