Barmaid - are you about?

[LoftyLottie]

I have a question for you. :o) please...

[Barmaid]

Loftie, I'm here now. Will help if I can.

[LoftyLottie]

Thanks Barmaid.

Have had a ongoing problem with a mad neighbour who has accused us of stealing some of his garden before he moved in next door in 2004. We have lived in our property for 30 years with the same boundaries. It has been a real problem because our land was only registered in 2002 when we changed our mortgage and the plans on the land registry were those from 1969. Nothing lined up and our 250 year old house wasn't even the same shape. It used to be two houses.

Anyway, I won't go into all that. The man has proved to be a nutcase and his solicitor has 'sacked' him. We have now proved we have always gardened within the same boundaries and have had help with legal insurance costs and had surveys etc. However, the mad neighbour won't agree to anything and refuses to agree to the boundaries being properly registered.

Our legal costs insurance doesn't cover the land registry bit but we now need to register the boundaries correctly. Land Registry have told us that it needs the neighbour's consent. So what do we do now!! I am not exaggerating about this man being a nutcase. We have already had to send a solicitors letter to him regarding harrassment on other issues.

Our insurance company have advised us to contact our own solicitor who will liaise with the neighbours solicitor (who isn't his solicitor any more). Can we say that this is yet further harrassment and malicious, because it certainly is. Will we ultimately have to take this through a court and can we claim companesation and costs.

This has been going on now for 18 months and started when we asked him nicely not to spray our garden with his weedkiller!!!

Just want your views.

Ta muchly xxx

[LoftyLottie]

I should have stated that he employed his solicitor initially to write us a 'frightener' letter and the letter said he had legal costs insurance, which apparently was a lie. We have put a 6' fence up our side of the existing boundary and his solicitor threatened us with court action if we didn't take it down. This same solicitor is the one who has 'sacked' him (for want of a better word!!)

[stanbesida]

I don't know whether this information will help you but I also had a problem with my neighbour, he had servitude over my property as it was his only access when the property was built but he purchased some more land from the tribunal and had another access. He would go through my gates and leave them open all the time even though he locked his own gates, my 6 month old pup got out one time and was knocked down and broke her spine so I had her put to sleep to stop her suffering. He has money and used to tell me that I would never win the case as he could afford the best solicitors whereas I was on legal aid, I have fought to get the servitude overturned and it has taken me 3 years of hell as he and his wife went out of their way to do everything they could to inconvenience me, including ripping the gates off their hinges by tying a rope round the spar and pulling it with their car, but with perseverence I finally succeeded in getting the servitude overturned and I blocked his access to stop him using it. I realise that this is different to your case but the land tribunal aren't idiots, we went to the land tribunal and the woman told a load of lies but the tribunal visited the property prior to making their decision and they could see that everything that they had said was a load of lies. GOOD LUCK, AND DON'T LET THE SOD GET YOU DOWN

[LoftyLottie]

Thank you stanbesida! I appreciate your post. Different circumstances, but it's nice to hear that justice prevails!
I am glad everything ended well for you. This chap has caused us a great deal of grief! We love our home and garden but he has spoiled things for us. Thanks again. x

[buildersmate]

Lottie
The process by which this works is contained in Land Registry Public Guide Number 19 here: -
http://www1.landregis.../public_guide_019.pdf

Read from paragraph 7 onwards. I fear that you are going to have to invest in a surveyor to have this drawn up for you. Only with that plan will the land registry to able to register your Title with 'Exact Boundaries', not what they refer to as 'General Boundaries'.
Its the only way if there are not fixed features (like immovable ditches, trees and walls that mark the boundary. The surveyor will draw a plan based upon the fixed features that do exist around the area that is disputed by your neighbour.
I have no idea how much it costs to draw this thing up.

[LoftyLottie]

Thanks Builders Mate. We have already had a survey done as part of the legal expenses claim and the legal costs firm paid for it. I have been told by Land Registry that they can't do it without agreement of the next door neighbour and this has been confirmed by the legal costs insurers. The legal costs insurers say it will have to be argued out between our two surveyors, but his surveyor has 'sacked him'.

Perhaps the Land Registry wrongly informed me so I will have a good look at your link and then get in touch with them again.

Thanks again.

[LoftyLottie]

I got that wrong. It should be "argued out between our two solicitors and he has been 'sacked by his solicitor!!!

We have already proved the boundaries have been the same for the last 30 odd years and the legal costs team would not have taken on the case without the survey. However, the legal costs insurance don't get involved in the actual registration - just give advice.

[buildersmate]

Then I think your only way forward is through the Adjudicator to the Land Registry - it says so at Para 9.

More information about using him in Practice Guide 37 here
http://www1.landregis...documents/lrpg037.pdf

Costly I'm afraid. Barmaid will have to help you about getting costs back - not my baileywick.

[LoftyLottie]

Thanks again Builders Mate. My questions to Barmaid will be whether we can get anything back from our neighbour because of his continuous harrassment over the last 18 months over this and other issues. We already have sent a solicitor's letter warning against further harrassment (last year!) and yet it continues. Hopefully, a solicitor will see a way forward so we are not the losers over all this and he has to bear the court costs and has to compensate us.

Appreciate your help.

[LoftyLottie]

Just skimmed through your last link. That's for that. I had spoken to the Land Registry about things and they didn't advise me about adjudication at all.

I am totally fed up with all this now. The neighbour is totally weird in lots of other respects too. I don't think he is quite the ticket!!!