Neighbour building on land.

ProDave

I can't see how it's getting bigger by the year unless you keep moving your fence further onto your land because for some strange reason you think you need access to both sides of your fence.

What happens on another boundary with another neighbour is no concern of yours.

the best way to preserve your land for your exclusive use with no missunderstanding, is to ensure when you erect a fence it is placed along the boundary as best you are able to establish it.  Placing a fence inside your own land with nothing to clearly mark the actual boundary is asking for "misunderstandings"

Abbafan1972

I can't tell anything from that photo you posted @EB75

welshmoneylover

All I can see are a few pretty flowers ! The photo shows nothing useful.

sheramber

Is your house the one on the right of the photograph and the flowers on the table are in the neighbours garden?

frogglet

sheramber said:

Is your house the one on the right of the photograph and the flowers on the table are in the neighbours garden?

I agree that's what it looks like you me too.
 However looking at the difference in colour of the pebbledash and the position of the fence. 
The fence doesn't look like it's 40cm into your garden.

EB75

These pictures were taken by our old neighbour, who was lovely prior to our current neighbours moving in. Our garden is on the right, the fence is our fence on our land which was in situ prior to the new 6ft fence and extension being erected. Now it has been erected right next to our fence with gutters/ overhangs going across our fence which is classed as on our land. At the worst point it is 40cm's over.
I have just had contact from my solicitor and apparently I have to prove that damage caused is proportional to taking my neighbours to court, so now I am paying for another survey.
It seems wrong to me that some one can build on you land, pebble dash your wall to make it appear that they have not, cut down your hedge and block pave your drive. They can then totally ignore all attempts for mediation on the issues, ignore your request for them to remove some of their property, and you are told unless they cause a set amount of damage, it tough. 
Oh yes, and over the weekend my neighbour also put baskets on the 6ft fence which is on my land, and I can prove it is my land, with tall shrubbery to block out more light and wind us up........and if I touch their property I can be done for damage!!

Alan2020

I can understand why you have problems, if you want solutions learn to communicate clearly:
1. Take a picture of your land registry boundaries and neighbours and post
2. Take a good quality camera and post pictures, clearly labelling each picture, take pictures from upstairs etc
3. Go onto Google maps take pictures of aerial view, street view including historic ones.

then make a coherent posting and lots of people here are very helpful.

if you start a boundary dispute like this, no judge is going to understand what you are on about. 99.9999% normal people assume the fence is the boundary and if someone plants a hedge in front of a fence no one will know unless you stand there telling. It’s a bit like installing your toilet on the driveway and having the wall behind it, perfectly doable but makes no sense and a stranger might take a dump.

frogglet

If there was a hedge on the other side of your fence, how could anyone paint the other side of the fence.

Jeepers_Creepers

EB75 said:

It seems wrong to me that some one can build on you land, pebble dash your wall to make it appear that they have not, cut down your hedge and block pave your drive.

Of course it's wrong. Of course it's very bad behaviour (assuming they knew what they were doing).

The problem here is, you did nothing about it at the time. You 'allowed' it to happen; did or said nothing about it, waited years, and are now seemingly saying "enough already!" when 'all' they've done now is add a fence - to land they effectively claimed as theirs when they built their extension over it yonks ago.

'Your' fence has always been there - in the 'wrong' place (ie in terms of the boundary). What have you suddenly 'lost' now? Has your garden shrunk in size? No.

So, your solicitor is saying to you "Prove the 'damage' that's been caused to you by your neighb's new fence. Demonstrate your 'loss' - a loss that's more now than it's been for many years.

Do you have a legal case? I dunno - probably. If money were no object, then I'd say 'go for it - good chance you'll win, and you'll be able to reclaim that 40cm strip of your garden. But I don't see any judgement saying that your neighb has to reduce the width of their extension...

Or, the judgement might be that your neighb truly believed they owned that land due to the position of your fence over many years. They could say 'sorry - but, actually, what difference has it made to you? You never came on to that strip, so your garden isn't any smaller than it's ever been since they've been there'.

As far as I can see, there are three things you can do:

1) Nothing. Take it on the chin. If you do this, then truly take it on the chin and think about it no more*. Don't let it eat you.

2) Pursue it legally. Persuade the LP team that - armed with your surveys - your case is nigh-on guaranteed winnable as far as the garden fence is concerned.

3) Take matters into your own hands. Armed with the survey that you are 100% certain is accurate, you make certain that the neighb knows the facts, including the survey findings, and you ask them to remove their fence from your land within a week - give a date. This has to be delivered in a manner that is provable/witnessed. If they don't remove it, then take it down yourself - and have a camera recording. Have it removed carefully with as little damage as possible, and place the items on their land. What can the guy do? Physically stop you? Call the police. Shout rant rave? Call the police. You have evidence that the land it yours. You have evidence that you've given him notice to remove what was effectively carried out in a case of 'criminal trespass' and possibly even theft! Seriously - what can he do?  He can claim whatever he wants to the police, but you calmly show them the survey, a copy of the letter you gave him, and - since he has not responded - you are now simply reclaiming what is yours.

* If you do 'nothing', you should at least give the neighb a statement of what you know the situation is - evidence of it being your land (the survey), photos of the fence he has put up, and your request for him to remove this and reinstate your land. And with the added remark that you are not rescinding the rightful ownership of this land; it still belongs to you and he has effectively stolen it. Should he hope to move home, this issue will be there and will require addressing then if not before.

moneysavinghero

What can the guy do? Physically stop you? Call the police. Shout rant rave? Call the police.

The neighbour is the Police, so they would just be calling in his mates.