Document downloads - Rights of light construction
Available downloads
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Rights of light application for a certificate under section 2 of the Rights of Light Act 1959
The subject of rights to light concerns the assessment of whether a proposed obstruction (for example, an additional storey on a building) is likely to interfere materially with a neighbour's easement of light.
If time is a critical factor (for example, the dominant owner's windows are just on the point of attaining their prescriptive right to light), a temporary certificate can be requested as a matter of urgency.
This is a letter that can be used to apply for such a certificate. -
Boundaries: procedures for boundary identification, demarcation and dispute resolution
Published February 2021
Effective from 1 May 2021
Reissued October 2022
Disputes about boundaries, and related neighbour disputes, are never far from the news and have been increasing steadily during the COVID-19 period in England and Wales. Boundary disputes can be costly, traumatic and time-consuming for all concerned; they can end up in expensive legal cases, leave a lingering mistrust and ill-feeling between neighbours, result in delayed development and additional costs, and cause confusion between professionals. They never fail to light up the letter pages of the tabloids, and the constituency postbags of MPs.
It is critical that RICS members, and other professionals working within this sector, are up to date with the latest best practice advice and guidance. This new 4th edition encompasses all that was best from the seminal 3rd edition, with a new emphasis on mediation, and has been reformatted and edited to include several new and expanded sections.
This document was reissued in October 2022 as a professional standard. It had previously been published in February 2021 as a guidance note. The regulatory requirements remain the same and no material changes have been made to the document. -
Rights of light
3rd edition
Published March 2024
Effective from 1 June 2024
2nd edition
Published March 2016
Effective from 1 July 2016 - 31 May 2024
Produced by a cross-professional group specialist panel of associate and chartered surveyors, this guidance deals with easements known as rights of light and outlines current best practice for surveyors in this field.
A right of light as an easement requires various factors to be in in order to create or trigger the formation of the legal right. Due to the legal nature of rights of light, practitioners often work closely with specialist legal advisers.
Members should avoid exceeding the extent of their competence in reporting on legal rather than technical issues. -
Right of light dispute checklist
Suggested checklist of documents relevant to a rights of light dispute, and where they can be obtained. Covers client's property, neighbour's property, and items that apply to both.
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The validity of daylight calculations in rights to light cases (RICS)
The aim of this research was to discover whether it would be possible to justify an alternative measure of daylight sufficiency that would satisfy the requirement of a court and also be capable of being used in negotiations of compensation.
By testing the validity of the original research, which has underpinned the current methods without question since 1923 and comparing this with alternative methods of measurement, a new standard was developed which more accurately represents the value of daylight in a room. Further research, experimentation and testing confirmed the levels of illuminance required for sufficiency. -
Rights of light - typical information required by an insurer
This download shows some typical information that might be required by an insurer in a rights to light case.