Compensation may be available if a property development blocks the light of another property.
Damages for loss of light must usually meet the following principles:
- The amount should be fair, for example reflect the amount that the two parties would be likely to agree following negotiations
- Damages must be appropriate and take into account the context of the loss, and be fitting in the circumstances
- There must be an awareness that the compensation may stop or limit a development, and the resulting loss of profit
- Damages should be based on a percentage of the anticipated profit; if the profit is unknown, it should be based on the loss of amenity
- Damages should not be so high that the development would not have gone ahead had it been payable.
Right to light cases have been dealt with by the granting an injunction against a developer, however more commonly the court rules that compensation is payable. In one case, the court awarded a claimant damages estimated to be 30 per cent of the developer’s expected profits. This suggests that developments which are likely to take the light of nearby properties should be aware that failing to negotiate at the outset could lead to a considerable reduction in the profits if the matter ends up going to court.
Other cases have involved developers being ordered to demolish the top two stories of an office block as they took the light of a nearby building, despite the fact that they already had tenants.
The right to light can be very difficult. A 2012 case ruled that where a right is established by way of an ‘easement’ – usually as there has been 20 years’ uninterrupted access to light – the easement does not transfer to a new owner of the affected property.
For more information on loss of light claims, please contact us or call 0800 024 1976.