land encroachment

[GIRL RACERS]

I received a letter today from a solicitor saying that my garden is longer than it should be and that 'possibly' my garden encroaches on their clients land.

I have lived in my house for six and a half years and have never extended my garden. A neighbour told me today that the people who lived in my house before me extended the garden by six feet about eight years ago. This was the first i knew of this. do i legally have to give back this land.

thank you in advance. x x x

[seatrout]

land disputes are staggeringly expensive and rarely produce satisfactory results. I suggest you write back saying you bought the house six years ago and that you havent altered the boundary. Dont mention what neighbours have told you.
If someone says wyou have encroached on their land let them prove it

[GIRL RACERS]

thank you seatrout - but will i need to get a solicitor ?

[buildersmate]

Firstly find out where you think the boundary lies. Do this (if the land is registered) by going onto the LR website, type in your postcode, pay over your �3 and get hold of a copy of the title plan. This only shows what are called General Boundaries but it should be accurate enough to try and scale from. What's the situation with other neighbours? - does your plot 'stick out' further than anyone else's at the bottom of the garden for no apparent reason?
As Seatrout says, these problems are potentially hugely expensive if you start to engage solicitors and legal cases get heard.
The timing of this now is really interesting; after 10 years you could start a process of claiming land as your own (assuming your neighbour did extend in this manner, and the land is registered at LR). Which gives you the answer to one of your questions - you would have to give it back if it isn't registered as part of your plot.
I suspect that your predecessor made an informal arrangement with this neighbour (and some money may or may not have changed hands) but if nothing was done to register the new boundary at the time, you are going to have a heck of a job now to unravel this cheaply.
Please give us a bit more information.

[spaced]

as seatrout says, I would play dumb and not mention any conversation you had with your neighbour. Let them prove it.

[Julestheking]

Scaling from Land Registry plans is a dangerous hobby. In practice, the thickness of a line on a Land Registry plan can equate to a number of feet on the ground, depending on the scale of the plan.

Chances are that the solicitors that have written to you have good reason to suspect that the land may belong to their client. Ask them to send you a copy of the title to their client's land, including the area which they think you may have possession of.

Whilst you're doing that, ask the solicitor that acted for you when you bought the property for a copy of the "Seller's Property Information Form" that was completed by the people who sold the house to you. The first question on this form deals with boundaries - specifically if any of the boundaries have been moved in the last 20 years. If the people who sold the land to you have not answered accurately, you MAY have a case of misrepresentation against the sellers, IF you actually lose the land.