Although the law on boundary walls/fences is relatively straight forward, the issue of ownership or maintenance, in practice, is sometimes a difficult and sensitive issue. A seemingly minor disagreement can quickly become a full-scale boundary dispute involving solicitors' letters and threats of court action.

With any boundary queries:

• At the outset you should review the relevant title deeds to see if there is anything which defines ownership or maintenance responsibility for the boundary feature.
• The information contained in the title deeds takes precedence over any of the opinions of the parties.
• In the absence of any title deed information, who has maintained the boundary can be key.
• If property abutting the boundary is leased, the lease should also be reviewed as this can impose contractual obligations relating to maintenance.

If a boundary is wholly on one owner's property then:

• He will be solely responsible for its maintenance.
• He needs to comply with building regulations if the boundary wall or fence exceeds a certain height. The relevant local authority should be contacted in this regard.

If the boundary wall/fence is built on two or more areas of land belonging to different owners:

• All owners would normally be jointly responsible for the boundary's maintenance.
• Each owner can use his part of the wall as he pleases, provided he does not adversely affect the 'common interest' in the boundary.

Common interest imposes both a restriction and a positive obligation on the owners. The restriction is that each owner must not to disturb the stability of the boundary. The positive obligation is that each must maintain his own part of the boundary.

If you would like advice on a specific boundary dispute query please do not hesitate to contact someone in our commercial team who would be happy to assist.