Legal Advice with Karen Walsh: Land Registry maps identify properties, not boundaries
There is a wise saying, “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do a job, wait until you hire an amateur”.
I have come across many people that do not see the value of an engineer or surveyor, when they are buying a property, and rely on what the map attached to the contract, or the sales brochure.
You should always engage a professional to examine the map attached to the contract with what you are being sold on the ground.
Once you sign the contract, you have accepted the map, and it is too late to turn back.
The title shown on the folio in the Land Registry is guaranteed by the State, which is bound to indemnify any person who suffers loss through a mistake made by the Land Registry.
However, it is important to note that the Land Registry map identifies properties, not boundaries, and provides that “the description on the land on the Land Registry map shall not be conclusive as to the boundaries or extent of the land”.
The State guarantee does not extend to boundaries.
You cannot take the Land Registry maps at face value.
Ownership of properties registered in the Land Registry can, often times, appear to reach out to the middle of the roadway abutting that property.
I receive numerous queries on this point.
So, does a registered owner of a property own the land extending out to the middle of the public road which abuts it, or is it limited to the physical boundary of the property itself?
While boundaries may, sometimes, appear to reach, on the map attached to a folio, to the middle of the road, it is generally taken that a property owner’s title extends only as far as that property’s own boundary, fence, gate, hedgerow etc, unless a property owner can show evidence to the contrary.
If the road is in the charge of the local authority, it does not mean the local authority owns the road.
It does, however, impose a restriction on anyone, including a landowner of property abutting the road, interfering with or blocking members of the public use of the road.
In addition, not all roadways are in charge of the local authority, some are private roads.
A landowner’s map may extend out to half the road.
The owner across the way has a similar map extending out to the other half of the road. Very often, both landowners have been using this roadway for many, many years to access their respective properties, and have acquired what is known as a right of way by prescription.
It is not in the interest of either owner to instigate blocking or interfering with the usage of the road by the other owner.
Such an action would inevitably result in that owner’s neighbours seeking injunctive relief for the interference they suffer regarding their right to use the roadway.
If neither party has a right of way registered in favour of their property, it is in the interest of both to execute a deed of right of way in favour of one another.
If your right of way is not registered, it is best not to antagonise your neighbour.
It is always in your interest to keep things amicable with your neighbour.
The boundaries of a property, as per the folio, encompassing half of the adjoining roadway, cannot, and should not, be taken as conclusive evidence of title, and certainly should not be used to support the assertion that roads and paths used in common with others over a long period of time can be interfered with, under the assumption of ownership.
It is always wise to consult with a solicitor before interfering with or blocking any roadway.
