Reinstating a suburban boundary where the fence and pegs disagree
A 1928 subdivision in a Wellington suburb created Lot 14 with a 16.18 m street frontage and a right-angled rear corner. The original iron tube at the rear corner survives, but the two street pegs are gone under a concrete footpath. A 2019 timber fence sits about 0.35 m east of where the front boundary should be, and the owner wants the new survey to adopt the fence because it has been like that for years. A recent CSD for the adjoining lot shows the same rear mark and dimensions that close within 0.02 m. The owner is selling and needs a cadastral survey dataset to support the boundary. The territorial authority has no record of a boundary adjustment. You must decide what evidence controls the boundary, whether the fence can be marked, and how to record any mark exception under the Cadastral Survey Rules 2021. The client is pressing for a quick answer because the listing goes live next week.
1. Explain how you would weigh the available boundary evidence and determine the position of the front boundary points. Include what you would not use as controlling evidence.
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The controlling evidence is the original survey mark at the rear corner plus the original CSD dimensions and bearing. I would occupy the rear iron tube, check its condition and provenance, then reinstate the front boundary from the original plan geometry. The adjoining CSD is a strong independent check because it uses the same rear mark and closes within 0.02 m; I would compare both plans for bearing, distance and right-angle consistency. The 2019 fence is occupation evidence, not the legal boundary. A 0.35 m offset is far too large to treat as a minor marking discrepancy, and there is no boundary adjustment or CSD support for a moved line. I would not adopt the fence merely because it is old or because the owner wants a quick sale. I would also not average the fence and the plan position, and I would not invent a new dimension to make the fence fit. The correct approach is to re-establish the original boundary, document the evidence and uncertainty, and advise the owner that the fence appears to encroach or leave a strip. Any legal consequence of long occupation is a matter for the owner and legal adviser, not a decision the surveyor makes by moving the boundary.
2. What marking approach and CSD annotation would you use at the street frontage, given the concrete footpath and the fence offset?
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The front boundary points still have a legal position even though they cannot be physically marked in concrete. I would first check whether a mark can be placed at the boundary point without destroying the footpath, for example at the back of kerb or by a permitted witness mark. If the point is inaccessible because of the permanent concrete surface, I would use the mark-exception process under the Cadastral Survey Rules 2021 rather than marking the fence. The CSD should show the boundary point, the dimensions that define it, the nature of the occupation, and the reason for the exception. The annotation should be factual: the point is not marked because it lies under a permanent concrete footpath, and the fence is approximately 0.35 m east of the boundary. I would not label the fence as the boundary or place a mark on the fence as if it were the boundary point. If a witness mark is allowed, it should be referenced by distance and bearing from the boundary point. The record must allow a later surveyor to understand both the legal line and the physical occupation without ambiguity.
3. The owner asks whether the fence creates a new legal boundary. Draft a short response.
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No. A fence is occupation, not a legal boundary. The boundary is the line defined by the original survey and the cadastral record, subject to any legal boundary adjustment or order. A fence that has been in place for years may be evidence to consider, but it does not by itself move the boundary, and this survey cannot simply adopt it because it is convenient for a sale. The survey will reinstate the legal boundary from the surviving mark and the original dimensions, and it will show the fence offset on the CSD. If you want to change the legal boundary, that requires a separate legal process, usually a boundary adjustment or subdivision consent, and I can advise on the survey requirements once you have taken legal advice. For the sale, the important point is that the CSD must be accurate, not that it matches the fence.