Buying a house with covenants

[MrsMaryBOOface]

Has anyone done this? We've found a house we love, but the vendors have moved next door and have made a load of rules. I don't want to spend a fortune (deposit and mortgage) to feel like we are under their eye... Has anyone else done this??

Wouldn't bother with it, they sound like a pain. Are they moving to a house they have built in your house's original garden?

Not frosted windows on bedrooms, living rooms? I viewed a house with these once. The agent didn't mention it and we couldn't work out what was weird about the house until he said that the neighbour had bought most of 'our' house's garden so the back windows of our house were frosted to give him privacy. Er, no thanks.

A covenant prevents us from keeping pigs and hanging up washing in the front garden.

I'm ok with that

@FinallyHere I am SO sad for you that you can't keep pigs

Thanks all, some good food for thought. Next stop would hopefully be to meet them, and see what it's all about. Thank you!

I think, back in the day, poorer families would raise a piglet on household scraps in order to have meat to eat.

My mother remembers her parents being part of a 'pig club' during the war, where several households combined their scraps to raise the pig, and then shared the pork when it was slaughtered.

My house has a covenant that I can’t run a pub from it!

Lots of the new estates here the houses have covenants about caravans, no work vans, no high fences in front gardens.

If there was a covenant saying no bbq I’d run a mile and I’m a vegetarian who hasn’t had a bbq in 20 years. Depends how much you think the neighbours will be a nightmare.

It’s really common. They won’t be able to add any new rules once you buy it. If any of the covenants pose an issue for you then talk to them about it, but the ones you’ve mentioned seem ok. I wouldn’t read anything into what they’ll be like as neighbours from this - it’s likely their lawyer will have asked them about imposing covenants and suggested some common ones for them to consider.

No chickens is another common one - the create mess and attract rats easily

Good luck trying to re sell when the time comes with those covenants in place. I would run a mile no matter how good the house was.

It's usually planning that requires frosted glass

But that would be a condition of the new house if planning related. Not the existing.

If it's windows like a landing window you could probably put in some lovely stained glass instead of frosting.
Bathroom windows are frosted orb similar anyway
But if it's bedroom windows, that's another matter.

I don't understand how they can legally make covenants unless they retain an interest in the land. The only time I have come across this was of a developer builds a community with a housing association or the property is ex council.
And if they want frosted windows they should install them themselves.
Seek advice from your solicitor.

Also, OP, I know you obviously love the house and are envisaging staying, but it's worth considering if any of the covenants that you feel you can live with might make the property less saleable to other people in the future when they turn out to be the neighbours from hell.

I certainly wouldn't want frosted windows upstairs on anything other than the bathroom - sure, it means they can enjoy their garden without you occasionally glancing in their direction, but meanwhile, you can't enjoy any views at all!

Obviously depends on the quality of the views you're missing out on (apart from their topless sunbathing and al fresco sex parties, of course...) though.

My house is 1960 semi, private not ex LA or anything.

There are covenants on it, if my (very elderly) neighbours sells we wouldn't it it and sell ours and in the process amend the covenants!!!!

SIL built an extension and part of the agreement was to but in obscured glass on the side of the upstairs so they couldn't directly peer over neighbours garden - not uncommon!

I’m a property lawyer, these things are very common indeed. For people not understanding how they can impose covenants, it’s because it’s their own land and they are selling it-with conditions. So, as a buyer, if you don’t like it, you either negotiate them away or buy somewhere else.

Also correct to say that the imposition of these covenants probably has very little to do with what they are like as people, it may have come from their legal advisor. I often suggest covenants to sellers if they are retaining adjacent land. It doesn’t mean they can then ‘interfere’ with your everyday life living there.

I would say 90% of the houses I sell, anywhere in the country, have covenants on them.

I think an awful lot of people have covenants and just don't realise! Didn't bother to read the deeds or solicitor just said they were fine/no issues because they are all your "typical" no chickens/pigs/running a house of ill repute/a pub...

Absolutely correct. People rarely read the title reports that I spend HOURS writing ha ha!

Peppermint 😂😂😂😂😂 I definitely read mine!!!

Star client!

The two you've mentioned are very common so it would depend what the others were as to whether I'd be put off. Our current property states no caravans which I welcome.

It's perfectly standard when you're selling part of your land @Pipandmum. The enforceability of the covenants after the original sellers have sold is a different matter.

I know someone with an old covenant that states if the local church needs funding (like for a new roof) then they must contribute a certain amount to the funding. I think they paid some sort of a one of insurance fee that will cover it...should it ever happen...it hasn't yet!!

One off*

They don’t seem unreasonable to me at all? Do you wish to keep a caravan in your back garden? Or look into their home? If not there is no issue, if so, then this isn’t the house for you,