Covenant on properties

[Alittlenonsensenowandthen]

Sorry for not posting this in home section but need an answer asap. Friend is buying a property with a covenant that it won't be used for work purposes. Anyone know how this legally stacks up with 'work from home' covid regs? She's a music teacher and will have about 3hrs daily of ppl arriving at property plus her own practice. It's a semi and instruments will he played furthest away from joining Wall and sound proofed. Any property lawyers with and advice greatly appreciated!

I think work purposes refers to running a business from home - which it sounds like she would be doing - rather than WFH for a small period due to a pandemic. The WFH guidance has ended now hasn't it?

She really should ask her solicitor for proper advice.

Don't take advice from here - 90% of posters don't have a clue but post anyway.

She needs to speak to whatever solicitor is dealing with the property sale and get advice from them.

Also. She should be clear if it is work or business purposes (ie it's quite standard on - Fair few older properties to have covenants about running a business from the premises - especially if it would bother neighbours through noise or traffic buildup) but I've never heard of one that prohibits you from doing any sort of work at home - how would that even be discovered? (I'm not a property lawyer, I've just bought and sold a couple of houses, so in no way an expert!)

However, this music lesson business your friend is running may be a problem with a covenant like that, and neighbours who want to enforce it. As far as I understand, a covenant like that would only be an issue if someone wanted to enforce it - like my neighbours have a caravan on their front drive and our houses (semi's) prohibit caravans and other dwellings. But I think they will only have an issue if I were to raise it with a solicitor possibly and try to get it moved away? (I have no interest in their caravan or raising it with anyone to be clear, it's just an example!)

Definitely speak to the solicitors about the implications.

Sorry doing that is as the pp said, actually running a business from her home, so no it is not allowed. But why hasn't your friend asked the solicitor she is using for her conveyancing this question - these sort of things are why we use a solicitor in the first place? Tell her to ask her solicitor.

She needs to speak to her solicitor.

But the others are correct that there’s a differentiation between working from home in the pandemic sense; and running a business from home.

Her business sounds like one that could potentially cause complaints - even if music is played away from the party wall, three hours of it a day would likely generate complaints; and if she’s having pupils arrive at hers, there’s traffic/parking to consider too.

Generally if she was going to be doing office work from home she could probably ignore it, but given the nature of her business, she’d need her solicitor to look into the covenant and how enforceable is it, before she goes ahead.

Thanks. She is going to raise with solicitor but i thought there might he a good way to broach it.

You may get some better advice in the legal section. She needs to speak to her solicitor urgently and not go forward with the purchase until she is clear if the property can be used in the way she intends.

The key question is who owns the benefit of the covenant. Only they are able to enforce it.

We happily ignored one (on legal advice) which prevented us adding an extension. The covenant was imposed by the original developer 40 years earlier. The builder was long out of business and as they had not assigned the benefit of it to anyone it was unenforceable. The house has been bought and sold a few times since and I note that the current owners are adding a further extension.

Take proper legal advice.

@daimbarsatemydogsbone

Don't take advice from here - 90% of posters don't have a clue but post anyway.

😂😂😂. This is so true

How old's the covenant? There's on houses on our estate which states you cannot grow trees over 6ft in your garden or have a wall in front of your property only the person who set the covenant can invoke it. It was ridiculously cheap to insure against it being invoked so it would cover the costs in removing our hazel tree.