Restrictive Covenants

[Creativebee]

We are hoping to put an offer in for a property but it will definitely require an extension for an adapted bedroom/bathroom for our DD. I have purchased the land registry info and I am struggling to decipher the following points, am I right in thinking that A) the landowner can sell the attached land at anytime and B) an extension can not be built as it will block these pathways?

For the benefit of every part of the neighbouring lands of the Company capable of being benefited 4 by this covenant use the said land or any buildings erected thereon for the purposes of private dwellinghouses only and (without restricting the generality of the foregoing) will in particular not use the said land or any such building as an inn public house beerhouse or beershop or anywise for the sale of wines spirits ale beer porter or other fermented liquors by retail nor for any trade or business of any kind whatever and will not erected or place anything upon or in any manner obstruct the said ways or any part thereof nor use the same for any purpose except passing and repassing thereover to and from the rest of the said land".

NOTE: The said Conveyance also contains the folowing provision:-

"PROVIDED ALSO AND IT IS HEREBY AGREED that the Company may at any time hereafter the general plan for the development of the lands of which the said land forms part in such manner in all respects as the Company may from time to time think fit and may sell lease or otherwise deal with any other part of such lands either subject to or free from all or any of the covenants conditions and provisions herein contained or subject to any other covenants conditions and provisions and may release alter or vary any of the covenants conditions and provisions which may have been or may hereafter be inserted in the Conveyance or Lease of any other part of such lands

In order for a covenant to be upheld, the person who had the covenant placed on the house needs to take legal responsibility for prosecuting anyone who breaks it. If the person/ company is dead/ has gone out of business then there is no-one to uphold the covenant and there fore it cannot be enforced.

Sorry, I couldn't pick through the legal jargon in your convenient but I thought that this might be useful info.

A)- correct. They can build what they want subject to planning permission (which you could theoretically object to).
B- is there a shared access way? Or could it just be referring to what is now the public highway?

Thanks for your responses, there is no shared access way at all, it’s just a large piece of land on the side of the property which is what you would assume is garden (that’s how it’s being sold, gardens to the sides and rear). We don’t want to put an offer in and then find out after spending money on surveys that we can’t extend but it sounds like that from this.

Ah, I missed the pass and repass bit.
If you’re really keen you could check if the company still exists and if neighbours have extended.

I don't know, I'm not a lawyer but whoever put the covenant on is the only one who can enforce it. How old is the house? Subject to your local planning policies and how much extending has been done already, I would have thought extending should be possible. You should check with your solicitor.

Company still exists and the property hasn’t been extended in any way whatsoever. We want to put an offer in and this property would take us well into our budget (we’ve obviously calculated everything so we wouldn’t hit the budget but we’d be close to it) and that’s why we don’t want to get too far down the line and then find out that the house can’t be extended in anyway. We don’t want to be losing fees on solicitors when we could be putting that money into another property. Is there a cheaper way to find out or could a solicitor just charge for finding out this information before a sale was to go through?

I meant have the neighbours extended? But if you’re sure that the company still exists then I would work on the basis that you won’t be able to extend.
Some covenants have the option to extend if the company approves the plans first but this one doesn’t.

Is there more before the part you posted? The quoted part mentions that you are not to "erected [sic] or place anything upon or in any manner obstruct the said ways or any part thereof" but there's nothing in the earlier part to introduce any "ways".

From the context though, this seems to be talking about "the neighbouring lands of the Company", i.e., lands in separate ownership retained by "the Company" and not the lands on the property you're considering purchasing.

The following are details of the covenants contained in the Conveyance dated 2 March 1973
referred to in the Charges Register:-
"THE Purchaser hereby for itself its successors and assigns covenants with the Company their successors and assigns that the Purchaser and its successors and assigns will
(a) Within six calendar months from the date of these presents fence off the said land (excluding the said ways) from the adjoining lands of the Company to the satisfaction of the Company and will at all times thereafter maintain such fence to the like satisfaction
(b) When called upon make up flag pave or otherwise form sewer and drain the said ways to the satisfaction of the Company and will at all times thereafter maintain cleanse repair and renew the said ways and the sewers drains and watercourses therein or thereunder to like satisfaction until the same shall be taken over by the highway or other competent authority
(c) When required pay to the Company a proportionate part of all such costs as the Company shall incur or shall have incurred n the cutting embanking forming flagging paving sewering draining maintaining repairing or renewing of and in connection with the said ways and any street road passage or footpath adjoining the said land the amount payable to be conclusively settled by the Agent Surveyor or Architect for the time being of the Company

Also, I thought the company was still running but I realised I searched a company with a similar name and can’t find anything on this company or the names of the people mentioned on the document. Our architect has said that from his understanding, not only will we need planning permission from the local council but also from the company that placed the covenants but he said that we need the document looked at by a solicitor before we move forward.

Check the company name on the register at companies House. If it isn't on there then it isn't still in operation.

I would say you need a solicitor or someone who specialises in this area of law to decipher this for you.

Also I'm not a lawyer but I thought anyone who benefits from a covenant can enforce it, not just the person/company who originally put it on, otherwise covenants that are more than a few decades old wouldn't be enforceable at all.