Boundaries – The Importance Of Being Precise

The recent Court of Appeal decision in Norman and another v Sparling¹ serves as reminder to both buyers and sellers to ensure that a transfer or conveyance clearly defines the extent of the land being sold.

The case

Mr and Mrs Birch owned Hebron Farm and surrounding land and gifted a parcel of land to Mr Birch's mother. The deed described the land by reference to the length of boundaries. The boundaries were described as being shown "for identification purposes only" edged red on an attached Ordnance Survey plan. But the measurements of the boundary between the gifted parcel and Hebron Farm were missing from the plan. To add to the ambiguity, the plan used was at such a small scale that the parcel of land was shown as less than an inch on the plan.