The use of this service is indicated by Options B4 and B5 of our How can we help you? web page. |
What is an ‘Exact Line of Boundary’?
An ‘Exact Line of Boundary’ is a boundary:
- whose exact position has been established by a professional land surveyor, and
- which has been accurately mapped and accurately described by that surveyor, such that
- the boundary’s position (if it should become lost) may be reinstated to within 10 mm by any person equipped with a tape measure, and
- which has been accepted, as part of a Form DB application, onto the register by Land Registry.
The termini and turning
points of the exact line of boundary must be related to sharply defined points
of enduring detail (such as to the corner of a building, or to the corner of a
brick wall, but not to a tree trunk, nor to a bend in a river, nor to a moveable
shed).
In some circumstances it may be appropriate
to emplace one or more permanent ground marks to act as reference points in
situations where there are no suitable reference points within a tape's
length of the boundary point.
The reference points should be close
enough to the boundary points for a layman with a tape measure to be able to
measure the distance. A determined boundary is generally suitable for use in
a residential setting, but it may be difficult or impossible to implement on
farmland or woodland.
Unilateral and party applications
Whilst an Application to Register the Exact Line of a Boundary is usually made jointly by the neighbours who own the land on either side of the boundary, it is possible for a landowner to make an application unilaterally. However, Land Registry’s first action on receipt of the application will be to contact the applicant's neighbour to ascertain whether there is agreement as to the exact position of the boundary. If there is not then the application will be rejected.
When should you and your neighbour make an Application to Register the Exact Line of a Boundary?
- When you have both identified a need for a precise definition of the boundary and are in a position to amicably agree the precise position of the boundary.
- When the precise position of the boundary has been established through mediation or through some other process of alternative dispute resolution.
- When the exact position of the boundary has been decided in a court action.
Service offered
Jon Maynard Boundaries Ltd can accept joint instructions (ie. work on behalf of both parties, who each pay half of our fee) to:
- assist the parties in agreeing the position of the boundary,
- survey and describe the agreed boundary to the demanding standards laid down by Land Registry,
- submit to Land Registry an application on Form DB supported by a plan signed by both parties.
The process will involve our surveyor examining relevant documentary evidence to satisfy himself:
- that he has correctly identified the registered proprietors of the land,
- in the case of an amicably agreed boundary, that the intention of the parties is to clarify the position of the boundary and not to effect a transfer of land (for which a transfer deed must be drawn up by a conveyancing solicitor),
- in the case of a boundary established by alternative dispute resolution or by the judgment of a court, that the boundary settlement or judgment is exactly executed in the Form DB application.
A visit to the site will be necessary:
- in the case of an amicably agreed boundary, to advise the clients and to map the boundary;
- in the case of a boundary decided by alternative dispute resolution or by judgment of a court, to check the definition against the ground, and (if our surveyor has not already mapped the boundary in the course of preparing an expert report for one or both parties) to map the boundary.
Expected outcome
The object of the exercise is to give a much more precise description of the boundary than the ‘general boundary’ that is recorded by Land Registry, and to provide a description that will enable a layman equipped with a tape measure to re-establish the position should the physical boundary markers (whether these be special boundary markers, or posts, or fences, or walls, or other physical markers) be lost at a later date.
Because the Exact Line of the Boundary is noted on the register, its position will be binding on both parties and on their respective successors in title.
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