Who let the dogs out? How can I settle a boundary dispute with my neighbour and get them to erect a dog-proof fence?

Question: I recently sold some of my garden to a neighbour. He was supposed to put up a dog-proof boundary fence as soon as he had cleared the land. However, while he has now cleared the land, he has also cleared an extra 200sq ft of my lawn, which he shouldn’t have done, and has failed to erect the fence. Now my dog keeps escaping on to the road and into another neighbour’s garden. Can we make the buyer re-lay the lawn that he should not have cleared and build that fence?

Answer: The sale of part of land is more complex than the sale of whole. Check your title deeds.

The agreement you reached with your buyer in relation to the sale of part of your land should have been reflected in the terms of the contract of sale between you and him, and any reservations, easements and covenants in that contract should have been included in the transfer of part.

Attached to the transfer of part should have been a plan identifying the land you sold and it should have included a covenant requiring the buyer to erect a dog-proof fence within a certain time period.

Talk to the buyer, point out that he is breaching the fencing covenant and show him the extent of the land according to the Land Registry plans.

Request he reinstates your lawn at his cost and erects the fence.

If you cannot resolve the situation amicably you could take court action against him for an order for specific performance requiring him to reinstate the lawn, erect the fence and pay damages.

Check whether you have legal expenses insurance to help with your legal costs.

These answers can only be a very brief commentary on the issues raised and should not be relied on as legal advice. No liability is accepted for such reliance. If you have similar issues, you should obtain advice from a solicitor.

If you have a question for Fiona McNulty, please email legalsolutions@standard.co.uk or write to Legal Solutions, Homes & Property, London Evening Standard, 2 Derry Street, W8 5EE. We regret that questions cannot be answered individually, but we will try to feature them here. Fiona McNulty is a solicitor specialising in residential property.