Helping you With a range of Boundary Disputes

Land disputes are a complex area of law and the most common topic of disputes is that of boundaries. People often assume that the boundary between their property and that of their neighbour runs in a straight line, however, this is rarely the case. Boundaries often change over time due to removal and replacement of fences and hedges, or agreements made with previous owners of the relative properties. If you are involved in a land or boundary dispute and you would like advice, contact our Disputes team for a chat about your issue.

How can Boundary disputes arise?

Difficulties can arise when property owners rely on Land Registry plans, as the line drawn around a property on the Land Registry plan is only an indicator of the general boundary, and is not intended to be an exact determination of the boundary. The boundary lines on plans are often drawn as thick lines and the width of a line can equate to several meters on the ground. Moreover, Land Registry plans will not identify whether the boundary is a wall, a fence or a hedge and quite often they do not identify ownership of the boundary. Ordnance Survey maps are equally unreliable as they often do not mark exact property boundaries.

A lot of disputes arise when changes are made to a boundary, for example, a wooden fence may be moved slightly when it is replaced or a hedge may be planted too close to the boundary causing it to encroach on the neighbouring land as it grows. Therefore, it may be a good idea to ask us to check the position with the boundary before you make any alterations or changes.

Quite often boundaries have to be determined by instructing an expert. However, even then, there can be disagreement between experts instructed by an adjoining property owner, and in these cases the dispute may have to be settled by being brought before the court for a Judge to make a decision.

Land and boundary disputes can be extremely stressful and costly. However, litigation should always be a last resort and at Fraser Dawbarns, we pride ourselves on being able to give you reliable advice at the outset. We can help by determining whether a dispute can be resolved through a site visit, correspondence or mediation, or by assisting you through the court process if agreement cannot be reached.

Why Choose Fraser Dawbarns To Help You?

No Obligation Consultation

You may be unsure about whether your boundary dispute is valid or you may be wary about being pressured into making a claim if you see a solicitor. The team at Fraser Dawbarns will be happy to listen to your situation and advise you on whether we think you have a claim and whether we think you have a reasonable prospect of success. We will give you our opinion and an idea of any potential costs but will not put you under any pressure to proceed if you are not yet ready to do so.

Pricing Options

To accommodate the different requirements of our clients, we offer a choice of service levels so that you can choose the level of contact that best suits your needs. By offering the choice between undertaking work on either a fixed fee basis or at an hourly rate, we give you the freedom to pick the pricing option that best suits you.

Fixed Fee Service

It is important to us that our clients know exactly what they will pay and the scope of the services they will receive at the beginning of the transaction. That is why Fraser Dawbarns offer a fixed fee service with no hidden costs or unexpected charges for clients who are dealing with legal disputes.

An Experienced Team

Fraser Dawbarns are ideally situated to help you with any legal claims you may have. Our team of civil litigation experts have years of experience handling a wide range of claims and disputes and the team is ranked in the Legal 500 guide to the top law firms for our Debt Recovery, Employment, Personal Injury and Contentious Probate work. With offices in Wisbech, King’s Lynn, Downham Market, March and Ely we are close at hand when you need to see someone to discuss your case.

If you would like help with any legal dispute, please contact us to see how we can help you.