Ealing's Edwardian and Victorian housing stretches across Ealing Broadway, Acton, Hanwell, and Northolt, with mansion blocks lining the established streets, and significant Crossrail-driven regeneration delivering tall and mid-rise schemes around Ealing Broadway, Acton Main Line, and Southall. Almost all the older stock carries windows that have received natural light for well over the 20-year easement threshold under the Prescription Act 1832, which means town centre redevelopment, mid-rise residential schemes, and conversion projects all routinely raise rights of light questions. London Borough of Ealing planning consent does not address that legal position.
We act on Ealing schemes from the London head office, with reach across Ealing Broadway, Acton, Hanwell, and Southall, supported by colleagues in Essex and Hampshire. CHP is RICS regulated and has been advising on rights of light since 2004. The London team handles this work with specialist focus, and where the work overlaps with the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 we run party wall services from the same point of contact.
Every Ealing project starts with a free initial assessment, identifying which neighbouring windows are likely to carry the 20-year easement and the points of the proposed massing most likely to cause an issue. A full rights of light analysis follows using specialist software, with existing and proposed light levels modelled and tested against the Equivalent First Zone and the 50/50 rule for each affected room.
Where modelling shows likely infringement, the cutback analysis tests design variations including reduced height, set-back upper floors, and adjusted fenestration until the scheme works for both the planning case and the rights of light position. For Ealing that typically means Crossrail-driven town centre schemes around Ealing Broadway, Acton, and Southall, mid-rise residential blocks, and conversion projects on Edwardian housing. Most projects also call for daylight and sunlight reports on the same planning submission.
Resolving rights of light at the design stage protects the viability of an Ealing scheme, reduces risk on the London Borough of Ealing planning application, and avoids disputes with neighbouring owners once construction starts. Planning consent does not extinguish a legal right to light, so an adjoining owner can still pursue an injunction or damages even after the development has been approved. Quantifying the position early lets the design team adjust massing, height, or setbacks before drawings are signed off.
Where settlement is the right outcome, we negotiate a release of rights with the adjoining owner and structure the deal so the development can proceed cleanly. Adjoining owners on Ealing streets affected by a nearby scheme can equally ask us to assess the impact on their light. A short free initial assessment covers both sides of that work.
