Angled fence possibly inside my land, can I ask for it to be moved?
Hi all, after some legally minded opinions on a possible boundary issue in England.
I own the land on the left of the sketch. The sketch is only to explain the layout and is not to scale.
My neighbour owns or maintains the fence between our properties. Most of the fence line is straight, but the last section angles in towards my side. At the widest point, it looks like it may be up to around 2 feet inside my land.
The neighbour has said the fence was angled because there used to be a large tree in the corner and that the stump and roots are still there. From my side, I can’t see any obvious stump or roots, so I’m wondering if the stump is on the neighbour’s side or around the point where the four gardens meet.
The current neighbour was already living there when I moved in, and I understand the fence may have been there before they moved in too, so I’m not saying they personally put it there or did anything wrong.
My main question is if that angled bit is inside my land, can I reasonably ask for it to be moved back to the correct boundary line, or is this the sort of thing people usually just let go?
Also, does the fact the fence was apparently angled around an old tree stump weaken the idea that the fence itself shows the true boundary?
I’m not trying to escalate it. The neighbour has been reasonable so far. I just don’t want a fence that may have been positioned for convenience around an old tree to later be treated as the boundary.
Thanks in advance for any advice or pointers. I know boundary issues can get messy, so I’m trying to understand the sensible next step before doing anything.
