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Can a Surveyor provide an official or legally binding decision on a boundary position?

Writer's picture: smartsurveyorsmartsurveyor

Updated: Jan 12, 2023

The quick, simple and final answer is no..... Keep reading and I will explain more.


Be very wary in situations when a neighbour says that their Surveyor has determined where the boundary is, or even some Surveyors promoting that they can give legally binding decisions. They cannot.


Unfortunately what many home owners hope for is not how the Land Registration system works in England & Wales. Unless there has previously been a recorded 'Boundary Agreement' or a 'Determined Boundary' (or similar), then you will most likely have a 'General Boundary' situation.

This means you can obtain professional opinions, but ultimately only the Court will decide and make something “legally binding” - no Surveyor (or even a Solicitor) can do that. Whether you have a "strong case” to present to the Court (which is what Expert Surveyors and Solicitors can assist with), or not, will completely depend on the circumstances and the documents that you hold about the Property.


- This is why we offer an initial appraisal in the first instance. It helps curtail your expenditure in the first instance, before matters start to escalate into significant sums (which can sometimes run into the tens-of-thousands £) and should show if a case is not as strong as one side (or both sides) had hoped.

Official Confirmations can only really be reached with both Owners in agreement & Registering a 'Boundary Agreement', or applying for a 'Determined Boundary' through HM Land Registry; or a Dispute Resolution through the Legal/Court system.

***

HM Land Registry provide a Practice Guide about boundaries (see link below). It is primarily written for professionals, and uses legal terms, but it is available to the public/laypersons and might be useful for some. Here is the link:




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