Have I built my fence on my neighbours boundary line

We bought our house in 2018 and replaced the fence at the bottom of the garden and the right hand side. Just before that my brother asked if it is OK if he buys the house next door, we agreed somewhat gingerly as he is not a person you would want as an enemy. He decided he didn't want to share a fence with anyone so built his own fence. Fast forward to 2 years ago and yes we did eventually fall out, so much so that he had said we built our fence 6 inches onto his land, if that can be proved I know we will have to move it the fence posts are 6ft tall, my husband did all this himself, if it has to be moved it is going to affect a patio and shed base. If I purchase the boundary owner pack will this show my boundary to the inch? is it worth me buying one for next door? or do I need the complete title pack. 

Hi Sally - We cannot tell you the precise measurement or location of your physical boundary as that would be going beyond the remit of HM Land Registry. 

The title plan is based on the Ordnance Survey map and shows the position of a property in relation to the walls, fences, roads etc. shown on that map. The red lines indicating the boundaries reflect the Ordnance Survey map and indicate the general position of the boundary fences and walls. The ‘guarantee of title’ offered by Land Registry means that no document apart from the register is needed to establish your ownership. It does not mean that Land Registry guarantees the precise amount of land you own.

England and Wales operates a 'general boundaries' system of land registration.  A title plan with 'general boundaries' shows the boundary of a property in relation to a given physical feature on the ground such as a wall or hedge as identified on the Ordnance Survey map.  This is because when a property is first registered:

• the title deeds rarely give precise legal boundaries
• often owners do not know where they are
• finding out the exact position of the legal boundaries at the time of registration can be expensive and may lead to unnecessary disputes. 

The physical boundary is a feature that can be seen, such as a fence, wall or a hedge. The legal boundary may follow any physical boundary structure but might just as easily run along one particular side of the fence, wall or hedge, or include all or part of any adjoining roadway or stream.

Every property has precise legal boundaries.  These are the invisible lines separating the land owned by one person from that owned by a neighbour. They may or may not coincide with the physical boundary features on the ground like fences or walls and are not shown on Ordnance Survey maps.  The title deeds rarely identify the legal boundaries.  The owner probably does not know where they are and having to find out their position of the legal boundaries at the time of registration of the property could be expensive and lead to unnecessary disputes.  

The red edging on a Land Registry title plan is therefore not definitive as to the precise position of the boundaries. For this reason official copies of title plans carry the following warning.

“This title plan shows the general position of the boundaries: it does not show the exact line of the boundaries. Measurements scaled from this plan may not match measurements between the same points on the ground.”

This is a clear statement that Land Registry is unable to tell you precisely where a property boundary is located.  

You should not rely on the Title Plan to scale any measurements that might be stated in your Title Deeds.  Paper maps (particularly copy maps included in deeds) can be subject to distortions and inaccuracies, as any copying processes (such as photocopying) can lead to the distortions in the map image.

You should consider seeking legal advice, either from a solicitor or Citizens Advice, before taking any action. 

So basically buying a boundary pack is not useful to me?
 

Sally - I cannot answer that because I would not know what the boundary pack contains.  It will be something that you will probably buying from a third party company, so best you ask them.