Right to Light Not Abandoned Despite Agreement

The Court of Appeal has recently heard a case dealing with the right to light, a subject which has been a frequent cause of disputes in the past.

It concerned a company that owned a piece of land and which made an agreement with a developer that allowed the developer to compromise its right to light. In the agreement, made in 1999, the company undertook to take no action to enforce its right to light.

Years later, a redevelopment project was planned for the land, which was the result of a compulsory purchase order. It was a much more substantial development than that envisaged in 1999 and the question arose as to whether the original agreement prevented the claimant from asserting its right to light, which would be materially affected by the new development.

Key to the decision was the wording of the original agreement in 1999. In it, the right to light was acknowledged, but the claimant had undertaken not to take action to enforce the right. However, under the proposed development at that time, there would not have been a material effect on the light. The Court ruled that the earlier agreement did not mean that the claimant had abandoned its right to light.