If a neighbour has had some of what “should” be your land fenced off for a fair period of time (say b/wn 10-15yrs),is there some way of “claiming” it back?
Can i just pull the fence down,get it re-surveyed & re-fenced as it legally should be? Or do they automatically have some rights over it once a certain amount of time has lapsed??[confused2]Misty,
In Victoria the occupational boundary ie the fences can become the ‘legal boundary’ once a certain period of time has elapsed, notwithstanding that the boundary on the title is different.
Your post says 10-15 years. I think if 15 years has elapsed then the title goes on the fences. If less than 15 years a correction might still be possible.
You will need to see a lawyer who is experienced in this area of law.
The kind of things that will need to be considered are:
1. exact time fence was constructed and any circumstances eg agreement between the property owners.
2. did the fence replace an earlier fence(s) and if so when and where was that fence(s)
3. history of ownership of both properties, including was there any time when both properties were in the same ownership as that might affect the period or it might mean that something has occurred so that even if within the limitation period you might be estopped because of the action of a predecessor in title to youYou need expert Victorian legal advice.
(as an aside the differences in the law in this respect is one reason why in NSW conveyancing surveys are done very commonly and in Victoria why they are rare).
crj
thanx for confirming my fears…..Someone i know said i’d be in for a big pooh-fight,one that he tried to follow the legal way once,& he had such trauma-fist fights,abuse,solicitors,costs,etc,that he said if he’d have known what was involved the legal way before hand,he would have just pulled the fence down,wacked up a new one,then let the neighbour try & sort it out!Food 4 thought…
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