Boundary Assessment, did you expect that to be binding?

If you are thinking about appointing a Joint Surveyor to "assess" a Boundary? Be careful where that might lead.

Don't get tied to a legally binding boundary assessment that you don't agree with.

It's something that we are asked to do quite regularly, and we've always pointed out the risks of owners using a "shared surveyor" for a Boundary assessment and giving an opinion, which could be binding on the parties. Of course, we see the attraction: less argument, a quicker process, sharing costs... but what if it is not an answer that you expect or you do not like the answer?

In the recent legal case of Crea v Camp [2025] EWHC 2638 (KB), heard at the Court of Appeal, our guidance and warnings have really been endorsed. The courts found that parties will be bound by the opinion of the Surveyor when it goes 'against' your view, and you still think their opinion is wrong, even if the Surveyor themselves might have had some doubt in how they reached their opinion.

In effect, the outcome was not about whether the opinion on the boundary was right or wrong; it was about whether the parties entered into a contract to be bound to that decision regardless of the 'correctness' of the outcome.

This post is not about the legalities of sharing a Joint Surveyor; there are very good solicitors who can explain that. However, from a Boundary Surveyor's perspective and as an Expert Witness in Boundaries, you could end up going down a one-way path with no turn-offs, and at the end of the path a binding decision that you really do not want... and you could be bound by an assessment that you did not expect to be binding.

So, if you do not have the legal advice and support to instruct a Joint Surveyor for a Boundary assessment, then make sure you understand what it means to be going down that path. Ask yourself, if you instructed a Joint Surveyor for a Boundary assessment, did you expect that to be binding.

We believe that mediation conducted by a skilled mediator with extensive experience in boundary issues is a preferable and likely safer option.

The benefits of our mediation services are shared costs, fair guidance, and sensible evaluation of the matters to facilitate a sensible and sound outcome. At the end of the day, the parties keep complete control over that outcome and will not be bound by an assessment that they are not content with.

Contact us today, let us know what stage you are at in any boundary dispute, and we can explain what we can offer to assist: initial boundary appraisal, mediation, expert witness reports, or if and when the circumstances really are right for it - a joint instruction boundary report.