With the weather finally starting to heat up, many of us might be considering doing a bit of garden work to spruce it up for summer.
Giving the garden fence a fresh lick of paint or carrying out repairs are popular DIY jobs in the warmer months, but it can be tricky to work out which neighbour is responsible for which part of it.
This often leads to arguments and hostility between neighbours, which is never pleasant to deal with. But all you need to do is follow three simple steps to identify which side is yours, the Express reports.
All of the information you need is usually in the deeds to your property, but there are a few specific areas of this that are the most important to know.
Finding the boundary
This documentation, found in your property deeds, should describe where your boundary begins and ends.
Once you've found this, you should be able to tell which side of the fence is yours.
Sometimes the boundary noted in the deeds is outdated. This could be for two different reasons:
- The boundary has been altered
- Your neighbour has been using your land without realising
If you can’t find the correct listing in the deeds, you should search the Land Registry to identify who is responsible for either side of the fence.
Search the Registry of Deeds
The Registry of Deeds (ROD) keeps records of land that is not available through the Land Registry.
Details of unregistered land will be kept in the ROD and anyone can access it.
AXA Insurance said: “If you need to access information about your property, you’ll have to search records between 1923 and 1989 in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.
“Records from the January 1, 1990, have been computerised so you’ll have to visit a land and property services customer information centre to access them."
Check the title plans
This is one of the easiest ways to see which fence belongs to which neighbour.
These might show a ‘T’ mark showing the boundaries of your property, as well as who is responsible for maintaining them.
According to AXA Insurance, a ‘T’ mark on one side of the boundary means that the person on that side is responsible for the fence. If a ‘T’ is marked on both sides, responsibility is shared between both neighbours, which is known as a party boundary.
However, some title plans don't have a 'T' mark on them at all. When this is the case, you will need to find out whether there is assumed responsibility for the boundary.
Assuming responsibility is when either you or your neighbour take charge of placing and maintaining the fence on your own accord.
However, if both neighbours have been maintaining the fence, responsibility should continue to be shared.
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