Land Dispute Solicitors

The registered title is the starting point, but the filed plan shows general boundaries only, so the exact line is established from the conveyancing history, the words and plans of the original transfers, and the physical features on the ground when the land was first divided. Expert surveyor evidence is usually central, and a jointly instructed surveyor resolves many boundary disputes without proceedings. Boundary agreements, once reached, should be recorded by deed and registered so the dispute stays resolved.

An easement is a right over one piece of land for the benefit of another, with rights of way the most common. They arise by express grant or reservation in a deed, by implication on the division of land, or by prescription after twenty years of use as of right, meaning without force, without secrecy and without permission. Whether a claimed right exists, what route and purposes it covers, and whether it has been abandoned are the usual battlegrounds, and the answers sit in the title and the history of use.

It can, if it remains enforceable: a restrictive covenant properly protected on the title binds successive owners, and a person with the benefit can seek an injunction or damages. But covenants are read strictly, the benefit must be shown to attach to identifiable land, and the Upper Tribunal has power (under section 84 of the Law of Property Act 1925) to discharge or modify covenants that are obsolete or obstruct reasonable use without securing practical benefit. Many development schemes proceed on a negotiated release or indemnity insurance once the covenant has been properly analysed.

For registered land, the adverse possession regime of the Land Registration Act 2002 requires the occupier to prove ten years of exclusive possession without consent and then apply to the Land Registry, and the registered owner is notified and can object, which defeats most applications unless a limited exception applies, including a genuine boundary mistake. The worst response is delay: objection deadlines are strict, and continued inaction can convert a weak claim into a strong one.

Where an established right of way or access to premises is obstructed, the court can grant an injunction requiring the obstruction to be removed, and interim injunctions can be obtained quickly where damages would not compensate the ongoing loss of trade. The application must be supported by evidence of the right and the loss, and delay weakens it. In parallel we put the case to the obstructing party, because the credible threat of an injunction resolves many obstructions within days.

Contracts for the sale or other disposition of land must be in writing, signed and containing all the agreed terms to be enforceable. Where a valid contract has been breached, remedies include specific performance compelling completion, damages, and the return of deposits, and option and overage agreements are enforced according to their conditions, strictly construed. Where the writing requirements were not met, the position turns on more limited doctrines, which is why land deals should be papered properly from the first exchange.

We quote fixed fees for every stage, agreed before any work starts, at prices around 30% cheaper than a standard law firm, from an initial title and evidence review through to mediation or proceedings. Because the value at stake is usually the land or the trade it supports, the review stage is designed to tell you early whether the dispute is worth fighting, settling or conceding, before serious money is spent.