Cambridge-educated tax boss loses four-year court battle to demolish neighbour's kitchen over 48cm boundary breach

Susannah James, who runs an insurance tax business with husband Chris, bought their £600,000 semi-detached house in Surbiton in 2021 and launched legal action the following year demanding neighbours Mina Sharma and Neil Deeley tear down their kitchen wall. Judge Ewan Paton ruled against the Jameses, granting Sharma and Deeley 'squatters' rights' over the disputed 48cm strip of land.

The kitchen extension dates to the early 1980s, meaning it had stood for decades before any of the current owners acquired either property.

The encroachment went undetected for around 40 years because thick foliage along the rear of both properties obscured the boundary line.

The judge ruled that Sharma and Deeley had held a 'reasonable belief' the land was theirs — defeating the Jameses' demand for demolition entirely.