Right to light disputes can be expensive and time consuming. It’s best to engage an expert commercial property solicitor as early on in the process as possible to help manage and mitigate the risks.
Start by reviewing your deeds to see if they reference any rights of light. Next, assess neighbouring properties to identify any windows or openings from which natural light has historically entered.
Negotiation
The amount of natural light a property receives can make a huge difference to the enjoyment and usability of a room, like with Blackacre Surveyors. When that access to light is threatened by a neighbouring development, it’s entirely understandable that homeowners would want to take action. The key to successfully navigating right to light disputes is finding compromise. This is why it’s important to have expert advice at hand, so that you can explore your options and find the right path forward.
There are several steps that can be taken to resolve a right to light dispute, but it’s essential that you speak to an experienced commercial property solicitor as early on in your project as possible. In many cases, addressing any potential issues at the outset can save you time and money further down the line.
One option is to negotiate directly with the affected party. This can be done via face to face meetings, phone calls or email correspondence. It’s worth bearing in mind that the outcome of these conversations can affect how your build is progressed onsite. This could involve changing the scale of your development or altering the design to mitigate the impact on your neighbours’ rights to light.
If direct negotiations are unsuccessful, a mediator can be brought in to facilitate discussions and help both parties find a middle ground. This can be a much quicker and less expensive option than pursuing legal proceedings, and often yields more positive outcomes than court action.
In some situations, it may be necessary to pursue legal action if the infringement of your neighbour’s rights to light is severe and unrelenting. The Court can then award compensation to your neighbour, order that your construction is halted onsite, order that the offending element of your building be altered or in extreme cases, that it be removed altogether.
Navigating right to light disputes can be challenging, and resolving them quickly is a crucial part of keeping your project on schedule. It’s worth bearing in mind that any out of court settlements or damages awarded to your neighbour may be subject to legal costs, so you should consult with an experienced commercial property solicitor as soon as you suspect there are any issues.
Mediation
The level of natural light entering your property can make a significant difference to how enjoyable you find living in it. So, when you discover that neighbouring constructions or the removal of trees are preventing you from enjoying your right to light, it’s important to take action.
Dispute resolution can often be achieved through mediation, whereby you and your neighbours meet with a neutral facilitator to discuss the issues in an open and collaborative way. Although the process is not suited to every case, it’s a highly successful strategy for settling rights to light disputes.
However, a high percentage of mediations are not resolved during the proceedings. Nevertheless, the enhanced mutual understanding that comes with mediation is likely to improve prospects for a settlement later on.
Aside from the legal costs, defending or negotiating right to light claims can delay project timelines significantly. For this reason, it’s advisable to engage an experienced property dispute solicitor as early on in the process as possible – to ensure that any potential rights to light problems are fully understood and addressed.
If you decide to pursue legal action over a rights to light issue, there are two remedies available to the court: compensation or an injunction. Compensation would involve the court awarding you a sum of money in order to compensate you for your loss, while an injunction could prevent you from building on your site, require changes/adaptions or, in extreme cases, result in demolishing the offending work.
In most cases, a judge will not order you to remove any part of your new build unless there is a clear and material loss of value that cannot be remedied with compensation. This is because the courts are keen to balance the interests of your neighbours and your right to light.
As Flettons Surveyors regularly stress, a valid planning permission does not necessarily absolve you from infringing on your neighbours’ right to light. It’s also worth noting that there are numerous cases in which a building has been built without the benefit of any formal planning permission, but it still infringes on your neighbour’s rights to light.
Arbitration
The property market’s post-recession resurgence is good news for developers and homeowners alike. However, it has the potential to lead to a flurry of right-to-light disputes that could stop construction projects in their tracks or force developers to pay compensation for infringing on neighbours’ rights to light. The law relating to the right to light is complex, but with expert advice, these disputes can be avoided.
Rights of light are legal easements that give owners the legal entitlement to enjoy sunlight passing over their land through a ‘defined aperture’, typically a window in their building. If a new development (including a home extension) diminishes the amount of natural light that reaches a neighbouring property, it can lead to a dispute. These disputes can be resolved through a variety of ways, including arbitration and court action.
In many cases, the parties will try to reach an amicable settlement to avoid legal action. This may be achieved through a negotiated payment or an amended design that addresses the issue. It is important that any agreement reached is documented. Ideally, this should take place before the work begins, so that there is a paper trail showing that the issue was raised and discussed.
However, if a negotiated solution cannot be agreed, or the Adjoining Owner feels that their rights are being infringed by the Developer’s proposed works, it is best to follow the Right to Light Protocol and seek legal advice. Taking a neighbour to court over issues of legal right of light is not something to be undertaken lightly, as it can incur significant costs and introduce uncertainty into the proceedings.
If a claim is successful, it will result in damages being awarded to the injured party or, in extreme cases, an injunction ordering the developer to demolish part of the new development. It is important that developers carry out a risk assessment of the likelihood of a right to light claim at the planning stage and seek advice on how to best protect their interests. Our team of property lawyers have the expertise required to deal with these sensitive issues and ensure your development project progresses smoothly.
Court
The legal protection of rights to light is something that many property owners and developers are not familiar with – but it should be a significant consideration whenever you think about carrying out work on your building or garden that may impact the amount of natural light a neighbouring building receives. Considering right to light considerations at the planning stage is essential and our expert property lawyers and dispute resolution team are always ready to advise and refer you to specialist right to light surveyors if necessary.
A legal right to light is a form of easement that gives a landowner the right to receive light through ‘defined apertures’ in buildings on their own land, usually windows. The legal test for an actionable interference is whether the impacted landowner has suffered an actual reduction in light as a result of the obstruction. This could be as a result of a tree, fence or new development on neighbouring land interfering with the amount of light available to the impacted property. If this is the case then an injunction could be obtained, preventing the work from being carried out or requiring its removal. Alternatively the landowner might be compensated in lieu of an injunction.
As a final resort, if the above steps fail to resolve a dispute then both parties might wish to consider mediation. This is usually less costly than formal court proceedings and can often resolve a disputes quickly and effectively. Our expert property dispute lawyers are experienced in negotiating out of court settlements regarding right to light disputes.
As a result of the complex nature of rights to light and the potential impact on a building’s value, it is generally best to seek advice from specialist property dispute solicitors as soon as any issues arise. This will help to prevent any problems from arising and potentially result in costly litigation that could have been avoided. Our expert property team is able to offer advice and assistance on all aspects of commercial and residential property law and dispute resolution. Call us on 01225 462871 or email us at [email protected].
