A landowner who is worried about potential flooding may well think in
terms of strengthening the land’s defences. If so, there are two aspects
to be considered. Firstly, there is the role of the Environment Agency.
Many rivers are subject to local bye-laws requiring the EA to give its
consent before flood prevention works are done within 8m of a main
river. This is a point we explored previously.
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In Marcic [2003] the HL held that a householder could not bring a nuisance
claim against a statutory undertaker, unless he could show there was
negligence. This was in the context of a home that had been repeatedly
flooded because of Thames Water’s failure to improve the drainage and
sewage system. But, Thames Water was a statutory undertaker, carrying
out activities under a statutory framework. Accordingly, the HL took the
view that it would not be possible to bring a nuisance claim against
Thames Water if that would be inconsistent with the statutory scheme.
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L’s should ensure that T keeps the demised premises safe for visitors.
L will owe a duty of care to any visitor, with L having to take reasonable
steps to ensure that T keeps the premises safe. So, if L does not do
that, then L can be liable for T’s failure to make the premises safe.
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The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 came into force in October
2006, but many property owners are only belatedly coming to terms
with their potential liabilities under the new legislation. Under the previous
legislation the fire brigade took a major role in supervising risk,
through the issuing of fire certificates. In practice, once a fire certificate
was issued, the property owner could be confident that the building
would thereafter be regarded as complying with current fire standards
(unless major changes were carried out).
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Sceptics may point out that the UK housing market is showing many of
the signs of over-heating that characterised the property collapse of the
late 1980s, such as sub-sales, direct deposits, and unreported
reductions in price. If the end result is a decline in property prices then
we will presumably see another round of litigation by unhappy lenders
against supposedly negligent solicitors and valuers.
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Allowing a tree to encroach on a neighbour’s land can constitute a
nuisance (whether the encroachment is by the branches or by the roots).
Damages will generally be the reasonable costs of remedial work (in
practice, stabilising the foundations of the property, to get the building
back to the state of repair that it was before the damage occurred).
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In a tree roots claim you can include a claim for damages for distress and
inconvenience (ie on top of the cost of rebuilding, repairing etc). In general
terms, these extra damages cover ‘physical inconvenience and discomfort’
(Watts [1991]). But, how much should be awarded?
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The law on liability for tree root damage was set out by the HL in Delaware
Mansions [2001]. That case involved substantial underpinning work for a
block of flats, with the damage being caused by a plane tree which had been
planted at about the same time as the block of flats had been built.
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 Immobilising a vehicle on private or public land without a
licence to do so is now unlawful. Gary Pickard gears up for the
new regime under the Private Security Act 2001.
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How do you assess damages when a neighbour has wrongfully
appropriated part of one’s property?
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A ‘person who for his own purposes brings on his land… anything likely
to do mischief if it escapes… is prima facie answerable for all the
damage which is the natural consequence of its escape’.
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 The law relating to the use of highways is a law of give and take. So when do obstructions to the public highway become so unreasonable that they constitute a public nuisance? Allyson Colby investigates.
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A residential property had a boundary with tall trees. The trees were up to 150ft high and were important because they provided a screen against an electricity pylon, as well as a barrier against wind and the noise of a nearby railway line.
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 Sarah Youren highlights the importance of careful
drafting of indemnity clauses in Highway Agreements, and examines the government’s
latest efforts at speeding up the planning process.
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