Legal boundaries: Boundaries part 5

Transcript: In law, every property has a precise legal boundary an invisible line that separates land owned by one person from that owned by another.
Sometimes this line will coincide with boundary features like a fence, and sometimes it won't for example, an owner might erect a fence within the extent of their property but still own a strip of land on the other side of it.
In reality, however, title deeds rarely define exactly where legal boundaries lie, even if there are plans attached to them.
When we register a property for the first time we create what we call a 'title plan'.
These are based on the Ordnance Survey map for the area, and they show the Ordnance Survey mapping detail such as buildings, roads etc.
The outline of the extent of the property or piece of land concerned shown is edged in red.
You can obtain copies of our title plans for a small fee.
We can't give you any information about your boundaries or ownership of property over the telephone.
The red edging shown on our plans only gives a general indication of the boundary location.
This is because of something called the 'General Boundaries Rule' which is part of the legislation that governs Land Registry
The effect of this Rule is that whilst we use plans that are drawn to scale they cannot be used to establish the precise location of legal boundaries.
Also, a feature shown on the Ordnance Survey map by a single black line
which scaled up might represent a third of a metre on the ground depending on the scale of the plan, might represent something much wider or narrower than that, such as a thick hedge or a single-course brick wall.
Another reason why our plans can't be used for this is because of something called 'mapping tolerances'.
All plans are subject to these depending on their scale.
These can mean that if you measure between two features on a plan that may not be the same as the distance between those features on the ground.

www.gov.uk/your-property-boundaries

Your property boundary questions and answers.
Part 5 of 6

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