BOUNDARY disputes always seem to raise emotions and can often end up in expensive litigation.

Understandably we feel protective about our property and need to defend it when we feel that others are trying to lay siege to what we feel is rightfully ours.

While one party may feel they are being reasonable, the other, “unreasonable”, party leaves them with no option but to fight on.

Matters are always complicated because the legal boundary is not always the same as what appears to be the physical boundary (such as a wall). The legal boundary is an imaginary or invisible line. The Land Registry makes it clear that their plans only show the general position of the boundary – the General Boundary Rule.

So when disputes arise, as well as becoming heated, the costs usually end up being out of all proportion to the value of the land involved, and taking such a case to a full-blown trial often incurs the displeasure of judges!

While mediation can help parties to resolve such matters, there are plans to remove these disputes from the court system. The Property Boundary (Resolution of Disputes) Bill 2016 is currently at the committee stage. Similar to the Party Wall Act 1996, it will provide a way of resolving disputes where the position of the boundary is determined by surveyors appointed to deal with the matter.

It is anticipated that the parties will either select a joint surveyor or they will appoint one each, who will then jointly appoint a third surveyor. The appointed surveyor(s) will then determine the dispute and make a decision which will be binding on the parties.

However, this decision may leave one party aggrieved, which is why mediation may still be better.