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Hi, I find myself in a very strange position due to past mutual agreements between property owners to use parts of my land.
I bought a property in 2006 and discovered that the garden appeared to end at a hedgerow despite the Deeds showing the garden to extend a further 4m beyond the hedgerow. The owner of the other property and the previous owners of my property said that this was by mutual agreement (apparently made between the original property owners) as they didn't want to remove the hedgerow and didn't really need that extra space. As this was an old agreement I had no qualms in also agreeing that the other property owner could continue to use this land.
The original owner of the other property passed away last year and the property was sold. The new owners removed the hedgerow without permission and then erected a fence in it's place. As this was done without my permission and as they refuse to speak about this I have decided to take back the land as the mutual agreement ended on the death of the previous owner.
Unfortunately the Land Title at the Land Registry shows the ownership in accordance with Ordinance Survey plans, which show the hedgerow as the boundary. However, the Land Registry entry states that the precise boundaries are show on the Conveyance Plans with the Deeds (and that the Ordinance Survey boundaries are only approximate). I have queried this with the Land Registry, but they say that they can't change the Title Plans "at the moment" because the hedgerow has been used as the boundary for many years (the hedgerow is an ancient hedgerow that existed before the land was split up into property boundaries and is shown on the original Conveyance Plans as a feature, but not as a boundary).
I understand from the RCIS helpline that as the land in question has been used exclusively by the original owner of the other property under mutual agreement, then there is no adverse possession issue here.
Any advice on how to proceed would be appreciated.
I bought a property in 2006 and discovered that the garden appeared to end at a hedgerow despite the Deeds showing the garden to extend a further 4m beyond the hedgerow. The owner of the other property and the previous owners of my property said that this was by mutual agreement (apparently made between the original property owners) as they didn't want to remove the hedgerow and didn't really need that extra space. As this was an old agreement I had no qualms in also agreeing that the other property owner could continue to use this land.
The original owner of the other property passed away last year and the property was sold. The new owners removed the hedgerow without permission and then erected a fence in it's place. As this was done without my permission and as they refuse to speak about this I have decided to take back the land as the mutual agreement ended on the death of the previous owner.
Unfortunately the Land Title at the Land Registry shows the ownership in accordance with Ordinance Survey plans, which show the hedgerow as the boundary. However, the Land Registry entry states that the precise boundaries are show on the Conveyance Plans with the Deeds (and that the Ordinance Survey boundaries are only approximate). I have queried this with the Land Registry, but they say that they can't change the Title Plans "at the moment" because the hedgerow has been used as the boundary for many years (the hedgerow is an ancient hedgerow that existed before the land was split up into property boundaries and is shown on the original Conveyance Plans as a feature, but not as a boundary).
I understand from the RCIS helpline that as the land in question has been used exclusively by the original owner of the other property under mutual agreement, then there is no adverse possession issue here.
Any advice on how to proceed would be appreciated.
