To think home covenants are beyond ridiculous!

[Inconvenientcovenant29]

I know I am being unreasonable and I only think they are ridiculous because the covenant is stopping me putting any kind of boundary line up at the front of my house!

I would really like an ankle height fence around both sides of my drive way and grass area but the covenant says no! I would prefer it to be higher if I could to stop postman just walking straight across the drive even if they don’t have anything for my house and to stop my neighbour cycling down the middle of my drive because he doesn’t want to scratch his precious car by just walking the bike to the end of the drive and then riding off (it makes me so angry)

We did put plants down as a tester to stop them reversing off from our drive.. but the plants have died as I’m rubbish at keeping plants alive and I am reluctant to move them as it will start up again.

Is there any kind of breaking a covenant or just creating something which works as a loop hole. I like the sound of those chain link fencing with the poles but I guess they would complain about them.

I was told the only person who can take action if you break a covenant is the person who put it into place originally.
Various ones I and family members have had include :
property must not be used as a brothel.
Must not keep geese or hens.
Cannot park any vehicle that has a bed in it.
Residents all have to be related.

Also had one that said I had to pay £5 a year to the person who owned a ( completely overgrown) track behind the house. It had been written well over 100 years earlier.

My covenant states that I'm not allowed to have a washing line but it's acceptable to use a rotary dryer as an alternative.
Many of my neighbours flout this anyway, I've never heard of anyone being pulled up for this.

DFiL put rockery stones/plants across the corner of his drive / garden to stop neighbours cutting the corner.

I'm not allowed to keep swine or trade as an innkeeper.

In my last house I was apparently required to grant the local tannery access on request, to the drains in my garden.

Here I'm not allowed to keep livestock, more than one dog, or a works van. I'm also not allowed to hang my washing out the front. I cannot imagine how any of this is supposed to be enforced and the developer ceased to exist decades ago. I really wouldn't hesitate to break these.

I think it’s an archaic term for making glass.

Our house is 1950’s. We can’t keep livestock or erect a kiosk in our front garden🤣

i feel your pain,im end house open plan front and side garden,local kids ride bikes/scooters over my small front lawn, i nearly choke eating my tea,i am looking at posts with chains if any one kniows where to buy from let me know thank you,oh i forgot neighbours huge dog weeing and pooing on my front lawn, yellow patches now on my lawn , i pay for lawn treatment

My late mum's house had similar - descendents of original land owner had permission to cross her garden (well, land that was formerly a kind of Lane, but on her deeds so she enclosed it as hers was the last house on the row) to access their premises at each end.

Said premises subsequently demolished before the new houses were built but still caused a right ball-ache when we sold the house.

I'm not allowed to hang washing in the front garden, and in a previous house we could only keep 2 goats max, no sheep or pigs, chickens but not a cockerel.

Out old house forbode satellite dishes on the side of the house (all free hold). Everyone has them. Sometimes you just need to ask yourself "what's the worst that can happen". I bet most people who love around you aren't even aware.

Three storey houses need full opening windows to meet building regulations for fire escape - perhaps that’s why?

Oh, let the postman walk across your drive.

Well that's your business opportunities out the window! What are you going to do now especially as you cannot open a B&B with fresh free range eggs for breakfast?

I also must remain pig free. The house is only 20 years old, and the wider area has been (ex)council/housing association since ww2, I'm surprised they didn't get rid of the covenant. It makes for a fun historical document though, and having lived near pigs as I child, I know I wouldn't want my current neighbours to keep them!

Funny because ours says the ONLY businesses that can be run from our property are a "doctor, solicitor, architect, lawyer or apothecary"
As both DH & my professions fall in that category it seemed like fate - I run my business from home.
We also have to pay the covenant owner £5 for each additional house we build on the site. The amount was set in 1870, and isn't affected by inflation.
This was enforced on another nearby piece of land a few years back as the original landowner family (landed gentry) still have a virgin island trust which followed up on it. It was in the planning documents.

I never would have predicted this thread would have me linking this blog.

https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/sand-won-t-save-you-time

Anyway, that's how you burn sand. Covenant or no covenant, you probably shouldn't attempt it in your garden.

My parents bought a house c1959 where TV aerials on roofs etc were forbidden. OK at time as the VHF masts at Holme Moss and Emley Moor were pretty much line of sight at loft level. Once BBC2 TV at UHF frequencies was a thing c1965 and colour later) it was ignored. The developer was still in business in the area but there's no record of things being followed up.

I think we should petition parliament to have a new bank holiday called, Covenant Breaking Day, so on that day you can set up a Coconut Shy, borrow a pet pig and brew beer.

Could you buy 8 large flower pots and put them on boundary with something bombproof in them eg. pansies. All they need is watering every other evening.

plant a row of barberry. key word describing this "shrub" is barbs...1" long needles. it's a great deterrent (horrible to work with you need serious gloves and long handled clippers). keeps people away. and rather pretty in both lime green and red.

Ours includes no animals of various kinds, including chickens and ducks. Fair enough it's a city centre apartment. Also no drying laundry on the balcony or patio.

The property is in Scotland, so even though it's an apartment building, it's a freehold. One time the factor tried to enforce the 'no laundry on the balcony'-rule, but was quickly told by our residents' association to mind his own business. No-one cares if someone is drying laundry outside.

yes they are strange, our previous home not allow to keep pigs, our home on the coast can’t have metal railings or cause nuisance.

My cousin’s house had a list of rules, not allowed to keep pigs on the premises, not allowed to run a coaching inn/tavern/public house on the premises, not allowed to be a public dance hall and not allowed to run a house of disrepute.

spoilsports!

What is the problem with someone walking or cycling across your drive? It is not damaging it, or wearing it out? We live on an estate, 20 years old. Open plan with a narrow road and not enough room for cars. We decided on moving in that we would not let this type of thing bother us, and it removes all stress. We have neighbours who put rocks at the front of the drive to stop other cars impinging for a few seconds, on their precious bit of tarmac. Why? It just makes life difficult. Delivery people walk across the path in front of our window. So what? They have a job to do and if it means they can complete their work more efficiently, fine by me. If someone takes their bike down your drive it isn't damaging it so why get stressed? If a postman walk across your drive, what's the problem. Try having a day delivering leaflets or post, and I bet that at the end of it you will be looking for any shortcut you can take. It is a dull, arduous rask. If you don't let it bother you, it no longer becomes an issue and you can spend your time worrying about things that do matter.

@Lincslady53 for the record I used to deliver parcels in my local area! I would walk up peoples boundaries properly rather than over others. I don’t mind the professionals as much as I do my direct neighbours cleaning their car stood right in the middle of my drive which results in a soaked drive of mine and also cycling down it and when the plants pots weren’t there they would reverse of it.

if we had to do it as well we wouldn’t be able to because they have two cars and we only have one which is the only reason why they can do it.