Aerial View Maps

Can I fence in my property?

I live in a semi detached house which I bought 3 years ago. To the rear of my property another semi-detached block of 2 houses which sit at right angles to my property were being built when I moved into my house...the gardens of both the properties, which are very long and narrow, run parallel to my back garden. I received a letter last week from a solicitor acting on behalf of the developer...it stated that due to a land registery query the developer is unable to register the 2 new properties...they are asking for my consent to change what they call an 'established boundary'. They enclosed an aerial photo marked with where they want the new boundary to be and the boundary runs along a fence that I erected last summer at the end of my garden. ( my garden is tiny by the way...only 25ft x 18ft and I live in a rural area!). There was a low, rotting fence there before which my neighbour told me the builders of the 2 properties had put up, as I have small children I replaced it for safety....... Also enclosed in the letter was a map indicating where the official boundary of my property is.... I got one hell of a surprise when I saw that the map shows that a good portion of both the gardens behind me actually form part of my plot!. this amounts to a plot over twice the size of my garden as it stands!....I went to the land registry and paid for a sealed and certified copy of my folio and lo and behold the extra land is registered as belonging to me and of course there is a charge attached to this land for my mortgage. The neighbouring house in my semi-block got the same letter and they have discovered too that they have more land than they realised. So what should I do next....Can I fence off the land that Is mine?....if I do these houses have little or no garden left and cannot access their oil tanks......One of the owners of the houses knows the situation and has a solicitor involved. So where do you think I stand legally....Im not interested in selling as I would love a bigger garden as we have never had room for swings et. my shed, washing line and oil tank take up most of the room. I live in ireland

Public Comments

1. I think you need a solicitor as well.
2. hi well i guess you can fence in your property!!
3. I believe that you should quickly obtain the services of your own solicitor and attempt to regain control of your own deeded property. If you do not, the law here in the U.S. (and our laws are generally based on Engllish Common Law) is that the other homeowners might eventually be able to claim it as theirs.
4. Check with your local land use administrator (that's what we call them here). A city or township official whose job it is to keep land use organized.
5. Without question put a fence up to your boarder line as stressed in your blue prints. I'm surprised you have to even ask on here, you are paying for this land in your mortgage. If the property developers would like this land they will need to negotiate a price to you regardless of what or where they have erected (illegally) on your property, which you have the right to get them to remove . It is not being unneighbourly as they are not going to be living there; but even if they were they know they are taking liberties - I'm surprised their solicitor is risking his licence with this anyway. Give your children the play area they deserve. I think you've guessed this has made me livid! Don't be so nice.
6. It's your land to do with as you like, so I think you should fence it in as soon as possible!! Get some legal advice on how to go about it - if the other house has been using it then you might have to give them a certain amount of notice, instead of them just waking up one morning to find their garden has gone! With the other solicitors, it's obvious that they've just realised it before you and think that by getting in there first they'll be able to turn it to their advantage and confuse you so much that you'll go along with it. Instead of "changing the boundary" (which implies that they are allowed to claim it as there own) what they should have done is offered you a price to buy your land off you, which you are free to refuse. I think you should make it clear that you will not give up what is rightfully yours, and they might back off - if they don't it's their money they'll be wasting as you have all the rights. Also draw up some kind of agreement that says they can access their oil tanks whenever necessary - maybe by giving you a certain amount of notice or by using one particular access path in the event of an emergency. This will show that you are reasonable and that there is no legal grounds for them to claim the land as their own without buying it off you.
7. you would need to check your deeds, and any rights of access by other owners. but before you close off any land, contact a solicitor to advise you of your rights, let him see your deeds