Real estate agents and property owners have been urged to engage the services of licensed surveyors when dealing with property boundaries.
The Real Estate Agents Licensing Board’s (REALB) compliance and monitoring officer Vinal Singh highlighted that surveyors had the expertise and training to accurately locate and place legal boundary pegs.
Mr Singh said it could avoid possible issues such as the risk of losing ownership of the property.
He said a surveyor would ensure that the property boundary was properly defined and documented to ensure a smoother and more secure property settlement process.
“It’s important that buyers and sellers engage trained and licensed professionals and experts in determining property boundaries, it is a small investment that can save unnecessary headaches and expenses down the road,” Mr Singh said.
Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources surveyor general Asakaia Tabua said according to the Surveyors Act and Regulations only registered surveyors were allowed to carry out the redefinition survey of a boundary.
According to Mr Tabua there is a survey process in place under the surveyors’ regulations that surveyors need to follow when carrying out redefinition surveys.
“This is mandatory under the Surveyors Act and Regulations and all land administrators are aware of this,” Mr Tabua said.
He shared that all approved survey plans belonged to the State and are kept at the Lands Department adding that leases and titles are then registered based on these approved survey plans.
“Property owners need to be aware of their boundary so they know whether there is an encroachment or not.”
The REALB reiterated that the use of license surveyors was crucial to ensure that property boundaries are accurate and clearly defined to avoid any potential disputes among the relevant parties.
