Overlooking lounges

Jaguar_Skills

Johnandabby wrote: »

But isn't it the person not the property that acquires right to light? So if someone new moved in, as the OP says, then the 20 year count starts again from 0.

Nope it's the aperture itself that acquires the right not the person. New owners wouldn't affect the right.

Jaguar_Skills

Doozergirl wrote: »

With a large picture window at the back of the house, I doubt that the light will be reduced enough into the room.

Planners don't usually pay any attention to side windows. I know that planning aren't involved in this case, but they wouldn't count it for right of light unless it were the only window to a living room.

Don't the neighbours have their own problems with privacy? In the same way that one lounge is overlooked, so is the other. It can't be the most valuable window.

A few months of naked aerobics in thegarden before erecting the fence would help reduce the liklihood of complaint.

Even if the present owner had to compensate the neighbour, it might be less than the impact on the house price. Did the neighbouring house price suffer when it was sold?

Again this is incorrect. Planners are concerned with any habitable space, living rooms mainly but also kitchens and bedrooms.

Regardless we aren't talking about planning, civil rights of light applies to any room. If the light levels are already poor courts view the light as precious and any reduction can be cause for compensation or at worst injunction against the development

Jaguar_Skills

That room and window will have a prescriptive right to light in 99.9% of cases.

moneyistooshorttomention

I think one useful thing for OP to do is to head to the Planning Dept of the local Council and check for a planning application put in for that extension at that time.

That planning application will probably cast light on what EXACTLY the Council approved. It may well be that the Council approved the extension per se BUT without the intrusive window as well as the okay window. If they did indeed approve that extension minus the intrusive window then I guess there is always the possibility that the Council might be able to force the neighbour house to brick up the intrusive window even after all that time? Worth checking what the time limit would be?

However, even if the planning application duly didn't include intruder window but the time limit has passed for the Council to take action against intruder window, it must surely be the case that the Council's approval of original application (minus that window) could safely be deemed to mean the Council deemed that room to have sufficient light just from allowed window only.

I would certainly investigate that possibility in OP's position. It would be very difficult for 2015 Council to say that it would be insufficient light in that room if 1995 Council had felt there was a perfectly acceptable light level in that room without intrusive window.

stator

One option would be to ask the neighbour to obscure the glass. This wouldn't be ideal but it's the most likely course of action they would agree to.
The other option is to go ahead with the fence. The neighbour might have a right to light, you should check the exact dates, but they might not be aware of that right. If they put the window in without planning permission they might not be aware that the council can't take action any more so they might just keep quiet.
But even if they complain about their right to light you can still put up a fence, just not one that blocks out all light. eg if you put up three 6ft fence panels in a square around the window it would still have ample light coming in. Or you could just put up a single 2m high panel at a right angle to the window to block view of your house. Lots of things you could do.

dell12

Why not knock and speak to the neighbours and explain your position and what the estate agent told you?

They may be fairly unaware of the issues caused by their window. Putting up a fence (which you are more than entitled to do on your own land) my be perceived rightly or wrongly by them to be antagonistic. Much easier to have a chat and discuss opaque/obscure glazing.

moneyistooshorttomention

stator wrote: »

One option would be to ask the neighbour to obscure the glass. This wouldn't be ideal but it's the most likely course of action they would agree to.
The other option is to go ahead with the fence. The neighbour might have a right to light, you should check the exact dates, but they might not be aware of that right. If they put the window in without planning permission they might not be aware that the council can't take action any more so they might just keep quiet.
But even if they complain about their right to light you can still put up a fence, just not one that blocks out all light. eg if you put up three 6ft fence panels in a square around the window it would still have ample light coming in. Or you could just put up a single 2m high panel at a right angle to the window to block view of your house. Lots of things you could do.

Possibilities there as well.

An angled trellis with some very fast/high coverage plant on it and meanwhile a thick miniature tree in a tub in front of it is one possibility.

Agree with checking the exact date for that extension going up:T. It may be that you just "scrape through" by a matter of months from an easement being acquired, in which case you need to slam that fence up quick.

EDIT: obscure glazing would obviously help...but its surprising just how much can still be seen through that (even if its pretty high level of "invisibility", ie as I recall, I think there are 5 different levels of obscurity and even the thickest wouldn't do the job totally).

Dan-Dan

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I think one useful thing for OP to do is to head to the Planning Dept of the local Council and check for a planning application put in for that extension at that time.

That planning application will probably cast light on what EXACTLY the Council approved. It may well be that the Council approved the extension per se BUT without the intrusive window as well as the okay window. If they did indeed approve that extension minus the intrusive window then I guess there is always the possibility that the Council might be able to force the neighbour house to brick up the intrusive window even after all that time? Worth checking what the time limit would be?

However, even if the planning application duly didn't include intruder window but the time limit has passed for the Council to take action against intruder window, it must surely be the case that the Council's approval of original application (minus that window) could safely be deemed to mean the Council deemed that room to have sufficient light just from allowed window only.

I would certainly investigate that possibility in OP's position. It would be very difficult for 2015 Council to say that it would be insufficient light in that room if 1995 Council had felt there was a perfectly acceptable light level in that room without intrusive window.

Is it any wonder you manage to fall out with people all the time?

Everything you propose seems to have the ability to escalate into disputes and bad feeling

ANGLICANPAT

Thanks everyone for the views and ideas. I think probably heavily obscured glass is the only practical option especially if friend paid for the job.
Light deprivation perse would not be a problem for the extended lounge as its front windows are full width of the lounge, so offending side window is merely a bonus.

Dont think Ive made it clear how the windows sit in relation to one another , as a fence to do the job would require to be just inches ,not feet from offending window, so Im going to go down to my friends property and see if a photo will clarify position and show that the wall of extension actually is the party line between the properties. Will resume later.

I_have_spoken

An rear extension for a semi with a large window on the common side return certainly doesn't sound like it was submitted for PP as it makes a nonsense of the 45 degree rule.

Anyhow, that's in the past.

It would be quite normal for the back gardens of semi to have a good fence between them for privacy. If the neighbours had been silly enough to put a window into the side of their extension, that's hard luck!

Peeps with conservatories have to accept they'll see nothing out of one side!