Boundary disputes

Having read the article in the Daily Mail dated 28 July 2011 regarding the growth in disputes between neighbours I can only stress my own experiences from a legal point of view. There has been a noticeable increase in enquiries regarding disputes between neighbours. It is also apparent that the disputes are becoming far more acrimonious. The types of enquiries that I receive range from trespass by children or animals disputes, hedge disputes, fences or walls encroaching over the true boundary line, party wall problems, parking issues, excessive noise…the list goes on and on. It is also remarkable how many times these disputes build up where violent situations occur and the police are called.

Often the actual legal issues themselves are of a very minor nature and one would have thought that these could be easily resolved through communication and common sense, but this is often far from the reality.

It never ceases to amaze me how far neighbours are prepared to go and how much they are prepared to spend in legal costs in trying to enforce their rights and to “get one over” their neighbours.

Many neighbour disputes are very complex, can take years to resolve, and involve significant costs. Many require the intervention of specialist surveyors.

In my experience the courts are often loath to get involved in neighbour disputes and notwithstanding the efforts of the solicitors, these extremely emotional situations cannot be resolved without a judicial decision.

Whilst I would always try and persuade the parties to resolve their differences amicably and possibly by the use of Mediation services, sadly it seems that these initiatives are not always adopted.

If you are involved in a boundary dispute, either raised by yourself or by a neighbour, Linder Myers can advise on a course of action.

Please read the neighbour dispute FAQs for more information.