Boundary Surveys and Disputes in Trinidad and Tobago
If a boundary is uncertain, preserve the existing evidence and ask a registered and licensed Trinidad and Tobago Land Surveyor to investigate the records and site. Explain any dispute at the outset. Obtain legal advice where ownership, possession, access or threatened works are involved. Moving a peg or commissioning a new drawing does not, by itself, resolve competing rights.
Read the complete surveying guideStep 1: record the concern and preserve the evidence
Write down what has changed or what does not agree: a missing mark, a new fence, an unexplained area difference or conflicting plans. Keep dated photographs, complete plans, title papers, notices and correspondence. Identify where the feature is without disturbing it.
Avoid removing a fence, relocating marks or starting disputed works on the strength of your own measurements. If construction, exclusion from the property or another urgent action threatens your position, consult an attorney promptly about the appropriate protective steps.
What should you do when survey pegs are missing or disturbed?
Ask a TTLS to investigate and, where appropriate, reinstate the marks using the relevant survey evidence. Regulation 27 addresses reinstatement of marks that have been interfered with. The position must be established professionally; placing a replacement where someone remembers a peg being is insufficient.
Section 55 addresses interference with permanent survey marks without lawful excuse and placement of boundary monuments without TTLS supervision. The rules also make provision for works affecting marks. Before fencing or construction that could disturb a mark, ask the surveyor to arrange the required safeguards and notice to the Director of Surveys.
Regulation 26 includes advance notice requirements for works that may endanger permanent marks. Tell the surveyor before the contractor starts. Keep photographs of the marks and any instructions about protecting them.
What notice must a neighbour receive before a survey?
Under Regulation 43, adjoining proprietors must receive notice identifying the TTLS and the survey date and time. The ordinary period is three clear days. Where land is being brought under the Real Property Act, the period is seven clear days and the purpose must be stated.
The regulation permits reasonable notice in unforeseen or unavoidable circumstances. Keep the notice, contact the surveyor if details are unclear, and supply any relevant plan or information about the boundary. Ask how your concerns will be recorded.
A notice is not a request to sign away land. If asked to sign an agreement, consent or statement, read what it actually says and obtain advice where its effect is unclear. Do not assume that attendance at the survey settles a disputed title.
Step 2: commission an investigation of the disputed boundary
Give the TTLS both the concern and the supporting documents. Ask for the work to address the disputed line, relevant earlier surveys, surviving marks, occupation and any differences between the site and records. Identify the question the report should answer.
Regulations 31, 32 and 39 require the surveyor to obtain relevant information, disclose doubts and discrepancies, and collect evidence needed to establish boundaries. Where the work leaves a problem unresolved, ask what further evidence or legal determination is required.
Keep the distinction between survey evidence and legal rights clear. Your attorney can consider the title, possession history, access instruments and any proposed agreement or proceedings in light of the surveyor’s findings.
Does a newer survey override an older plan?
A newer date does not settle the issue. Regulation 35 directs a surveyor re-surveying an existing boundary to recognise the original survey marks as defining the true boundary, even where their positions differ from the data on the original plan.
The regulation provides a specific exception where the evidence positively identifies a mark as having been placed incorrectly from the outset and establishes the original intention. Resetting it under that provision requires prior consent of all affected owners, no adverse effect on the relationship of improvements to the amended boundary, and disclosure of the discrepancy and action in a written report to the Director of Surveys.
Ask the TTLS to explain which evidence supports the conclusion and whether the conditions for any correction are met. This is a professional investigation of the particular boundary; the rule should not be used to defend a peg that someone later moved.
Does a smaller measured area prove encroachment?
No. A measurement difference needs investigation. Regulation 36 specifically requires the surveyor, when a re-survey shows different boundary lengths or areas, to demonstrate that the difference is not due to encroachment on or by neighbouring parcels.
Ask for the plans and evidence to be compared and for the explanation to be recorded. If an encroachment is identified, obtain legal advice about the rights involved and the appropriate response. Do not assume that the discrepancy can be corrected by moving the boundary to produce the advertised acreage.
Step 3: obtain an independent opinion where the evidence remains disputed
If the first explanation does not resolve the concern, engage another appropriately registered surveyor to review the work and evidence. Agree whether the instruction covers document review, field investigation and a written report. Provide the first plan and report so the reviewer can identify the precise disagreement.
The Land Survey Board requires independent evidence from another registered surveyor for a boundary complaint. It does not conduct field investigations into the correctness of a surveyor’s fieldwork.
Step 4: use the Land Survey Board’s complaint procedure where appropriate
Obtain the complaint form from the Land Survey Board Secretariat. Complete it, attach the relevant plans and evidence, and have the complaint sworn before a commissioner of affidavits or Justice of the Peace before submitting it. Keep copies and request an acknowledgement.
Explain the professional conduct or work being challenged. Include the responsible surveyor’s details, dates, instructions, correspondence and the independent survey evidence for a boundary complaint. The Board’s process concerns persons registered under the Act; suspected impersonation by an unregistered person should be reported to the Police.
The disciplinary process can address professional misconduct and defective work. It is separate from obtaining a legal determination of ownership. Ask an attorney about civil remedies or urgent protection where those are needed.
Can the disciplinary process order a refund or correction?
The Board’s public guidance states that the Disciplinary Committee cannot order a refund of fees. Section 54 provides other possible dispositions, including correction of defective work, payment of correction costs, and disciplinary sanctions where the statutory grounds are established.
A complaint does not guarantee any particular outcome. If you seek repayment, compensation, an injunction or a determination of property rights, explain that objective to your attorney so the appropriate legal route can be considered alongside any professional complaint.
Where to get help with a boundary problem
For professional registration and complaint forms, contact the Land Survey Board. The contact in the Gazette of 10 June 2026 is (868) 499-4572 and regsec_lsbtt@yahoo.com. For survey records, contact Surveys and Mapping. For legal advice, instruct an attorney experienced in property disputes or ask Legal Aid about its available services and eligibility.
Use the full register to check a TTLS, and keep the record reference for each plan obtained. When contacting a professional, state whether the immediate issue is a missing mark, conflicting survey evidence, threatened works, title or access. This helps establish the correct scope of work.
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