Long days, dry weather, and a flurry of garden projects make summer the busiest season for boundary disputes in the North West. The fence that was acceptable in February becomes a flashpoint in June when the neighbour’s new patio butts up against it. If you are buying a home, selling one, or simply trying to settle a long-running disagreement between gardens, a clear surveyor’s view of the boundary line is the most useful document you can put on the table.
Trust Surveyors helps homeowners across Liverpool, the Wirral and Cheshire untangle these situations through a boundary review built into a Level 3 Building Survey. The survey looks at fences, walls, hedges and outbuildings against the title plan, and sets out what the registered boundary actually shows. Our Buying a Home guide explains how to weave this into the conveyancing process so you do not inherit somebody else’s argument.
What the Title Plan Shows and What It Does Not
Every registered property in England and Wales has a title plan held by the Land Registry. The plan shows the general extent of the property using a red line drawn over an Ordnance Survey base map. What the title plan does not do is fix the exact position of the boundary to the centimetre. That is the so-called general boundaries rule, set out in the Land Registry’s guidance on boundaries and confirmed in case law for decades.
This matters in summer because most disputes are about a few inches at the edge of a flower bed or the line of a new fence panel. The title plan rarely resolves those arguments on its own. What it does do is establish the starting position. A surveyor reading the plan against the physical features on the ground can then tell you which features match the registered boundary, which features do not, and what evidence might support a different line.
Sean Pearson, who founded Trust Surveyors in 2023 after more than ten years of practice across Merseyside, sees the same pattern most summers. A neighbour replaces a sagging fence with a new panel set six inches forward, the householder accepts it at the time, and two seasons later someone wants to build a shed against the same line. By then the new fence has begun to feel established. A timely survey of the boundary and outbuildings creates a written record before the situation hardens.
When a Survey Helps a Boundary Question
Three situations come up most often. The first is when you are buying a property with an unusual or contested boundary feature, such as a wall that appears to belong to the neighbour, an outbuilding that straddles the line, or a shared driveway with no clear deed of easement. A pre-purchase Level 3 survey will flag these issues before you exchange, while you still have time to ask the seller’s solicitor for clarification.
The second is when you are selling and a buyer’s solicitor raises questions late in the process. A short report from a RICS registered surveyor, written for the file, often settles the question without going back through the deeds. It is faster than a determined boundary application and a fraction of the cost.
The third is the long-running garden dispute between settled neighbours. Most of these never go to court, and most of them should not. The route forward is usually a conversation supported by a surveyor’s written observation of where the registered boundary sits and what each side’s physical features actually show. The Citizens Advice guidance on neighbour disputes outlines the practical steps before any legal route is considered.
Walls, Fences, Hedges and Outbuildings
A boundary feature is not the boundary itself, which surprises many homeowners. A fence may sit slightly inside the registered line, leaving a strip of land that is technically yours but that you have never used. A hedge may have grown across the line over decades. A garage built against a party wall may have been constructed with permission that was never recorded in the deeds. Each of these is a separate question, and a surveyor will look at each one in turn rather than treating the whole boundary as a single matter.
Hedges are the most common cause of summer arguments because they grow. Beech and laurel hedges in older Liverpool gardens often reach two or three metres tall by July, and the cutting line that was acceptable in the 1990s has crept several feet across. The Citizens Advice guidance on high hedges explains the formal route through the local authority, but most cases are resolved by an early conversation grounded in a clear survey.
Party Walls and Shared Structures
Many North West terraced and semi-detached properties share structural walls. Where work is planned on or near a party wall, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 imposes a formal notice procedure that is separate from any general boundary question. Trust Surveyors works with party wall surveyors as part of our wider service. If your survey identifies a party wall issue alongside a boundary question, we will recommend the right next step rather than try to combine them in a single report.
The most common party wall trigger in summer is loft conversion work and rear extensions to Victorian and Edwardian terraces around Wavertree, Allerton and Crosby. Where these works affect the line of the party wall, a formal notice is needed and a party wall award follows. Skipping the process is one of the few legal shortcuts that almost always costs more than doing it properly.
How the Survey Visit Works
A boundary-focused inspection takes the title plan, the deeds, and any historic plans that the seller can provide, and walks the line. Fences, walls and hedges are measured against the registered boundary. Photographs are taken at each significant feature. Any outbuildings, lean-to structures, or hard landscaping that crosses or sits near the line are noted with measurements.
The resulting report sets out the registered line, the features on the ground, and the differences between the two. Where the boundary is ambiguous, the report explains the ambiguity rather than papering over it. The aim is to give you, your solicitor, and your neighbour a clear, neutral document to work from.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a survey settle a boundary legally?
A surveyor’s report is strong evidence but it is not a court judgment. It is enough to settle most informal disputes and to support a determined boundary application if one is needed. A determined boundary, registered with the Land Registry, is the only way to fix the line to the centimetre on the official record.
How much does a boundary review cost?
We quote at booking based on the property size and the complexity of the boundary. A boundary review added to a Level 3 Building Survey on a typical three-bedroom semi adds a small fee to the headline survey cost, much less than a standalone instruction.
What if my neighbour refuses to engage?
A written report from a RICS registered surveyor often changes the conversation, because it provides a neutral starting point that is hard to dismiss. If formal proceedings become necessary, the same report can be relied on by a solicitor or barrister later.
Can the survey be done from outside?
Most of the inspection is external, so access to your own property and a courteous knock at the neighbour’s door are usually enough. We never enter a neighbour’s land without explicit permission.
Will the report decide who pays for a new fence?
The report will identify which boundary features sit on which side of the registered line, which often clarifies maintenance responsibility. The deeds may also impose specific repairing obligations, and the surveyor will flag those for your solicitor to interpret.
If a boundary question is bothering you this summer, or if you are buying a property with an unclear garden line, arrange a survey with the Trust Surveyors team and we will visit the property within the week.
