Boundary Disputes Solicitors

Boundary disputes can be highly contentious, being both technically complex and often very emotive. This can make them challenging to resolve, with the potential for significant time and legal costs to be incurred to achieve a resolution.

At Wolferstans, our Dispute Resolution team can effectively handle even the most complicated boundary disputes. We offer sensible advice and a proactive approach to help you get the best outcome available as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.

Wherever practical, we will seek an amicable resolution to your boundary dispute, avoiding the need for contentious court proceedings, saving you time, money and stress. However, we are ready robustly to defend your interests in court should this prove necessary.

Our expertise with boundary dispute resolution

Our boundary disputes solicitors can help with matters including:

• Boundary line disputes
• Fence and landscaping disputes
• Disputes over construction works that cross a boundary line
• Access disputes

Flexible funding to suit your circumstances

Our boundary dispute resolution solicitors offer a number of funding options to suit you, including in appropriate cases fixed fees, capped fees, insurance backed funding arrangements and conditional fee agreements.

Types of boundary disputes

Boundary line disputes

These often arise when a property or site is to be sold or where the owner wishes to refinance e.g. for a construction project. As part of the sale or refinancing process, a survey will be carried out which can show that the property line does not lie where one or more parties previously believed.

Fence, hedge and landscaping disputes

A very common source of boundary disputes is where a party has erected a fence or carried out landscaping work which a neighbour believes crosses into their property. Disputes can also arise over who has responsibility for a boundary feature, such as a fence or hedge. The issue will then arise of determining where the boundary line lies and what to do about fencing or landscaping work that does cross the line.

Disputes over construction that crosses a boundary line

Another common type of boundary dispute is where a party has built an extension or outbuilding (or where there is a historic extension or outbuilding) that a neighbour believes encroaches into their property. Again, a determination will need to be made as to where the true boundary lies and what should be done about any construction that encroaches on a neighbour’s property.

Access disputes

Where a party has historically had access to a neighbour’s property or wishes to establish such access, this can lead to disputes. In some cases there may be a right of way or other type of easement in place giving access or a licence granting access to the property (or a party may believe such provision exists). There will often been a need to refer to title deeds and other historic documents to determine whether a party has right of access and careful negotiation may be required to secure a favourable outcome.

How we can help with boundary dispute resolution

Establishing your legal position

Our boundary disputes solicitors can collect all of the necessary evidence to establish where a boundary lines lies. We work with a range of professionals, including highly regarded specialist surveyors, so we can give you the strongest basis for your legal position.

Letter before action for a boundary dispute

Our boundary disputes solicitors can draft a clear letter before action that sets out your position, the outcome you would like to achieve and the date by which you wish to see a resolution before further action will be taken. Our team can then deal with any follow-up correspondence or negotiation required, keeping the process as straightforward and stress-free as possible for you.

Alternative dispute resolution for boundary disputes

Various methods of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) exist that can be highly effective for boundary disputes. These options include private negotiation and mediation. ADR can help you to achieve an amicable resolution to a boundary dispute much more quickly and cost-effectively than court proceedings, while helping to maintain a more positive relationship with your neighbour.

Taking a boundary dispute to court

In some cases, it may be necessary to take a boundary dispute to court in order to achieve a favourable outcome for you. Should this approach be required, our boundary disputes solicitors will work closely with you to prepare your case and make sure you have the best possible representation for any hearings that take place.

Flexible funding for boundary dispute

We offer various options for funding the cost of a boundary dispute, with our focus being on what is most cost-effective for our clients.

Fixed fee boundary dispute resolution - Some matters can be handled on a fixed fee basis, giving total certainty over the costs involved. This typically includes work such as preparing letters before action.

Conditional fee agreements - Where appropriate, we may be able to fund your claim wholly or partly on a conditional fee basis, meaning costs will be applied only when a successful outcome has been achieved.

Private payment/pay as you go - Where ongoing legal support is needed, we can regularly submit interim accounts for the work carried out, so you can effectively budget for your costs. You can find out more about your litigation funding options on our Dispute Resolution page.