Property boundary maps

We are the national mapping agency of Great Britain and the government department responsible for the official, definitive surveying and topographic mapping of Great Britain.

As Ordnance Survey (OS) maps are topographic maps, they only show the physical features on the ground at the time of survey. The features shown must fall within the specification for the survey scale and within the published accuracy tolerances.

Our maps never show legal property boundaries, nor do they show ownership of physical features. Although some property boundaries may be coincident with surveyed map features, no assumptions should be made in these instances and consequently it is not possible to be sure of the position of a legal property boundary from an OS map.

HM Land Registry uses Ordnance Survey mapping to provide a representation of where a property's boundaries are located.

For example, if no physical feature (such as a wall, fence) exists on the ground to separate two gardens, nothing will be shown on Ordnance Survey mapping. However, in order for a boundary to be represented on a title plan, HM Land Registry will indicate extent of the property with a red line. HM Land Registry will show the extent of the land in a registered title by a red line on the title plan. Where a boundary of the land is not defined by a physical feature on the Ordnance Survey map, HM Land Registry indicates it on the title plan by a dotted line.

A red line on a title plan drawn by HM Land Registry does not mean that a dividing feature exists on the ground. Similarly the absence of a dividing feature on the Ordnance Survey mapping does not mean that information is missing from the OS map or that the title plan supplied by HM Land Registry is incorrect.

Remember that the title plan only shows the features that existed at the time the property was surveyed. Fencing removed or added later will not be shown.

We have a continuous mapping revision programme for the whole of Great Britain. Changes that have occurred on the ground since the property was registered may result in differences between later OS map editions and the mapping used by HM Land Registry for the title plan.

If you are trying to determine who owns an area of land or where a legal property boundary is, then please contact HM Land Registry.

Our remit is to survey and map the physical features on the ground at the time of survey, not to define a legal boundary.

A legal boundary is an invisible legal line that denotes the extent of land ownership and this is decided by HM Land Registry. In most instances this invisible legal line runs along a physical feature, like a hedge or a wall. However, this is not always the case and sometimes there is no physical feature on the ground or the feature has been moved – such as a wall being rebuilt in a different location.

HM Land Registry uses our base maps to create the title plan within your title deeds. They mark a red line or red box on the map to denote the extent of the legal boundary. If the red line does not coincide with a physical feature on an Ordnance Survey map, HM Land Registry may add their own lines to help denote the legal boundary. Therefore, should you have any questions about legal boundaries or responsibility for a wall, fence or hedge, please contact HM Land Registry.

Unfortunately we cannot advise you on boundary disputes. Boundary disputes can be complex and you may wish to take legal advice.

HM Land Registry also provide guidance on

• How to find out where the boundary of your property is
• Who has responsibility for a boundary fence, wall or hedge?

HM Land Registry keeps a computerised map based on our map. This map (the ‘index map’) provides an index of the land in the title for the vast majority of registrations and pending applications for first registration. To find out if land is registered, you should complete form SIM to apply for an official search of the index map. You can visit HM Land Registry’s website to view a copy of the details of a registered title.

HM Land Registry will show the extent of the land in a registered title by a red line or box on the title plan. Where a boundary of the land is not defined by a physical feature on the map, HM Land Registry indicates it on the title plan by a dotted line.

HM Land Registry uses our mapping to provide a representation of where a property’s legal boundaries are located, based on the ‘general boundaries’ system of land registration.

England and Wales operates a ‘general boundaries’ system of land registration. A title plan with ‘general boundaries’ shows the boundary of a property in relation to a given physical feature on the ground such as a wall or hedge as identified on our map.

The red edging on a HM Land Registry title plan is therefore not definitive as to the precise position of the boundaries. For this reason official copies of title plans carry the following warning:

'This title plan shows the general position of the boundaries: it does not show the exact line of the boundaries. Measurements scaled from this plan may not match measurements between the same points on the ground'.

The word ‘boundary’ has no special meaning in law but in land ownership it is understood in two ways:

1. Physical boundary – a registered title almost never shows ownership of individual boundary structures such as walls, fences and hedges. There may, however, be some relevant information on the register or in HM Land Registry’s files. For example, HM Land Registry may have kept a copy of a deed that refers to a boundary declaration or agreement, or to the ownership or maintenance of boundaries. Please note that, deeds rarely deal with such matters. If ownership or maintenance is important to you, you may, for example, need to talk to neighbours and/or previous owners. We cannot provide information on either property extent or land ownership.
2. Legal boundary – a legal boundary deals with the precise separation of ownership of land. It is an invisible line dividing one person’s land from another’s. It does not have thickness or width and usually, but not always, falls somewhere in or along a physical boundary feature such as a wall, fence or hedge. The exact positions of the legal boundaries are almost never shown on registered title plans and are not shown on our maps.

