Determination of property boundaries. How and when?
The Bulgarian legal system creates and guarantees numerous mechanisms through which the right of ownership can be protected.
One of the most important and effective ways to protect property is through property claims, which are provided by the legislator in various normative acts. First and foremost, these are the general declaratory actions for ownership, which are admissible as long as the plaintiff has an interest in bringing them and can establish it. The remaining claims are regulated in special laws, among which are the vindicatory claim, the negatory claim, and the claim for determining property boundaries. In this article, I will focus on the latter.
Claim for determination of property boundaries
Such a claim should be filed when the boundary between two adjacent properties is unclear, difficult to determine, or disputed between the property owners, and cannot be established by their mutual agreement. In such cases, the legislator has provided the opportunity for each of the neighbors to resolve this dispute by filing a claim with the court.
A claim for determination of property boundaries can be filed together with a vindicatory claim. This will be necessary in cases where the plaintiff in the case believes that part of their real property is possessed by the defendant, and that in determining the boundaries between the two properties, the defendant has seized part of their property. In such a scenario, the two claims should be objectively joined in order for the plaintiff to regain possession of their own property, if their claims are indeed justified.
Prerequisites for filing a claim for determination of property boundaries
When filing a claim for determination of property boundaries, in order for it to be admissible, it is necessary that an administrative procedure for establishing the boundaries between the properties is not applicable under the terms of the Spatial Planning Act (SPA) or under the terms of the Cadastre and Property Register Act (CPRA). In these cases, it is possible to request a change in the detailed development plans or in the cadastral maps and cadastral registers, if there is sufficient data that the boundaries between the properties were determined as a result of incompleteness and errors in the preparation of the cadastral plan.
The claim for determination of property boundaries is admissible only and exclusively if it concerns properties outside the territory of settlements and settlement formations. If there is a dispute over boundaries in settlements, the procedure for correcting errors and omissions in the cadastral map and cadastral register is set out in the Cadastre and Property Register Act. If there is a dispute over rights in the case of incompleteness and errors, they should be removed after the dispute is resolved in court.
Parties in the proceedings for determining property boundaries
Parties to the claim for determination of property boundaries can only be owners of adjacent properties, and the properties should not be regulated.
The plaintiff in the proceedings, as is the general principle in civil proceedings, must have a legal interest in bringing this claim. In practice, this means that they must be a person who owns a property for which there is a boundary dispute with the adjacent property. In the process of proving their case, they must establish their right of ownership over the property, that there is no boundary or that it is unknown and unclear, and what the actual boundary is.
The defendant in the proceedings is the owner of the adjacent property. In these proceedings, each of the parties can enter into the procedural capacity of both plaintiff and defendant. The subject of the dispute is such that each party bears the burden of proof and must prove and establish all the facts and circumstances that are relevant to proving their right of ownership up to the boundaries to which they claim their property extends.
Subject of the claim for determination of property boundaries
The filing of a claim for determination of property boundaries aims to establish the exact location where the boundary between the two properties should pass, and both parties in the case have an equal interest in establishing these disputed circumstances.
This claim can be filed with the district court at the location of the real property. This claim is not subject to the statute of limitations. In these cases, an expert opinion is most often appointed, and in its conclusion, the expert will determine the exact location of the boundary. A sketch is prepared with the designation of the properties and the boundaries between them.
Decision on the claim for determination of property boundaries
It is widely held in case law that the specified claim is a declaratory one, and the decision on it establishes exactly where the boundary between the two properties is. In theory, however, there is no definitive answer to the question of whether this is a claim for establishing facts (the location of the boundary) or a dispute regarding the spatial limits of the right of ownership.
The decision in this case may also have a constitutive effect. This will be the case when, in the course of the court proceedings, it is established that there is a difference between the area according to the documents and the actual area, which is established during the expert examinations.
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More interesting topics in the field of real estate law can be found in the “Real Estate Law” section.
Law Firm “Silvia Petkova” has experienced real estate law specialists who can provide the necessary assistance in determining property boundaries, as well as in any violations of property rights.
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