166 thoughts on “Restrictive covenants on property”
Hello! We bought a property in June 2023 and the property has land at the front of it with a footpath that runs diagonally across it. The wording in the covenant says we are granted “ (a) the right to pass and re-pass with or without vehicles over and along the road and on foot only over and along the footpaths shown coloured Brown on the said plan——- “ I have the original plan, and the area that is marked in brown is clearly showing a footpath at the very front of the property but there is no footpath present it is grass and has always been grass, the footpath only runs diagonally and not straight across. We ideally would like to be able to utilise this piece of our land for off road parking, we have tried to locate the original developers of the property but they are no longer trading that we can find, the property was built in 1976 and the family we bought it from were the first owners and kept all the original documentation. Our question is – can we legally apply for planning for parking here? And if not – how hard would it be to amend this covenant to allow us to vary the title for this? (If that’s the correct terminology) our neighbours would also like to do the same from informal conversations and there are 7 of us in total. Can you provide some information if the “juice is worth the squeeze” there are utilities located at various points across the front of the property also. (Water, drainage, gas and electric)
What a fantastic phrase, if the “juice is worth the squeeze”. It epitomises so much in law. Often there is not a clear, black and white answer (if there was, there would be no need for courts or lawyers – and some might say that world a better place for it) and it is often a question of risk/cost vs benefit.
We cannot provide specific advice on our website but certainly, one of the things to always consider is the extent to which a beneficiary of any restrictive covenant or easement, such as a right of way, is prepared or able to enforce it. It is a rare case where a court might hold that a right over land has been abandoned, and the basic position is that such a right will not come to an end from the effluxion of time or from simply not being used regularly.
We think you are talking about a right of way, but it isn’t clear who the beneficiary of that right is. If the property is part of a larger development, the right of way may not necessarily have been for the benefit of just the developer but for others. Claiming that a right of way has been abandoned is very difficult. Normally express evidence of the intention to abandon it is required.
I am considering a land purchase, woodland on the outskirts of a city. The title deed has a Covenant in place from the late 1800’s. There are no further details available on the covenant on the land registry.
I am committed to maintaining the quality and the natural landscape of the area. I have no plans to develop the site for housing.
Is there a way to find the details of the Covenant where the land registry hold no further information?
There should be some evidence as to the land which benefits from the restrictive covenant (the “dominant land”) or it would not be noted on the title.
We presume the that what you are suggesting is that a copy of the deed that creates the restrictive covenant is missing. Without considering the title to the land itself, it is hard to know what to do. We suspect that one step could be to check neighbouring titles, to see what might be noted on those titles.
Hi, we are in the last stages of completing our purchase of our new home. We have received searches yesterday in regards to the land registry. There are restricted covenants set out as displayed down below :
1. The A: Property Register identifies the Property. You will note that reference is made to two Conveyance Deeds and the Plan shows the land was formerly 2 parcels of land Over time the land has been sold and has become one parcel of land that the property is built upon today. The vendor set out provisions that required each purchaser to comply with; point A2 states that purchasers are not granted any right of light or air over the Vendors adjoining property if it interferes with the use of the Vendors adjoining land. A3 states the same but also states that the purchasers are not entitled to any right of way over the adjoining land or a right of access to the Vendors adjoining land.
Is there any way we could have this erased? The restriction has been set from 1936
We are so devastated as we were looking to have a summer house built at the back of the garden once planning permission is given
As you have solicitors retained, this is probably a question for them before you commit to the purchase. We also can’t give legal advice on our website, just a bit of general guidance.
In short, restrictive covenants can be declared obsolete sometimes, but the age of the restriction is not really that relevant to matters. It is also possible to apply to have them varied. There might also be scope to obtain insurance (although possibly not) to protect against the risk of future enforcement. There are a number of considerations to take account of before deciding on what to do, not least whether or not the restrictions can be enforced. On this point, we note that the land in question appears to have been two parcels but these are now in common ownership (possibly, we are not certain). If there is unity of ownership, also referred to as “unity of seisin”, a restrictive covenant might be extinguished. This might be something you can get some advice on within your existing retainer with your solicitor; a good property lawyer should know about these things.
