Purchasing Property with boundary dispute

db2487

I have recently been informed of a boundary dispute on a house that I have made an offer on with the dispute being that my property has an extension with guttering that overhangs the neighbouring property boundary.
Whilst i am seeking legal advice, im looking to see what potential options i have and if theres a high risk that this could cause the extension to be asked to be knocked down or if theres an easy way for this to be settled ahead of my purchase

canaldumidi

Don't get involved. At best you'll get to keep the extension and overhanging gutters, but have ongoing animosity with your neighbours from day 1. At worst........

caprikid1

Only 2 ways of resolving I beleive, either the trespass stops or the land is purchased and deeds altered so there is no longer an issue.

Seller should not be selling till this is resolved.

doodling

Hi,

A third option is that a suitable easement is agreed with the neighbour for the overhang.

All of the options which don't involve removal of the overhang would need the neighbour's agreement and updates to the neighbour's land registry entry / deeds.  The neighbour may well want money in addition!

Unless you really (really!) like conflict, all of this needs to be resolved before the sale to you takes place.

db2487

doodling said:

Hi,

A third option is that a suitable easement is agreed with the neighbour for the overhang.

All of the options which don't involve removal of the overhang would need the neighbour's agreement and updates to the neighbour's land registry entry / deeds.  The neighbour may well want money in addition!

Unless you really (really!) like conflict, all of this needs to be resolved before the sale to you takes place.

thank you for this, so if we reached a suitable easement, would that stop any further potential issues arising in the future should their property be sold as its now updated on the land registry/deeds? my concern is that the current owner is able to settle the dispute with the current neighbour however at a later date it comes up again

user1977

The point about getting an easement is that it's a permanent, registered right.

db2487

perfect, so ideally, easement sought by current owner ahead of sale and were all good. should that not be the case that its sorted, stay away!

doodling

Hi,

To be clear, the vendor of the property would agree an easement with the neighbour, it is not something you would do as in order for you to be able to do it yourself you'd have already bought the property and it is too late then if the neighbour doesn't agree.

Expect any solution which retains the overhang to take several months (and that is if the neighbour is willing to agree, they may choose not to, or demand £1m in order to agree - it is their right).

To do an easement properly, both sets of land registry entries would need to be updated to show that the guttering had a right to be there.  That would mean legal costs for your vendor and for the neighbour (which I'm sure they would expect your vendor to pay).

I would ensure that my solicitor (and you need a real solicitor conversant in land disputes and easements, not a fixed price conveyancer) review the updated land registry entries before exchanging contracts.

Be aware that it may be cheaper and quicker for your vendor to modify the extension so that the gutter doesn't overhang than try to agree something with a neighbour they have clearly fallen out with.

If the overhang has been there for a very long time, it might have acquired a right to be there.  If that can be proved then that might be one way forward but be aware that you will need to keep all that proof in case the neighbour (or their successor) raises it again.  Proving it has a right to be there won't stop the neighbour feeling aggrieved so be ready for grumpiness and complaints from your new neighbour if your vendor goes down that path and you buy the property.

You also need to bear in mind that this issue could very easily turn from an argument about an overhang to one about where the actual boundary line is.  Most people don't deliberately invade other people's airspace so it is possible that your vendor has a different view of where the boundary line is to that of their neighbour.

GDB2222

I take it that this property is being sold at a fraction of its normal price, to reflect the problem?

db2487

doodling said:

Hi,

To be clear, the vendor of the property would agree an easement with the neighbour, it is not something you would do as in order for you to be able to do it yourself you'd have already bought the property and it is too late then if the neighbour doesn't agree.

Expect any solution which retains the overhang to take several months (and that is if the neighbour is willing to agree, they may choose not to, or demand £1m in order to agree - it is their right).

To do an easement properly, both sets of land registry entries would need to be updated to show that the guttering had a right to be there.  That would mean legal costs for your vendor and for the neighbour (which I'm sure they would expect your vendor to pay).

I would ensure that my solicitor (and you need a real solicitor conversant in land disputes and easements, not a fixed price conveyancer) review the updated land registry entries before exchanging contracts.

Be aware that it may be cheaper and quicker for your vendor to modify the extension so that the gutter doesn't overhang than try to agree something with a neighbour they have clearly fallen out with.

If the overhang has been there for a very long time, it might have acquired a right to be there.  If that can be proved then that might be one way forward but be aware that you will need to keep all that proof in case the neighbour (or their successor) raises it again.  Proving it has a right to be there won't stop the neighbour feeling aggrieved so be ready for grumpiness and complaints from your new neighbour if your vendor goes down that path and you buy the property.

You also need to bear in mind that this issue could very easily turn from an argument about an overhang to one about where the actual boundary line is.  Most people don't deliberately invade other people's airspace so it is possible that your vendor has a different view of where the boundary line is to that of their neighbour.

If the easement is sought, would that mean that the guttering is allowed to stay but it is still their boundary? my concerns would be should they look to extend, it could then lead to the guttering being forced to be moved at a later date.

GDB2222 said:

I take it that this property is being sold at a fraction of its normal price, to reflect the problem?

this has only just been brought to our attention and so sale price hasnt come into the equation yet

doodling

Hi,

If an easement is agreed then the gutter would gain a right to be there.

In theory that could mean that any extension by the neighbours would have to be built round it (might make clearing the gutter difficult!).  You can see why the neighbour might not decide that agreeing an easement is in their best interests.

Hopefully a more sensible approach would prevail at the time of an extension and there would be another agreement to disregard the easement and create some kind of valley along which the water could flow but there would be nothing to prevent you insisting that the gutter remained.

It might be possible to word the easement in such a way as to permit either the gutter or an extension but that is starting to get complex.

As I said before it may be easier for the existing extension to be modified so it doesn't overhang...