In our new weekly series, readers can email in with any consumer question saving to be answered by our expert, Martyn James. If you have a question for him, email us at money@inews.co.uk.
This week’s question: We moved into our new home last year. Our kitchen backs on the garden, as does our neighbour’s. It didn’t take long for us to notice that they have an extension that stretches far beyond our kitchen and blocks out a lot of the light into our home. In the past week, with the hot and sunny weather, I have noticed that when I am cooking, no light reaches me and it is beginning to irritate me. I haven’t said anything so far because I don’t want a row, but now I am concerned. Will it affect my resale value? Also, what would happen if I were to complain? What action could be taken?
Martyn replies: “Wouldn’t it be nice to get on with your neighbours?” sang the Small Faces in “Lazy Sunday Afternoon”. A truer phrase was never uttered.
Before I tackle your question in depth, here’s a top tip for everyone – take the time to get to know your neighbours. If they aren’t difficult, build a relationship with them, pop a card or birthday gift round from time to time and let a few things go if they aren’t affecting your life. Because neighbour disputes – when they become protracted – can ruin lives, cost a fortune in futile legal fees, and even affect the sale of your home, because declaring neighbour disputes is a legal requirement in the UK when selling a property. If you neglect to mention this, then you could end up in court if the new owners sue.
Leaving that cheery thought behind, let’s tackle the problem. I spoke to my fellow broadcaster, legal expert Gary Rycroft, to cover both the consumer and legal aspects of this problem,
As Gary says, the legal principle of caveat emptor – ‘let the buyer beware’ – applies here. In this case, your new neighbour built this extension before you were on the scene. They haven’t done anything wrong and you should have spotted it before you moved in, or at least asked the people you bought the property from, ‘Does the extension affect on the light in the kitchen?’ or ‘When was the extension built’?
I don’t want to be wise after the fact, but nothing beats detailed enquiries before a house purchase. For future reference, don’t forget that you’ll need to inform your solicitor about issues like this as they won’t have visited the property and will need you to tell them about any concerns.
However, if the problem is really affecting your quality of life, you could – although I don’t recommend this – make some enquiries with your local planning authority to see if permission was granted for the extension, either at all or for a smaller version of the building. If planning permission has been breached then it’s possible for the local authority to take action or require the extension to be removed or changed. However, what will your relationship be like with your neighbours then? Is the loss of a bit of light worth years of enmity with the people next door?
For the record, you can’t object to a future extension or any other building work if it is a ‘permitted development’.
As for the right to light, like many things, it’s not straightforward. There is a legal right not to have light taken away. However, in order for this to apply, the property must have enjoyed light for 20 years previously, which does not apply in your case. In order for a legal complaint like this to succeed you will need to prove that this degree of loss has occurred (which is pretty hard when you’ve just moved in) and even, then some light still counts as light. Disputes like this can be long, protracted, and expensive.
As for the resale value, well, you would probably be wise to point out the light issue to future buyers, just so you don’t get a call from them when summer next hits and they make the same discovery. But realistically, I can’t see this having a huge impact on the value of your home. You might want to think about alternatives, like fitting skylights or improved kitchen lighting. Trust me, it’ll be much cheaper and less hassle.
