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View the related practice notes about Private nuisance

Private nuisance and the rule in Rylands v Fletcher—common law liability for environmental harm

Private nuisanceRelevance of private nuisance in modern lawNotwithstanding the quite complex level of environmental regulation, private nuisance (along with other torts such as negligence and trespass) continues to play an important part in modern environmental law. This is unsurprising in a common law jurisdiction where the judiciary has a central role in the constitution. Also, some environmental issues fall outside the regulatory regimes. For instance, the statutory nuisance regime under Part 3 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA 1990) only covers those environmental nuisances listed in EPA 1990, s 79(1) but if the environmental harm has abated there could well remain a justifiable claim in damages for past nuisance which is not available under the statutory environmental protection systems. The tort of private nuisance is also important because recent legislation has, following earlier patterns of legislative reform, continued to adopt the meaning and definition of common law nuisance in for example the Police, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (PSCA 2022) but also in the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 and...

Nuisance—what are public and private nuisance claims?

Nuisance claims are recognised in the following way:•private nuisance—substantial interference with the use/enjoyment of land•public nuisance—an unlawful act/omission causing widespread harm•‘the rule in Rylands v Fletcher’ — ‘non-natural’ activity on the defendant’s land escaping and causing harmSome private nuisances may also give rise to a statutory nuisance, such as noise nuisance, on which see Practice Note: Neighbour disputes—noise and nuisance.For more detailed guidance on the types of scenario that may give rise to a claim in private nuisance, the applicable test for liability, remedies and defences for private nuisance claims, see Practice Note: Private nuisance—general principles.Definition of nuisanceFor the purposes of an action in tort, a nuisance may either be private or public.Simply stated:•a private nuisance—is an interference with the use or enjoyment of land that causes injury in relation to an ownership right in that land•a public nuisance—may be defined as an unlawful act or omission, which is so widespread in range and indiscriminate in its effect that it obstructs, damages or inconveniences the rights of the communityWhile the...