Encroachment occurs when an owner of a property extends a structure or some other feature beyond the boundaries of his land onto land belonging to a neighbour.
Encroachment can involve fences, buildings, driveways, landscaping, or even utilities that cross over a property’s boundaries. Encroachments in Cyprus usually arise from outdated boundary surveys, most often due to builders failing to survey the land before they start construction work.
How do boundaries become outdated?
If we turn back the clock to the 19th century, a British surveyor and cartographer by the name of Horatio Herbert Kitchener surveyed Cyprus. Kitchener, a junior officer at the time, went on to become 1st Earl Kitchener who is probably best known for his WWI recruitment poster, surveyed Cyprus.
Although his survey was considered to be very accurate at the time, it’s accuracy was limited to the equipment available to him at the time. E.g. Kitchener used a 100-foot chain supplied by the Ordnance Survey.
Surveying equipment has become more accurate since Kitchener’s time. Today Cyprus uses sophisticated surveying equipment that measures distances that are accurate to within 1-2 millimetres over typical distances and employs global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).
This increased accuracy means that plots of land may appear to have ‘moved’, with their boundaries now encroaching onto their neighbours land.
Resolving disputed boundaries
Land encroachment in Cyprus is a serious issue, especially given the island’s limited land area and growth of the real estate market since the start of the century.
Resolving encroachment and boundary disputes typically involve legal, administrative, and sometimes technical approaches, depending on the severity of the encroachment and the parties involved.
Avoiding the problems
I have three friends whose properties encroach on their neighbours land and there’s no easy solution to the problem. Their properties are located on the edge or outside the built up areas. Two bought land and built individual houses and one bought a detached house that was built some years earlier.
To avoid the problems experienced by my friends, I recommend that anyone buying land to have the plot surveyed to confirm its boundaries. Similarly if someone plans to buy an older resale property on the edge or outside the built up area I recommend they have it surveyed.
The Department of Lands & Surveys (DLS) publishes a list of licenced private surveyors, or people may chose to have a DLS surveyor undertake the work.
Fees for private and DLS surveyors may be found at the Land Registry’s leaflet of Fees & Charges.
