Common law nuisance

There are two types of common law nuisance:

• A public nuisance arises from an act that endangers the life, health, property, morals or comfort of the public or obstructs the public in the exercise or enjoyment of rights common to all. A public nuisance is actionable in tort and can also be a criminal offence.
• A private nuisance usually is caused by a person doing something on his own land, which he is lawfully entitled to do but which becomes a nuisance when the consequences of his act extend to the land of his neighbour by, for example, causing physical damage. A private nuisance is actionable in tort.

In the 1997 case of Hunter v Canary Wharf Ltd, the House of Lords identified three kinds of private nuisance:

• Encroachment on a neighbour’s land.
• Direct physical injury to a neighbour’s land.
• Interference with a neighbour’s quiet enjoyment of their land.

If you bring a successful action for private nuisance, you may be awarded:

• Damages to compensate for your loss (in respect of your property rights, rather than for any personal injury); and/or
• If the nuisance is continuing, injunctive relief to require the person who is causing the nuisance to cease and to prevent its recurrence.

The damage/interference must have been reasonably foreseeable by the party causing the nuisance, in other words they must have been able to predict or expect that their actions would cause such damage/interference.

If you have any queries on this article, or any dispute resolution queries, contact one of our experienced team today.