Should there be a survey of the existing old structures (1921)?

Hello!

Last year we bought a plot of land that was developed in 1921. For this, one parcel was divided into 8 parcels (for 2x4 row houses). The one with the number H is ours. We had an appointment with the civil engineering office because of a boundary retaining wall in need of repair (directly next to the wall is a city footpath with street lamps). According to the lady’s documents, our plot should be about 1 meter wider at the back than we have measured it today. So it is suspected that the wall is 1 meter too far on our property or that the boundary to the other neighbor is not correct, which we rather do not suspect. That would also mean that the street lamps are on our property and would have to be moved. Boundary stones are not findable. It is not known whether the plot has ever been surveyed at all. I have an appointment at the cadastral office on Monday for this; a general inquiry could not be answered by phone.

Shouldn’t it have been surveyed already when the parcel was divided into 8 parcels back then? I mean, surely this was not just done roughly or by rule of thumb in 1921, right? Maybe someone has experience with how it looks with old properties. There is no retroactive surveying obligation for such old buildings in our federal state, but the plot must have been measured once for the construction back then, at least I think so.

A survey would certainly cost around €2000-2500 (6 corner points, 652m2, high standard land value), we would of course like to avoid that. On the other hand, a new wall or embankment also costs a lot of money and should then be in the right place.

Regards

In our state, there is certainly no obligation for a subsequent survey for such old buildings

It's a pity you don't reveal which state it is. Cadastre is a state matter.

Shouldn't it already have been surveyed when the parcel was divided into 8 parcels back then?

Yes.

I mean, that certainly wasn't just done roughly back in 1921, right?

No.

A survey would certainly cost around €2000-2500 (6 corner points, 652m2, high standard land value), we would of course like to avoid that.

If the boundary stones (or other boundary markers) cannot be found, you cannot avoid a boundary notification, regardless of whether the boundaries have already been determined in the past or still need to be determined.
According to §919 et seq. of the Building Code, the neighboring landowner, presumably the municipality here, must contribute to the costs, unless state laws provide otherwise.

The federal state is Saxony.

Thank you very much for your assessments!

A quick update on the current status: The cadastral office copied and handed over the original survey documents to me for €15. The distances now actually match the current boundaries, and we also found out that we own a piece of land behind one of the fences and that our property does not have a corner at one point, but rather a rounded boundary. In any case, this has already clarified very cost-effectively where the boundaries run.

Why we had to find all this out ourselves instead of getting the documents and especially information from the previous owner is a mystery to us. But oh well...