Management company obtains injunction to prevent homeowners building second home on their plot, as court protects "one plot, one home" policy on the estate
Management company obtains injunction to prevent homeowners building second home on their plot, as court protects "one plot, one home" policy on the estate.
In the context of an estate comprising 47 plots, the claimant management company's members / shareholders were the owners of the houses on the estate at the time of its incorporation. The claimant owned and managed the common parts of the estate, including the private estate roads over which an easement was granted.
The estate ran a strict "one plot, one house" policy and, on the purchase of their single plot in 2013, Mr and Mrs McGuinness (the defendants) entered into a deed of easement, as did all plot purchasers from 2008 onwards, giving them rights to use the estate roads “for the sole purpose of access to and egress from the Property in connection with its use as a single private dwelling house”.
In 2019, the defendants obtained planning permission to demolish their single dwelling and build two properties in its place to allow Mrs McGuinness's father to live in one of the houses due to his deteriorated health.
The company brought a claim to court in order to prevent the defendants from building a second dwelling, on the basis that accessing a second dwelling on the plot would be in breach of the easement that allowed use of the estate roads solely to access a single private dwelling house such that accessing a second dwelling on a plot would amount to a trespass.
The defendants argued that other properties on the estate had been extended and developed without issue, and that their own development would cause little more inconvenience than those. They further argued that it would be more appropriate to award the company damages instead of an injunction, which they argued would be oppressive in the circumstances.
The court granted the injunction to the claimant, preventing the defendants from building two dwellings on their plot. In doing so the court considered various factors.
The court took the view that two dwellings would cause considerably more disruption than had been caused with previous development of single dwellings on plots.
Further, the refusal of an injunction would undermine the system of easements and would also seriously and adversely impact the "one plot, one house" principle that was highly valued by the residents.
The Court decided an injunction would not be oppressive here, as the defendants were well aware of the binding nature / limitations of the easement and of the residents' general opposition in light of the "one plot, one house" policy before they made their planning application.
Let both homeowners and developers be warned that the courts are prepared to award injunctions to protect property rights. Proper consideration should be given to existing rights and their limitations, so that a view can be taken on risk and where possible appropriate workaround plans can be made or measures taken before development commences.
