Do my neighbours need planning permission for their new fence that blocks my window?
REAL ESTATE CLINIC: Do my neighbors need planning permission for their new fence blocking my ground floor bathroom window?
- Homeowners can do some minor works without a building permit
- From a structural point of view, new fences may not be higher than two metres
- We will discuss your options for submitting a complaint with a planning expert
I live in a ground floor apartment in Walthamstow in East London. The garden at the back of my flat is split between me and the flat above, so their part of the garden is outside my bathroom window.
The neighbors have put up a fence right outside my bathroom window and said our window invades their privacy, but our window is frosted glass and we only open it for ventilation etc. Don’t they need planning permission for this?
According to the building permits, new fences cannot be higher than two meters
MailOnline Real estate expert Myra Butterworth replies: Sorry to hear about your situation. It must have been a shock to find a new fence right outside your bathroom window.
Aside from blocking the view, it can block light. We talk to an urban planning expert about whether a building permit was needed and where you can go.
Martin Gaine, a chartered urban planner, replies: Homeowners have so-called Permitted Development Rights (PDR). This allows them to carry out some small scale and minor works without the need for a building permit.
One of these permissions allows for the erection of a fence, wall or similar – the only real requirement being that it should not exceed two meters (one meter if close to the street).
Therefore, the first thing to do is to check how high this fence is.
Homeowners can do some small scale and minor works without planning permission
If it’s less than two meters high, I don’t think there’s much you can do about it from a planning point of view. It is likely that the fence is legal and will not require any form of building permit.
It may seem odd that the planning system would allow neighbors to block each other’s windows in this way, but the authors of the permitted development rights probably did not think that the right to build a fence would be used in this way.
However, there may be another remedy, outside of the scheduling system, that can help you.
For example, you may have a “right to light” through your window, a form of easement that could prevent your neighbor from interfering with your light.
A light right can be established if the light has been enjoyed undisturbed for 20 years and a writ of execution or some form of compensation may be obtained.
Contact a lawyer or a Right to Light consultant for advice tailored to your situation.
Martin Gaine is a chartered urban planner and author of ‘How to Get Planning Permission – An Insider’s Secrets’