Benjamin Faulkner examines whether a landowner has the right to a view
It is well known that the law does not ordinarily provide a landowner with a right to a view. In general, his neighbour is free to undertake building or extension works as he likes. In some cases the proposed works might be blocked by the planning authorities, or a management company might exercise rights to control development within a residential estate, but there is no guarantee of either eventuality.
The landowner might have a right to light which could be infringed by the proposed works, but often the development will be too far away from the landowner’s building to diminish the amount of light reaching it significantly, notwithstanding the obstruction of his panorama. In Dennis v Davies [2009] EWCA Civ 1081 the Court of Appeal confirmed that there will often be a third way: protections offered to the landowner by a restrictive covenant not to create a “nuisance or annoyance”.
The facts
Dennis v Davies concerned a residential development on Heron Island on The Thames. It was constructed in 1987