HM Land Registry creates the title plan from our base mapping. HM Land Registry receives copies of our mapping and can add additional information to their own versions (such as a red line or box) or extra annotation to explain the extent of a legal property boundary. This additional information is not added to our mapping database, so if you have questions about what is shown on our title deeds, in particular the depiction of the red box, please contact HM Land Registry in the first instance.

No. Maps purchased or sourced direct from us never show legal property boundaries, nor do they show ownership of physical features.

Although we use a line on a map to show a feature (such as a hedge, fence, wall) we do not know who owns this feature. Some legal boundaries may run alongside physical features, but in this case we only show the existence of physical features on the ground at the time of survey –  which are surveyed to our specification and published accuracy standards.

Consequently, it is not possible to be sure of the position of a legal property boundary from our map. You will need to view your Land Registry title plan and determine where they have drawn the ‘red box’.

Our maps use the same line symbol for a wall, fence, hedge, bank, ditch and stream. If there are several features in close proximity to each other, it may not be possible to represent each one individually at the scale the mapping is created. Therefore, it may not be obvious from the map which feature the line represents.

Even if a correct interpretation of the map can be made, the general boundaries rule means that the line on the map may not be the legal boundary. It is the position of the actual feature on the ground, not the position of the line on the map that is important in attempting to trace the position of the legal boundary. Accurate analysis of the map can usually only be achieved by taking the map onto the site and comparing it with the features on the ground. This can help decide what has been shown, what has been omitted for the sake of clarity or because the map scale does not allow multiple features in close proximity to be shown.

If no physical feature (such as a wall, fence) exists on the ground to separate two gardens, nothing will be shown on our mapping.

For a legal boundary to be represented on a title plan, Land Registry will indicate the extent of the property with a red line or box. Where a boundary of the land is not defined by a physical feature on our map, HM Land Registry indicates it on the title plan by a dotted line.

A red line on a title plan drawn by HM Land Registry does not mean that a dividing feature exists on the ground however.

Similarly, the absence of a dividing feature on our mapping does not mean that information is missing from our map or that the title plan supplied by HM Land Registry is incorrect.

HM Land Registry title plans only show the features that existed at the time the property was registered with them. Fencing, walls or hedges that have been removed or added later will not necessarily be shown on your title plan, since these are not updated and recreated every time we update the mapping.

We have a continuous mapping revision programme for the whole of Great Britain. Changes that have occurred on the ground since the property was registered may have been added to our mapping (new fences or walls). The result is that later map editions will differ from the mapping used by HM Land Registry for the title plan.

No. Such revisions will not affect legal land ownership and title deeds of a property and a registered title will not change unless authorised by HM Land Registry. Physical features on the ground change over time and, for this reason, we have a continuous mapping revision programme. In the event that there are changes to the physical features on the ground, this may involve our surveyors visiting your property so that the mapping can be updated and amended.

The title plan will not establish precisely where or on which side of a mapped physical feature the legal boundary lies. A title plan with 'general boundaries' shows the boundary of a property in relation to a physical feature on the ground such as a wall or hedge as identified on our map.

Your title plan will not therefore establish the precise position of your legal boundary. For this reason, official copies of title plans carry the following warning:

This title plan shows the general position of the boundaries: it does not show the exact line of the boundaries. Measurements scaled from this plan may not match measurements between the same points on the ground.

No. You should not rely on the title plan to scale any measurements that might be stated in your title deeds. Paper maps (particularly copy maps included in deeds) can be subject to distortions and inaccuracies, as any copying processes (such as photocopying) can lead to the distortions in the map image.

If you feel that the red box added by HM Land Registry does not correctly show you legal ownership, we recommend that you contact HM Land Registry to establish if they can assist.

We welcome all customer feedback about the content and accuracy of our maps. We understand that sometimes there may be a delay between changes taking place on the ground and the time when we are able to capture them. We have a continuous map revision programme, and issues with the content or accuracy of our mapping that fall within our specification will normally be investigated at the next revision of the mapping for the area.

We are unable to become involved in boundary disputes. If you need an expert to prepare evidence, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors offers a dispute resolution service that includes an expert witness.