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Hello! We bought a property in June 2023 and the property has land at the front of it with a footpath that runs diagonally across it. The wording in the covenant says we are granted “ (a) the right to pass and re-pass with or without vehicles over and along the road and on foot only over and along the footpaths shown coloured Brown on the said plan——- “
I have the original plan, and the area that is marked in brown is clearly showing a footpath at the very front of the property but there is no footpath present it is grass and has always been grass, the footpath only runs diagonally and not straight across. We ideally would like to be able to utilise this piece of our land for off road parking, we have tried to locate the original developers of the property but they are no longer trading that we can find, the property was built in 1976 and the family we bought it from were the first owners and kept all the original documentation. Our question is – can we legally apply for planning for parking here? And if not – how hard would it be to amend this covenant to allow us to vary the title for this? (If that’s the correct terminology) our neighbours would also like to do the same from informal conversations and there are 7 of us in total. Can you provide some information if the “juice is worth the squeeze” there are utilities located at various points across the front of the property also. (Water, drainage, gas and electric)
Thank you for your comment.
What a fantastic phrase, if the “juice is worth the squeeze”. It epitomises so much in law. Often there is
not a clear, black and white answer (if there was, there would be no need for courts or lawyers – and
some might say that world a better place for it) and it is often a question of risk/cost vs benefit.
We cannot provide specific advice on our website but certainly, one of the things to always consider is
the extent to which a beneficiary of any restrictive covenant or easement, such as a right of way, is
prepared or able to enforce it. It is a rare case where a court might hold that a right over land has been
abandoned, and the basic position is that such a right will not come to an end from the effluxion of time
or from simply not being used regularly.
We think you are talking about a right of way, but it isn’t clear who the beneficiary of that right is. If the
property is part of a larger development, the right of way may not necessarily have been for the benefit
of just the developer but for others. Claiming that a right of way has been abandoned is very difficult.
Normally express evidence of the intention to abandon it is required.
I am considering a land purchase, woodland on the outskirts of a city. The title deed has a Covenant in place from the late 1800’s.
There are no further details available on the covenant on the land registry.
I am committed to maintaining the quality and the natural landscape of the area. I have no plans to develop the site for housing.
Is there a way to find the details of the Covenant where the land registry hold no further information?
Thank you for your comment.
There should be some evidence as to the land which benefits from the restrictive covenant (the
“dominant land”) or it would not be noted on the title.
We presume the that what you are suggesting is that a copy of the deed that creates the restrictive
covenant is missing. Without considering the title to the land itself, it is hard to know what to do. We
suspect that one step could be to check neighbouring titles, to see what might be noted on those titles.
Hi, we are in the last stages of completing our purchase of our new home. We have received searches yesterday in regards to the land registry. There are restricted covenants set out as displayed down below :
1. The A: Property Register identifies the Property.
You will note that reference is made to two Conveyance Deeds and the Plan shows the land was formerly 2 parcels of land
Over time the land has been sold and has become one parcel of land that the property is built upon today.
The vendor set out provisions that required each purchaser to comply with; point A2 states that purchasers are not granted any right of light or air over the Vendors adjoining property if it interferes with the use of the Vendors adjoining land.
A3 states the same but also states that the purchasers are not entitled to any right of way over the adjoining land or a right of access to the Vendors adjoining land.
Is there any way we could have this erased? The restriction has been set from 1936
We are so devastated as we were looking to have a summer house built at the back of the garden once planning permission is given
I really do need some help and guidance
Thank you for your comment.
As you have solicitors retained, this is probably a question for them before you commit to the purchase.
We also can’t give legal advice on our website, just a bit of general guidance.
In short, restrictive covenants can be declared obsolete sometimes, but the age of the restriction is not
really that relevant to matters. It is also possible to apply to have them varied. There might also be
scope to obtain insurance (although possibly not) to protect against the risk of future enforcement.
There are a number of considerations to take account of before deciding on what to do, not least
whether or not the restrictions can be enforced. On this point, we note that the land in question
appears to have been two parcels but these are now in common ownership (possibly, we are not
certain). If there is unity of ownership, also referred to as “unity of seisin”, a restrictive covenant might
be extinguished. This might be something you can get some advice on within your existing retainer with
your solicitor; a good property lawyer should know about these things.