Property boundaries: title plans, boundary agreements and disputes

What a title plan shows, and what it does not

HM Land Registry’s guidance, updated on 24 September 2026, sets out the limits:

• Title plans are based on Ordnance Survey mapping. The red edging shows the registered land and, “in almost all cases”, the general boundary only.
• The edging often follows a wall, hedge or fence shown on the map, but the legal boundary cannot be assumed to follow that feature. If it does, the plan does not show exactly where: the line might run through the middle of a hedge or along one side.
• You should not rely on measurements taken from a title plan to locate the legal boundary on the ground.
• For a leasehold flat, the red edging may show the outline of the whole building rather than the flat. Read the register and plan together with the lease.

Legal boundary and physical boundary. The legal boundary is an invisible line between two pieces of land. The physical boundary is what you see: a fence, wall, hedge, ditch or tree line. It may sit on the legal line, to one side of it, or have moved over time.

Who owns the fence, wall or hedge

HM Land Registry is direct about two common beliefs: there is no rule that the fence on the left or right belongs to that property, and which side the posts and rails are on is not a reliable guide either.

What can help:

1. The title register and your solicitor’s documents. Some record ownership or maintenance, many do not.
2. Deeds marked “copy filed” in the register. You can order a copy with form OC2.
3. Covenants in a deed, such as a promise to maintain a wall. This shows who must maintain it, not always who owns it.
4. “T” marks on a deed plan. A T on your side often means you maintain that feature; T marks on both sides (an “H”) may mean shared responsibility. HM Land Registry says the marks “are not always conclusive”: check the wording of the deed.

Before you act: the checklist from HM Land Registry

• check your title register and title plan;
• look for deeds marked “copy filed”;
• check the documents from your solicitor;
• speak to your neighbour before changing or moving a boundary feature;
• get advice from a legal professional or chartered surveyor if you need the exact legal line.

If the property borders a public highway, the plan will not show where private land ends and the highway begins: land that looks private may be part of the highway.

Three ways to record the boundary more precisely

Boundary agreement. GOV.UK lists what it must include: both names and addresses, the date it begins, and the agreed boundary, as a written description, a marked-up Ordnance Survey map or a hand-drawn map. HM Land Registry adds that it can be as simple as agreeing the boundary is the middle of a hedge, and that once made it applies to future owners too. It does not change who legally owns the land: if land on one side must pass to the other owner, that needs a transfer. Get legal advice first.

Determined boundary. You need a registered property, form DB, a plan by a chartered land surveyor and evidence such as pre-registration deeds, an expert’s report or a signed statement. If your neighbour agrees, they sign the form and plan. If they object and no agreement follows, the application goes to a tribunal, and a rejected applicant may have to pay the neighbour’s costs. HM Land Registry notes that less than 1% of registers have determined boundaries, mostly because applying is expensive.

If you disagree with your neighbour

HM Land Registry suggests trying to agree a practical solution first, as mediation may avoid court or tribunal proceedings, “which can be very costly”. It points to the RICS boundary disputes guidance and mediation service; GOV.UK also mentions the RICS helpline scheme. Building work on or near a shared wall falls under a separate law: see party wall agreements.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

GOV.UK sends readers to separate services for boundaries in Scotland and in Northern Ireland. This guide covers England and Wales only; Payotte did not review the Scottish or Northern Irish rules.

Which professional to consult

A surveyor (a chartered land surveyor for a determined boundary plan) measures what the title plan cannot. A conveyancer reads the register, deeds and covenants, and drafts a boundary agreement or a transfer of land. Before buying, the title plan is part of the title register your conveyancer reviews.