Party walls and boundaries
The fence posts stand on your side of the panels and the seller says the fence is shared. Can the survey decide the boundary from the posts?
No. The survey cannot decide the boundary from the posts. They stand on your side of the panels, and the seller says the fence is shared, but neither fact is a title determination. Post position is how the fence was built. A seller's remark is a remark. The inspection can describe the fence it saw. It cannot award the boundary, and it cannot turn a timber fence into a decided legal line.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
People treat posts on one side as a custom about who repairs a fence. Custom is not the plan, and a home survey does not adjudicate custom. Party-wall legislation is about certain work to walls and excavations, not about reading ownership off a post. The surveyor saw posts on your side of the panels. That sentence describes carpentry. It does not measure the legal boundary and it does not confirm the seller's claim that the fence is shared.
Ask the solicitor to compare the title plan and any boundary agreement with the fence on the ground. Keep the survey's description as condition and position of the posts, not as the answer. Do not start a boundary dispute from the inspection, and do not ignore a leaning panel if the fence itself is failing. Ownership and repair of the timber are different questions, and only one of them was even looked at.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did you describe where the posts stand without deciding the boundary?
- Does the seller's remark form any part of your finding?
- What condition of the fence, if any, did you actually record?
What are the typical next steps?
- Leave the boundary to the solicitor and the title plan.
- Treat post position as a description, not a decision.
- Do not accept a shared fence solely because the seller said so.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the panels are new, has the line been agreed?
No. New panels show recent timber, not an agreed boundary. The survey cannot decide the line from the posts, whether the fence is fresh or old. The seller's comment remains a comment. Ask the solicitor to read the plan. A neat fence can still sit off the legal line, and this inspection has not checked that.
Can a firm post prove you must maintain the fence?
No. A firm post is a condition note. It does not create a duty to maintain, and it does not prove the fence is shared. The survey has not decided the boundary. Maintenance follows the title and any agreement the solicitor finds, not the side of the panel the post happens to occupy.