Bought a house without knowing the garden boundary had been moved.

[theodore]

Hi,

We purchased a house at the start of this year. After moving in we discovered that the previous owner had extended the garden by a fence panel length on one side. The boundary extension isn't obvious because the house sits at an angle in the garden and there are mature shrubs along the inside boundary. The garden is now 7 fence panels long on one side and 8 on the other effectively adding a triangular area of 126ft² to it.

The encroachment is to a neighbours garden but the part in question has been fenced off from their main lawned area and left as woodland. The owner lives abroad and rents the house indirectly to tenants have no contact with them.

The seller did not disclose that the boundary had been moved and our solicitor stated that because we had a copy of the Title plan prior to moving in it was our responsibility to check.

The house was built in 1985 and the seller bought the house new. The boundary was moved by the seller a few years later and has been that way without issue ever since.

We would like to build a summer house in the corner that had been extended but don't want to have to potentially move it at a later date. We could move the fence back to it's original place but that would involve moving a dozen or so mature shrubs and a tree.

What are our options here?

Any help suggestions would be most appreciated.

Thanks.

[Amethyst]

Personally I'd leave the fence and build the shed forward some just in front of the original/actual boundary line. Then if there ever is any argument about that bit of land in the future it's only the fence has to be moved. But then I'm all for an easy life ...

Do you have any idea if the land grab was actually by agreement between the neighbours?

des8

[theodore]

Thanks for the response. Building the summer house within the original garden boundary is probably what is going to happen but the extended corner is much more suited for it. Just wondered if there was anything legal that could help me. I was looking in to adverse possession but that could force me to move the boundary back and that would be a lot of work.

Do you have any idea if the land grab was actually by agreement between the neighbours?

That's possible but it would have been the sellers husband who sorted it out and he has passed away.

I think the grab was was made to make the garden more symmetrical rather that just extending it for more space.

[des8]

I think you might have a possibility of owning the land by adverse possession of it (by your predecessors) as per Schedule 12, paragraph 18(1) of the Land Registration Act 2002, as long as possession started 12 years prior to Oct 2003, and the neighbours had not given permission for that possession.

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...e-a-right-to-b



"our solicitor stated that because we had a copy of the Title plan prior to moving in it was our responsibility to check."

True, but Conveyancing Solicitors when sending purchasers a copy of the title plan before contracts are exchanged,should ask them to confirm that it correctly shows the property boundaries.


Now if it was me, I'd build on that piece of land and look to sort it if there was ever any questions asked.
Tenants won't question it
Absentee landlord unlikely to ever notice the land grab
So problem only likely to arise if neighbouring property sold, which is when you apply to register land under adverse possession claim as per schedule above

[theodore]

Thanks, I'll have a read through that.

Now if it was me, I'd build on that piece of land and look to sort it if there was ever any questions asked.

This is probably the best solution for us. We don't want to initiate the adverse possession if we don't have to and the garden has been this way for over 30 years.