A homeowner has secured a £75,000 settlement after challenging a developer’s initial offer of just £4,000 for the loss of light caused by a neighbouring redevelopment.
The case involved a mixed-use building in south-east England, with commercial premises on the ground floor and residential flats above. The property was owned by a freeholder, with the flats let on long leases.
A developer planning to replace a neighbouring industrial site with a larger commercial development commissioned its own assessment of the potential impact on neighbouring properties. The report concluded that only one room in the building would suffer a significant loss of light.
Based on that assessment, the developer set aside a limited compensation budget for the building, with the freeholder offered just £4,000.
A dispute over the building’s rights to light
The developer’s assessment treated the building as less than 20 years old, limiting the claim to one room. However, the legal team acting for the freeholder challenged this assumption.
They argued that the windows had existed in an earlier building and that the rights attached to those windows had continued when the building was altered. This meant the property could have broader rights to light than the developer’s original assessment recognised.
Rights to light are legal rights that can protect the amount of natural light entering a property through its windows. They are assessed differently from the daylight and sunlight studies commonly used in planning applications.
Challenging the developer’s valuation
The freeholder’s legal team took on the case with funding that covered the specialist surveyor, legal representation, court costs and barrister fees. Insurance also protected the client against the risk of having to pay the other side’s legal costs.
A formal letter of claim was sent to protect the freeholder’s position before settlement discussions began.
The team then challenged the assumptions behind the developer’s report and established that the building’s existing windows could carry rights over from the earlier structure.
They also took a different approach to valuing the claim. Rather than focusing only on the loss of light suffered by the property owner, they considered the financial benefit the developer could gain from proceeding with its plans.
Previous court decisions have shown that compensation in rights of light disputes can be based on a share of a developer’s profits, rather than simply the financial loss suffered by the affected property owner.
Settlement rises from £4,000 to £75,000
Following the challenge, the developer increased its offer from £4,000 to £75,000 — more than 18 times the original amount.
The freeholder accepted the offer in principle, and the matter is now progressing towards a formal settlement.
According to the legal team, the client did not have to pay any upfront legal costs and was protected against the risk of adverse costs throughout the case.
What the case means for property owners
The case highlights how a developer’s initial compensation offer may not reflect the full value of a property owner’s rights to light.
Although a developer may commission a professional report to assess the impact of a proposed scheme, the conclusions can depend on the assumptions used and the legal rights considered.
Property owners or landlords looking to maintain value in their properties, should get professional legal advice if they believe a neighbouring development is reducing the natural light entering their homes or buildings.
In this case, challenging the original assessment and considering the developer’s potential financial gains helped increase the proposed settlement from £4,000 to £75,000.
Familiarise yourself with key rules surrounding right to light
In England and Wales, a property can generally acquire a legal right to light if its windows have received natural light uninterrupted for at least 20 years, without permission and under the right legal conditions.
This can give neighbouring property owners grounds to challenge a development that would significantly reduce the light entering their homes or buildings.
However, the 20-year rule does not automatically apply to every window, and the age of the current building is not necessarily decisive if windows or rights have carried over from an earlier structure. Rights to light are also different from planning rules on daylight and sunlight, which assess the effect of a proposed development on neighbouring properties. Crucially, a development may receive planning permission but still face a separate legal claim if it interferes with an established right to light.
