Housing covenant

Jenno365

Hi, I am currently purchasing a property that has the following covenant: The purchaser shall not use the property hereby conveyed for the purpose of any noxious, noisome or offensive trade or business or for any purpose other than a single private dwellinghouse.
I was planning to open a small cattery in the out buildings in the garden, will this covenant stop me from doing this?

DVardysShadow

Presumably it would be as a trade or business. I am sure some would find it noxious, noisome or offensive - do you have the distance from adjacent properties to counter such a claim?

Jenno365

The closest house is at least 50 meters away so would like to think its not a problem?

PasturesNew

Will the cats be loose, or locked up?
How many will there be?
Will you be having deliveries (big vans full of cat litter and cat food), or pet owners dropping off/collecting at odd hours?

Jenno365

I am looking at running 10 cat penns all enclosed, there will be no deliverys for cat food etc, there will be strickt 2 hour drop of times in the morning and 2 hour pick up time in the evening.

Jowo_2

Question for a solicitor, really, seeing as you wish to run a business from a property whose deeds seem to require it to be solely residential .

G_M

Sounds to me pretty much like a "noxious, noisome or offensive trade or business ".

Sounds indisputedly like "any purpose other than a single private dwellinghouse."

DVardysShadow

At 50m distance, it looks like the worst problems will be poo and wee. Do you have a plan for that?

And how many cats to a pen?

BitterAndTwisted

If you're prohibited from running a business from the property then you can't set up and run a cattery there. it sounds quite straightforward and unambiguous to me.

Fire_Fox

Jenno365 wrote: »

I am looking at running 10 cat penns all enclosed, there will be no deliverys for cat food etc, there will be strickt 2 hour drop of times in the morning and 2 hour pick up time in the evening.

Not everyone works nine to five, many people work shifts and might find that a problem. I agree with everyone else, the covenant is quite clear.

martindow

How old is the house? Covenants tell you who is able to enforce them. If the covenant dates from a while ago, which the wording you quote suggests, it is quite likely that the person who originally imposed the covenant could be long dead or no longer interested so in practice it can be meaningless.

Are there planning implications with a cattery? You might need to apply to the LA for a change of use.