Registered Titles with General Boundaries

Determining the precise location of a legal boundary is often not as straightforward as simply looking at the red line on a registered title plan.

Section 60 of the Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA 2002) states that (unless the boundary is shown as determined under that section): “the boundary of a registered estate as shown for the purposes of the register is a general boundary…”. This is known as the “general boundaries rule”.

General Boundaries

Where a title is registered with general boundaries (as nearly all titles are), the exact line of the legal boundary is undetermined, such as whether it includes or excludes the whole of any adjoining road, hedge, or ditch.

Purpose of the General Boundaries Rule

Whilst section 60 LRA 2002 may initially seem to fly in the face of what land registration is intended to achieve, it’s worth remembering that its intended purpose is to facilitate the process of land registration by avoiding the necessity (and considerable costs) for investigations, exhaustive surveys, and possible legal proceedings before applications for registration can be completed.

Nor does this mean that filed plans are worthless. Although they do not show the exact legal boundary, they provide a good guide as to the location and general extent of the land in the title.

Determining the Exact Position of Legal Boundaries

Where the exact position of the legal boundaries is important, the title plan is a helpful starting point. The primary evidence as to the position of a boundary is in the title documents, which may contain a more detailed description as to the exact boundaries. The location and history of physical features on the ground are also useful factors.

Alteration of Title Plans

There are occasions commonly encountered with development sites when parties may seek to have the red edging on a title plan drawn in a different place. Some Local Authorities may request an extension of the red edging of a developer’s title plan (for example, during their consideration of section 38 Agreements).

HM Land Registry may alter the red edging on a title plan to show the general boundary more accurately when the alteration is sought in relation to an adjoining boundary feature, such as a highway, a hedge or a ditch. This may be desirable, for example:

1. Where re-examination of the pre-registration deeds indicates that the red edging may be updated to more accurately reflect the contents of the deeds as reconciled with the most up to date Ordnance Survey detail.
2. To reflect the application of the hedge and ditch presumption. This is a legal presumption (that may be rebutted by evidence to the contrary) that, where two properties are divided by a hedge and an artificial ditch, or a bank and an artificial ditch, the boundary runs along the edge of the ditch furthest from the hedge or bank.
3. To reflect the application of the ad medium filum presumption. This is a legal presumption (that may be rebutted by evidence to the contrary) that the boundary of land abutting a highway, private right of way, river, or stream extends to the middle (subject to, in the case of a highway, to the rights of the highway authority). According to section 263 of the Highways Act 1980, where a road or path is highway maintainable at the public expense, the surface vests in the highway authority.

If you would like to discuss any title boundary issues, please get in touch. I can be contacted on 0330 818 3090 or via email at jennifer.tully@birkettlong.co.uk.