Understanding landowner rights under the Electronic Communications Code

Catherine Worthington, associate solicitor in our commercial property team, looks at how the Electronic Communications Code limits landowners’ rights by allowing telecoms operators access to land, while outlining ways to manage and mitigate its impact.

What does the Code allow?

In 1604, Sir Edward Coke famously stated “An Englishman’s home is his Castle” but following the introduction of the new Electronic Communications Code (the “Code”), which came into force following the passing of the Digital Economy Act 2017, this is certainly no longer the case.

The Code is a set of rights designed to facilitate the installation and maintenance of electronic communications apparatus on, under and over land.

Telecoms operators (“Operators”) now have statutory powers to enter land to survey it to erect telecoms equipment. There are very tight grounds for rebuffing multiskilled visits (MSV’s).

If you receive such a notice, engaging promptly with the Operator is key. Landowners can retain a degree of control over what Operators are seeking to do on site such as limiting hours of access and ensuring any damage caused is rectified and restricting investigation to specified areas of the land.

How an MSV may affect you

Such visits can be invasive and may involve breaking ground or flying drones over the site and depending on the nature of the site Landowner may wish to limit such actions to minimise disruption to their business or tenants.

The Operator should also provide an indemnity to the Landowner to ensure that should damage or loss be caused by an MSV, it can be rectified or remedied at no cost to the Landowner.

The Operator is also required to cover the Landowner’s reasonable legal fees; therefore, engaging legal services at an early juncture can be instrumental in securing a better deal from the outset.

Do bear in mind that an MSV can be imposed on a landowner where agreement cannot be reached voluntarily under paragraph 26 of the Code.

This will require the Operator to apply to the Tribunal, which can be costly so operators would rather reach a voluntary agreement where possible.

If you are a landowner and have received any correspondence from an Operator, please contact our team on 01772 258 321 for a discussion on how we can assist