Expert reports to settle boundary disputes — fast, fixed-fee.

A boundary dispute is any disagreement between neighbours about where the legal boundary line runs — typically over fence or wall positions, hedges, driveways, encroachment by an extension, or differences between what's on the ground and what's shown on the Land Registry title plan. Land Registry plans are general boundaries only and are not definitive, which is why an independent chartered surveyor's report is normally needed to settle the matter, support mediation, or be used as expert evidence in court under CPR Part 35.

By default, the red line on a Land Registry title plan is a 'general boundary' — it shows the approximate position only. A 'Determined Boundary' is a precise line fixed under section 60 of the Land Registration Act 2002 and Rule 118 of the Land Registration Rules 2003. We can prepare the plan, accompanying statement and Form DB application so HM Land Registry can register the exact line on the title.

Standard turnaround is 3–4 weeks from instruction: roughly 3–5 working days to obtain Land Registry documents and historic deeds, 5–10 working days to arrange and complete the site visit (or drone survey), and a further 7–10 working days to draft and issue the written expert report. A desktop-only survey is usually delivered within 7–10 working days. An urgent <2 week turnaround is available for a 25% uplift.

The more we have up front, the faster (and cheaper) the job. Helpful items: the official copy of the Land Registry title plan and register entries (Forms TR1/OC1/OC2 if you have them), the original conveyance or transfer deed and any pre-registration deeds, any historic Ordnance Survey extracts, architect's or planning drawings showing the disputed boundary, any photographs (dated where possible) of fences, walls or features before they were altered, copies of correspondence with the neighbour or their solicitor, and any previous surveyor's report. PDF, JPG, PNG, DWG and DXF up to 25MB per file are accepted.

A desktop survey is suitable for early-stage neighbour negotiations, pre-purchase due diligence or where the dispute can be settled by interpreting the deeds alone. A full site-visit expert report — with a measured survey on the ground (and a drone survey if useful) — is recommended whenever the dispute may escalate to mediation, a Land Registry Determined Boundary application, or court proceedings. Only a site-visit report carries the evidential weight expected by the courts.

Yes. Our full site-visit expert reports are prepared in compliance with CPR Part 35 and the RICS Surveyors Acting as Expert Witnesses practice statement, so they can be relied on in the County Court, the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) and in mediation. Court attendance and expert witness days are quoted separately at £1,750 per day and only charged if instructed.

Unlike the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, there is no statutory framework that obliges one neighbour to pay the other's surveyor fees in a boundary dispute. Each side usually instructs and pays their own surveyor. Costs can sometimes be recovered later if the matter goes to court and you win, or if the parties agree to share fees as part of a settlement or Determined Boundary application.

Yes — and the courts expect it. The Pre-Action Protocol for Property Disputes and the overriding objective in the Civil Procedure Rules encourage parties to use Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) before issuing a claim. An independent expert surveyor's report is usually the single most useful document in mediation, because it gives both sides a neutral, evidenced view of where the true boundary lies.

We cover a 70-mile radius of Swindon, including Bath, Bristol, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Stroud, Cirencester, Oxford, Witney, Banbury, Reading, Newbury, Basingstoke, Andover, Salisbury, Winchester and Worcester. Outside that radius we may still quote — get in touch.