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View Full Version : Spanish Law. Is crane oversailing trespass in Spain?



cubitodehielo
03-18-2015, 05:11 PM
In the UK, a crane-arm oversailing anothers property is trespass – even if no damage has been done.
Googliing “oversailing” comes up with numerous references, including:

Under English law a landowner owns the airspace above his land (unless it has been expressly excluded from the lease or transfer to him) and it is therefore trespass if a developer or its contractor allows a tower crane jib to swing across land owned by other parties.

Is the law the same in Spain? Is there a Spain Law Reference that covers this topic, please?


Just to add more detail about UK Law from lexology.com:

On a tight construction site, use of a tower crane may be the most practical construction method for maximising the footprint of the building and the efficiency of its construction. Developers and their contractors should however be aware of certain key issues likely to flow from use of tower cranes, particularly in densely populated areas:
• Under English law a landowner owns the airspace above his land (unless it has been expressly excluded from the lease or transfer to him) and it is therefore trespass if a developer or its contractor allows a tower crane jib to swing across land owned by other parties;
• An adjoining owner can obtain an injunction to prevent such trespass without needing to show that any damage has occurred;
• The developer and/or its contractor should seek a license from third parties whose land may be oversailed by a crane, permitting the trespass and setting out the terms of use of the tower crane.
Practicalities
The use of tower cranes is now commonplace on constructions sites as providing height and lifting capacity, but (and this is particularly important in city centre developments with a small site area) occupying a minimal footprint on the site.
An inevitable consequence of the use of tower cranes on city centre sites is that the jib of the crane will oversail adjacent sites. Even if the operation of the crane can limit the swing of the jib, safety and structural stability require that when the crane is not in use the jib must be left to swing in the wind, giving a circle of oversailing with a radius equal to the length of the jib from the mast of the crane. Any property within that circle will potentially be oversailed.
The legal context
The basic principle of English law is that a landowner owns all the airspace above the land, to the heavens above. Legislation has given aircraft rights to pass without causing any trespass, but the basic principle holds good nearer the ground. This means that the jib of a tower crane swinging across land owned by an adjoining landowner is trespassing.