Tomasz was buying a house in Dublin and doing what most careful buyers do — he visited the property several times before completion. During one visit, something caught his eye. The wall at the side of the garden didn't quite line up with what was shown on the title map. The map showed the boundary line running in one direction, but the actual brick wall his neighbour had built was clearly a few feet further in, onto what should have been his land.
He raised this with his solicitor right away. His solicitor immediately understood the problem. Title maps are important documents, but they're not always perfectly to scale or perfectly accurate — especially for older properties. When there's a gap between what the legal documents say and what's actually on the ground, it needs to be sorted out before anyone buys or sells the property. A boundary discrepancy can affect the value of the land, your rights to use it, and whether future disputes might arise.
Rather than let this problem sit until after he owned the house, Tomasz's solicitor contacted the neighbour's solicitor and the two worked together to resolve it properly. They agreed on where the true boundary should be, based on the available evidence and a practical look at the situation. Once both sides agreed, they registered the corrected boundary with the Land Registry before Tomasz completed his purchase. This meant he took ownership with everything clearly settled and documented.
By catching the issue early and dealing with it openly and professionally, Tomasz avoided what could have become a long and expensive dispute. He moved into his new home knowing exactly where his property ended and his neighbour's began.
Under Irish property law, your title deeds and the Land Registry map define your legal boundary. However, if the physical boundary on the ground differs from what's shown on the official records, this must be resolved. The Land Registry can register a corrected boundary if both the property owner and the neighbour agree, or the matter can go to court if there's disagreement. It's much simpler and cheaper to sort this out before you buy — which is why a good solicitor checks the title map carefully against site visits and raises any concerns with the seller.
Boundary disputes can be registered at the Land Registry for correction up to 12 years after the discrepancy arose, but attempting to resolve them during a property sale is the sensible approach. Once you've purchased a property, correcting a boundary becomes more complicated and expensive — you may need a surveyor's report, agreement from your neighbour, or even a court application. Always flag boundary concerns to your solicitor during the buying process so they can be settled before completion.
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