Southwark's building stock brings together Georgian terraces in Camberwell, Victorian housing across Bermondsey and Peckham, warehouse conversions along Bankside, and recent mid-rise and tall building development around More London and Elephant and Castle. Almost all the older stock has windows that have received natural light for well over the 20 years required to acquire the easement under the Prescription Act 1832, which means high-density redevelopment, mid-rise schemes, and roof additions all routinely raise rights of light questions. London Borough of Southwark planning consent does not address that legal position.
We act on Southwark schemes from the London head office, with reach across Lambeth, the City of London, and central London, 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 Southwark project starts with a free initial assessment of the proposed scheme against the surrounding context. We identify 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 the 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 Southwark that typically means tall building schemes around the river, mid-rise residential blocks, conversions of Victorian warehouses, and significant infill in the established streets. Most schemes also call for daylight and sunlight reports as part of the same London Borough of Southwark planning submission.
Resolving rights of light at the design stage protects the viability of a Southwark scheme, reduces risk on the London Borough of Southwark 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 Southwark 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.
