When residential properties are involved, these disputes are often more accurately called neighbour disputes. Once they degenerate into Court action, both sides will spend tens of thousands of pounds in legal and expert fees, blight any possibility of a sale until the case is over and have a miserable 12-24 months living next door to each other whilst the case reaches a final Hearing.
There are a number of ways to try and avoid having to deal with Court proceedings.
Remember that Land registry plans cannot be relied upon to prove small discrepancies between your land and your neighbours. Old pre registration deeds might prove useful if they contain measurements, but old plans will have been copied and recopied until the line round the boundary is too thick to provide any accurate information if the dispute is about a few inches of land.
In the vast majority of cases, neither sides deeds will be conclusive. Sometimes you have a situation where the deeds are clear. However if the boundary has been in the "wrong" place long enough, the right to correct the position may have been lost. Evidence from prior owners or local residents who have lived in the area for many years will prove essential in such cases.
Resolving the position of a boundary by agreement is by far the better option. Agree to the appointment of a surveyor to plot the line and both sides to be bound by it. Each party would pay half the surveyors fees. Alternitavely, appoint a surveyor each and let them sort out where the line should be. The final agreed plan can be provided to the Land Registry.
If you resolve matters by agreement, you should each expect to pay your own legal and expert fees. If you go to Court and a Judge has to decide the boundary line, the Judge will also decide who pays whose costs. Generally in Court cases, the loser pays a proportion of the winners costs, but in boundary disputes, the Judge will often look at whether the parties have acted reasonably or not. If the view is that both sides are to blame for the case not settling, you can expect the Judge to order that each side pays their own costs.
Remember also that if the Judge has decided where the boundary line should be, the end result may not be either line the parties are claiming, but a different line completely. Neither side may be happy with the line determined by the Judge, but you will both be stuck with it and still have to live next door to each other.
Compromise depends on both sides being prepared to be reasonable. Unhappily if your neighbour is wholly unreasonable, you may have only a few stark choices.
1. Agree to accept their view of the boundary line in order for a quiet life.
2. Decide to move.
3. Decide to fight it through the Courts.
We can assist in checking your deeds for you and looking at whether you might be enititled to leave the line as it is, even if it is in the "wrong" place.
If you want to take it through the Courts we can ensure your case is investigated and presented as effectively as possible. Even if your neighbour is unwilling to accept any sort of compromise, we can advise on the sort of settlement offers that can reduce the risk of an adverse costs order.