(Legal Advice Feature ~ Axis Magazine)
As house extensions proliferate and personal space becomes ever more scarce, boundary disputes between neighbours remain rife. More often than not, the amount of land in question is worth relatively little in financial terms. Such disputes are likely to be hard-fought and can generate legal costs which dwarf the value of the land. In some cases, the consequences can be ruinous. 

Case Study 

A recently litigated dispute between neighbours over whether or not a brook marked the boundary between their properties is a good case in point.
The couple built a stone wall beside the brook only to find that their neighbour objected, claiming that both banks of the brook were on her land and demanding that steps leading down to the waterway be removed.

The couple contend that the brook marks the boundary between the neighbouring properties and that the conveyance under which they bought their land shows this. However, the courts have so far found the conveyance to be imprecise, which they often are, and have relied on other evidence to try to establish the true line of the boundary.

The costs of the case have already massively exceeded the value of the land in question and look set to spiral further unless the neighbours can dig themselves out of their entrenched positions and reach an accommodation.

As the Judge in that case said, where neighbours can't reach a compromise, someone will win and someone will lose at great financial expense and to the often permanent detriment of neighbourly relations. 

So how do you minimise your chances of ending up in that position?

When a potential dispute rears it's head, the first thing to do is to check what most people refer to as the 'deeds' to your property. This means the conveyances, plans and other documents relating to your land which may date back many years. The majority of land in the UK is registered. The Land Registry maintains a record of information in two parts: a written register stating who owns the land, details of any mortgages secured against it and any rights other people might have over the land – such as a right of way across your land to get to theirs. The registry also keeps a plan which indicates the extent of your land. These plans are generally for identification purposes only, so they won't give you a precise answer if you're at loggerheads over a 6 inch strip of garden. 

Check old documents to see whether they contain measurements and dimensions. Ask the Land Registry whether they hold any historical plans. This could be useful evidence in helping the parties to identify the precise extent of the land that was transferred and heading off the dispute at an early stage.
Adopting an early collaborative approach can help by maintaining a sensible dialogue. 

If you still can't settle things then you should seek legal advice. You don't have to end up spending thousands on litigation. Boundary disputes are well suited to alternative dispute resolution such as mediation or expert determination.