Boundary dispute nightmare

David Powell, a charetered land surveyor who specialises in boundary disputes considers this festering problem. Over 30 years ago the builder of five houses went "bankrupt" before putting boundary fences on the properties. His son has now sold the land to another builder, yet no certainty exists regarding the boundaries.

In his answer, David Powell says that "Like most boundary disputes, this one has three ingredients: paper-title (the deeds); long-standing features that may have been treated as property boundaries; and adverse possession." The deeds are the first port of call in that they describe the property and its dimensions. If this fails one can then look at the features to see if they have been treated by everyone as the boundary. Adverse possession is also an issue, however as in most boundary disputes a degree of amicability is important because court action can be costly.

Article in The Telegraph