Spotlight On Boundary Disputes

Disputes over land often arise when one owner encroaches onto the other owner’s property. Sometimes the issue is clear cut and relatively simple but since land ownership is based on a title plan, and those plans and maps they are based on are prepared and read by human beings, there are bound to be errors from time to time. No scale plan can ever be 100% accurate, and that is especially true when the scale plan represents an average sized bungalow and garden as being the size of a postage stamp drawn on an A4 page. Problems and ambiguities are bound to arise. It is essential to get practical advice about what can and can’t be achieved, and what it will all cost.

If an encroachment is about to take place, for example building work is about to commence it is important to take action at the earliest possible stage. Interim interdict can if necessary be sought to prevent the encroachment or agreement obtained from the other party to hold off whilst the dispute is sorted out. Once an encroachment, say for example a building, has been constructed the court has an equitable power in some circumstances to allow it to remain.

If parties are unsure about where a boundary line exists, and there is sufficient goodwill, it is generally possible to agree where the boundary is to be going forward and to “record” that agreement in order that there is certainty in future.

Even where the legal position turns out to be that one party owns the land outright it may be possible to argue that the other one has a right of access over it (or under it, in the case of pipes and cables) which may provide a solution.

At Jones Whyte we never forget that each case is very personal to the client, and that the client will have to live with their neighbour after the dust settles. We aim to be practical and pragmatic and to find workable solutions where possible.