Rights to light are private property rights that benefit both
residential and commercial buildings. They can be acquired by
express written grant from one neighbouring landowner to another,
by virtue of archaic law or by prescription if light has come
through a window (or aperture) for 20 uninterrupted years.
Why is reform necessary?
Typically, disputes arise when a developer proposes to erect a
building that may impact a neighbour's right to light. These
often cause severe delays to development projects and uncertainty
invariably operates as a blight in relation to neighbouring
properties. Delays average 27 months with a mean cost of GBP 6.86m
(according to the responses to the British Property Federation
survey).
