Andrew Francis considers how to prevent the acquisition of a right of light
Property owners and developers do not like the prospect of adjoining property owners acquiring rights against them which might inhibit future development of the formers’ land. Victorian estate developers invariably included terms in plot sales that prevented the new properties from acquiring light over adjacent land, or excluded any building scheme of covenants in estates below the highest class. Nowadays the main concern of developers and in particular landlords where residential blocks of flats are being built, is to ensure that freehold owners, or tenants do not acquire rights, particularly rights of light, against the adjacent land which may or may not be owned by the developer, or landlord. This is because of the need to ensure that on future development of that land, no adverse rights have been acquired against it by tenants. Rights of light present a particular difficulty because such rights can be acquired by tenants under s 3 of the Prescription Act 1832 (PA 1832),
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