The Duty of Care in relation to adjoining land - A practical guide to obtaining interim relief

17 May 2019

INTRODUCTION

1. Most of us live in towns and cities, cheek by jowl, with buildings constructed side by side,

almost all of which, at least during construction, require some degree of excavation. What

could possibly go wrong?

2. An owner of land has a right to expect that adjoining owners will not remove support for their

land and is entitled to bring an action for orders to enforce that right. However, that action

will be of little assistance if, by the time it is determined, the owner’s castle is lying in pieces

at the bottom of the neighbour’s excavation.

3. In this session we are dealing with two aspects of disputes that arise when an owner of land

is affected by a removal of support for that land. The presentation has been divided into two

parts:

(a) In the first part of the session I will deal with the steps necessary to obtain interim relief

to protect the property from further or anticipated damage; and

(b) In the second part Richard Cheney will deal with issues that arise under s.177 of the

Conveyancing Act 1919 which will be relevant when proceedings are brought for final

relief.

Common Law