Does existing hedge mark the boundary?

[Yodel]

Our back garden is divided from our next door neighbour's by an old hawthorn hedge. We are in the process of putting up a fence at right-angles to this hedge across the bottom of the garden. When we put the first concrete post in corner, adjacent to the hedge the man who owns the house next door came in to our garden and said that we'd put the concrete post on his property. He said the actual boundary was not marked by the hedge and about 8 inches of what we think is our garden is actually his garden! We've looked at the deeds and it's impossible to tell to an accuracy of 8 inches if the line of the hedge corresponds to the deeds. Surely common sense dictates that the hedge marks the boundary given that it's been there for decades. Can we safely ignore this man? Thanks for any advice.

[WaldoMcFroog]

If you have maintained the land on your side of the fence for over 12 years (assuming the land is currently registered to your neighbour), there is a possibility that you could claim to have 'adverse possession'. I don't know a lot about it, but I understand it's a pretty complicated area of law and it might be expensive.

More here: http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/assets/library/ documents/public_guide_016.pdf

[twilightflye]

boundarys are defined as a line seperating one property from another, it dosent matter if the boundary is a hedge, fence, wall, or 20 ft wide the boundary line still exists, therefore you would be in your right to place a post on the exact centre of this line.what if the hedge grew to 20ft wide on to your side of your property?would he be still claiming that this is his?.Can I suggest that you contact your local Citezens Advice Beareu, their advice is free,and you can also phone them, check with yellow pages.Hope this helps.

[MustafaTickl]

It is far better to speak to a professional before open warfare (which can run away with tens of thousands of pounds, blight your property and waste years of your life) breaks out. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) operates a Boundary Disputes Hotline [phone]) that will put you in touch with a Chartered Surveyor who specialises in boundary demarcation and disputes and who will be prepared to spend half an hour discussing and advising on your problem free of charge.

[buildersmate]

Agree with Mustafa about the implications of getting into a spat over this. There is a formal process for determining a boundary that can then be registered at the Land Registry - it involves professional surveyors.
Regarding adverse possession, for registered land, the law was changed in 2002 by the Land Registration Act. Previously, a 'squatter' could claim ownership after a minimum of 12 years adverse possession. The law was changed because the principle of the differentiating between POSSESSION and REGISTRATION of land didn't fit comfortably. Now adverse possession for >12 years does not IN ITSELF affect the registered proprietor's title. After 10 years minimum squatting, the squatter may start the process of applying to be the registrated proprietor, though registration won't occur until at least 12 years are up. If the application is OPPOSED by the next-door neighbour it will be REJECTED unless the squatter has had adverse possession of land adjacent to his own under the MISTAKEN BUT REASONABLE belief that he is the owner of it, and the exact boundary line has not been previously determined. All this is likely to be expensive to resolve in this manner.

[joko]

most technical drawings are done to scale so you should be able to work out how big your garden is with a ruler.

[midg]

hedges are not boundry lines .They can grow to different place over time,and be cut back from their original position,which was where they were first planted obviously on the persons land.hedges are very rarely planted directly on the boundry line.it is possible to have the boundry measured.i have a privet hedge along my garden ,but i know that my boundry is eight foot beyond the hedge.So you may find that ,either the hedge is on your land,or the other persons.The augument could go on for a long time.See your neighbour about going halfs with cost of getting it measured.