Both property owners worried about an infringement on their legal right to light and developers planning nearby construction can benefit from a professional right to light assessment. These assessments help to prevent time-consuming compensation claims and delays during construction.
Such delays can be costly, especially for larger commercial developments.
1. You’ve Received a Letter
The legal right to light is a valuable asset for property owners, allowing them certainty that natural light will continue to be enjoyed by the building. Infringements on this right may result in substantial damages. It is therefore important for developers to be aware of potential infringements and take action early in the project process to ensure compliance, as well as to hire Blackacre Surveyors & Valuers.
If you’ve recently received a letter from the government or a property owner requesting access to your property to carry out a right to light assessment, it’s probably time to consult with an expert rights of light surveyor. A right to light assessment is a comprehensive analysis that evaluates the level of natural light a building is legally entitled to receive and whether a proposed development, construction or extension would infringe these rights.
Unlike daylight or sunlight assessments, which focus on light attained within habitable rooms such as living spaces and kitchens, a right to light assessment considers all areas of the building including bathrooms, garages and stairwells. This makes them a useful tool for both residential and commercial properties and a must for any new build project.
Many homeowners find themselves at the centre of a right to light dispute when they start work on a relatively modest house extension. However, it can also be the case that a developer or property owner will proceed with construction of their planned development without taking appropriate advice on rights to light and, as a result, be faced with a legal claim for injury or compensation.
For large commercial developments that could significantly alter the local environment, engaging with a rights of light expert at an early stage can help engender community acceptance and support. This can be especially crucial for projects that could impact upon a business’s future trading capacity and profitability.
2. You’re Concerned
If you are concerned that a neighbour’s new construction or extension could affect your natural light, then you need to commission a rights of light assessment. These surveys determine the impact of nearby construction on a property’s legal entitlement to daylight, and help prevent infringements that could lead to expensive compensation claims.
The legal right to light refers to light passing through windows or other ‘defined apertures’ in buildings on the land owner’s property, and it is illegal for adjacent property owners to disrupt those rights without their permission. However, it’s important to remember that this is not an automatic entitlement, and that express rights of light are often protected by deeds or mutually enforceable restrictive covenants, which need to be respected.
A rights of light survey is a crucial step in the planning process, and should be undertaken by an experienced professional, such as Smith Marston. The surveyor will evaluate the potential impact of a planned development on existing natural light levels, and make adjustments to ensure compliance with regulations. The surveyor will also provide a report that can be used as the basis for a compensation claim in the event of an infringement.
It is important to note that a rights of light assessment should be conducted separately from a Daylight and Sunlight report, as the two assessments have different purposes. For example, a rights of light assessment will take into account all the available light attained in habitable rooms, while a daylight and sunlight report only focuses on the light attained in a building. It is important to ensure that the right assessments are carried out by an expert, in order to avoid time-consuming compensation claims that could delay or halt a project.
3. You’re Planning a Development
If you are planning a building project, it’s worth considering legal right to light considerations at an early stage. Whether it’s an extension, additional storey or a brand new building it is important that you understand how your proposed development could impact on the rights of neighbouring property owners to natural light from their windows. Increasingly, neighbouring property owners are raising the issue of potential impacts on their right to light as a point of concern at the planning stage or by way of right to light compensation claims.
This is because they are concerned that the new building will infringe their legal right to light and cause a loss of natural light. As such, it is worth engaging with a surveyor to carry out a right to light assessment and produce a report to identify potential infringements and provide recommendations for how to minimise such impacts.
At Smith Marston we are regularly involved in projects that have passed through the planning, design and tendering phases without anyone having considered the legal implications of a new building on existing rights to light. This is a specialist area that many surveyors and architects do not have sufficient expertise in to consider and we would always recommend seeking the advice of a right to light expert at an early stage of your project.
This may not be as expensive as you might think and can avoid any delays to your construction programme and unnecessary costs incurred by having to resolve a claim after the project has started. We also advise our clients to consider taking out right to light insurance which can be arranged as part of the pre-planning process. This is a form of liability insurance that offers financial protection in the event that a compensation claim is brought forward following a new build.
4. You’re a Developer
As a commercial property developer, you must ensure that you’re working within compliance with right to light regulations. Incorrect or insufficient consideration of these factors at the design stage can lead to expensive delays and legal disputes later on. Engaging a specialist surveyor early on in your project can help you avoid these issues and prevent costly repercussions.
A Right to Light Assessment is a specialist survey which ascertains the legal entitlement of a property to natural daylight, preventing infringements that impact the value and usability of your building. This includes properties such as offices, warehouses and other commercial establishments. The law protects the right of light for any windows or other ‘defined aperture’ in a building but does not extend to external areas such as gardens and car parks. It is also important to note that rights of light can only be infringed where there has been a reasonable expectation of natural light. This is generally based on transactional history between properties but can also be expressly or implicitly granted through a deed of easement or mutually enforceable restrictive covenant.
The legal rights of property owners to natural light are a complex area and must be considered carefully before construction begins. Infringement of a right to light can result in the court imposing an injunction against the work, requiring alternations or even ordering the offending works to be removed entirely.
It’s therefore crucial that developers understand the complexities of these laws and engage with expert surveyors who can assist in avoiding potential issues during construction. For larger projects, engaging in a right to light assessment early may also garner community support and acceptance of your development, which can ultimately aid in a successful and productive build.
5. You’re a Property Owner
If you’re a property owner, and you’re considering building work that could infringe on the ‘Right to Light’ of neighbouring buildings, it’s important that you commission a professional right to light assessment. Many people think that they don’t need a specialist consultant to carry out such an assessment, as it is a planning issue, however it is actually a civil, privately enforceable right and can be challenged in court in the same way as noise and vibration issues. If a building project obstructs a neighbour’s rights to light and that is challenged in court, the defendant may be forced to alter the development or pay compensation for any loss of enjoyment.
As well as examining the property deeds for reference to easements or rights over land, a right to light surveyor will also examine neighbouring properties and their windows or openings that allow natural light to enter. This can reveal if the light has been enjoyed uninterruptedly for a significant period of time and therefore might be established ‘Right to Light’ under the Prescription Act.
A rights of light surveyor will consider whether there are any express rights to light in the deeds or mutually enforceable restrictive covenants between parties that prohibit obstruction of light. If there is a risk of a legal challenge, the surveyor will advise on the best course of action to avoid an expensive litigation process.
If you are preparing a planning application for your own development, and you know that there’s a potential Rights of Light issue, then it’s best to appoint a firm that can provide both a Daylight and Sunlight Assessment for Planning, and a legal Right to Light Assessment should this be required. Otherwise, you’ll end up commissioning a second expert party from scratch, which can cost you money and delay the overall project.
