Guidance

Statutory blight and Heathrow expansion

Updated 4 February 2021

What is blight?

Blight typically describes the situation when the value of your property is reduced due to a proposed large scale, or major development close to your home. It can make it difficult to sell your home, business premises or agricultural land at market value and might mean you have to sell at a much lower price. However, by law (Town and Country Planning Act 1990), when your property falls within land identified as needed for a development in a policy those developing the land can be asked to buy your home from you for a fair price. This is called statutory blight.

Blight and Heathrow expansion

The Secretary of State for Transport designated the Airports National Policy Statement (Airports NPS) on 26 June 2018.

As a result, certain owners of land in the location identified within the red line boundary in Annex A of the Airports NPS (PDF, 8MB) may now be eligible to serve a statutory blight notice, claiming that the Secretary of State for Transport should buy their property. If the blight notice is valid, the Secretary of State may be required to buy their home at fair market value together with a home-loss payment of 10% (capped at £64,000, as of 1 October 2019, for residential properties and £100,000 for commercial properties) and the owner may be entitled to payment of stamp duty, legal and conveyancing fees, and reasonable moving costs.

The Secretary of State has agreed with Heathrow Airport Limited that it will manage the blight claims process and meet the cost of purchasing property, pursuant to a valid blight notice, on behalf of the Secretary of State. Further details on how to make a claim for blight are set out below.

Other property offers

If you are thinking of serving a blight notice, you should consider the nature and timing of other property offers from Heathrow Airport Limited associated with expansion of the airport. You may find these more suitable depending on your circumstances.

Heathrow Airport Limited has established an Interim Property Hardship Scheme for those with a compelling reason to move, but who are unable to sell their property except at a substantially reduced price. For property owners who fall within the red line boundary shown in Annex A of the NPS (PDF, 8MB), and meet the criteria under the scheme, Heathrow Airport Limited will purchase their property at the unaffected market value plus a 25% home loss payment, plus stamp duty costs for an equivalent value property and reasonable legal and moving fees. For property owners outside the redline boundary shown in Annex 1 of the Airports NPS who meet the relevant eligibility criteria, Heathrow Airport Limited will purchase their property at the unaffected market value.

Owner-occupiers of properties within the area marked in Annex A of the NPS (PDF, 8MB) may be eligible for Heathrow Airport Limited’s enhanced compensation offer. This is an offer whereby Heathrow Airport Limited will enter into a contract (the Bond Scheme) which commits them to buy properties at 125% of the unaffected market value (plus costs) once Heathrow Airport Limited receives development consent to build the new runway and confirms its intention to carry out the development. Heathrow Airport’s enhanced compensation offer may also be available to property owners falling within a Wider Property Offer Zone set out in the current draft policies.

Heathrow Airport Limited’s property schemes.

Blight notices

To be eligible to claim blight you must meet the following 3 criteria:

1. Your property must be within the redline boundary shown in Annex A of the NPS (PDF, 8MB).
2. You must own the property, either as
   • a residential owner who has occupied the property for at least 6 months
   • an owner occupier of a business premises with a rateable value not exceeding £44,200 per annum
   • an owner occupier of an agricultural unit or part of an agricultural unit
   • a mortgage lender who has a right to sell the property and who can secure immediate possession
   • a personal representative of a deceased person who, as at the date of their death, would have been eligible to serve a blight notice
3. You must have made reasonable efforts to sell the property at its unaffected market value.

If you are thinking of serving a blight notice you should seek independent legal advice, noting that any legal advice sought will be at your own cost. There are legal requirements in terms of what to include in a blight notice and how it must be served (formally sent). A blight notice must be set out in a prescribed form (ODT, 21KB).

Heathrow Airport Limited will be handling blight claims on the Secretary of State’s behalf. Blight notices should be sent to:

Gavin Wilson
Head of Property
Heathrow Airport Limited
The Compass Centre
Nelson Road
Hounslow
Middlesex TW6 2GW

However, should you prefer you can send a copy of your completed blight notice to the Secretary of State for Transport, care of:

David Silk
Director of Aviation
Department for Transport
Great Minster House
33 Horseferry Road
London SW1P 4DR

Any queries relating to blight notices should be directed to Blight.enquiries@dft.gov.uk.

You should also note that if Heathrow Airport Limited makes an application for an order granting development consent it will additionally become liable from that date for any valid blight notices served in relation to any other land outside the area shown within the red line in Annex A of the NPS (PDF, 8MB) that is required as part of its proposed development.

As part of your application, you will be asked to provide personal data. How the personal data will be used, shared and kept safe is in our data statement (PDF, 274KB) and is additional to the DfT personal data assurance policy.

More information

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government publishes a series of explanatory booklets covering compulsory purchase and compensation.

Additionally, Heathrow Airport Limited has produced an information sheet which includes details on the blight notice procedure, who may be eligible and what they are likely to receive.