Q: My next-door neighbours want to build an extension in their back garden that is going to be very close to our kitchen window. They have already obtained planning permission but the extension will block the view from the window and we think the room will be much darker. Do we have any power to stop them?
A: If the only effect is to ruin the view, you have no right to stop the extension –even if it will block a panoramic vista and knock tens of thousands of pounds off the value of your home. Since at least 1611, the law of England and Wales has not recognised any right simply to have a nice view.
However, if the extension will reduce the light falling on the window, it may interfere with a right to light. That right arises commonly where you can show your window has continuously enjoyed light without interruption for at least 20 years. You will therefore need to check how long your window has been there.
Assuming that you have acquired a right to light, this right is interfered with if the extension will affect the comfort of the occupants of your home. The test is not what light will be lost, but whether a reasonable amount of light will remain. What exactly amounts to a reasonable amount of light can be worked out by a specialist surveyor. Ask the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors for details of a local right to light surveyor who can advise you and do the relevant calculations.
Once you prove potential interference, the courts could award compensation or make an injunction stopping the neighbours building the offending part of the extension. The Court of Appeal has recently suggested that an injunction should usually be granted to protect homeowners. However, a court may not grant an order where the interference is slight and some financial compensation can be made instead.
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Mark Loveday is a barrister at Tanfield Chambers (020-7421 5300). E-mail your questions to: property.consumer@thetimes.co.uk