Ask a solicitor: Neighbouring farmer says he owns my shed

He told me that the shed is within his maps and that he actually owns it, and that I am to arrange to remove my belongings and machinery.

He is the type of person that if he thought he could claim an extra bit of land, he would do it in a heartbeat. As you can imagine, I was totally aghast and taken aback, and insisted that I owned the shed. 

He said that he had an engineer look at the maps and the engineer confirmed to him that he, in fact, owned the shed. What would you advise I do?

Dear Reader,

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 to 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. In essence, you cannot take the Land Registry maps at face value.

There is a wise saying: “If you think it is expensive to hire a professional to do a job, wait until you hire an amateur”.

I have come across many people who do not see the value of an engineer or a surveyor when they are buying a property and rely on what the map attached to the contract, or sales memorandum represents. This is why it is hugely beneficial to engage a professional to examine the map attached to a deed or contract when you are acquiring ground. I note that you say that your lands have been in the family for generations.

Your first step is to engage an independent engineer to check your map and engage in a solicitor to take up a copy of the Land Registry Instrument under which you became the registered owner, or your predecessors in title.

It is a possibility that you may never have owned the property on paper, and it is also a possibility that a mistake was made when the Land Registry maps were digitalised in 2005. The Land Registry is the registering authority in relation to property in Ireland.

The Land Registry, in 2005, announced that all existing paper-based maps would be converted into electronic form over a five-year period, in the digital mapping project, and it was finalised in Ireland in 2010.

A solicitor will need to inspect your map and read the map in conjunction with your folio.

If the official map confirms that you still have a mapping problem, the next thing to do is contact the Land Registry, providing them with the details and the folio, and ask them to investigate the mapping of your property. The Land Registry will check and see if the registration was made in accordance with the deeds and the maps originally lodged.

If an error was made in the Land Registry, and it is of the opinion that the error can be rectified without loss to any person, then it can rectify the error after serving notices on your neighbour, who would be affected.

It occurs occasionally that the portion is incorrectly included in another person’s title and generally, the Land Registry errors would be small.

If the registration, however, was made in accordance with the deeds and maps originally lodged, then you will need to go to your solicitor and seek their advice in relation to potentially an adverse possession application or approaching your neighbour to sign a deed of rectification in your favour, or a deed of transfer in your favour, depending on the extent of the mapping error.

When an error cannot be rectified by consent, it may be that it can be rectified by the court. If an interested party refuses to cooperate, then, unfortunately, it may be necessary to take court proceedings, but this is the exception rather than the rule.

Karen Walsh, from a farming background, is a solicitor practising at Walsh & Partners Solicitors, 17 South Mall, Cork, and 88 Main Street, Midleton, Co Cork, and also the author of 'Farming and the Law'. Walsh & Partners also specialises in personal injury claims, conveyancing, probate, and family law.

Email: info@walshandpartners.ie 

Web: www.walshandpartners.ie

• While every effort is taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this article, Karen Walsh does not accept responsibility for errors or omissions howsoever arising. Readers should seek legal advice in relation to their particular circumstances at the earliest opportunity.