Buying house - Restrictive Covenant Breached

jaymz84

Hi,

Hopefully this is a reasonable simply question, with the answer being that I've nothing to worry about.

I'm in the process of buying my first house, and have received my searches today. Apart from some chancel liability, there are two restrictive covenants on the property - A 1901 covenant on land usage which doesn't cause any issues, and another in 1964 by a company that looks like the house builder. The covenant prohibits 'alteration to the property which would affect the exterior elevation in any manner shall be made without the previous consent in writing of the vendor'.

The garage that was originally on the property has been converted into another reception room, and a rear extension has been added to the house.

Some quick searches have revealed that covenants such as these are common to prevent extensions on newly built properties, which makes sense on new development. Additionally, I can't find any record of the 'vendor' online.

Should I be worried by this covenant, and the fact that it has been breached before proceeding to purchase the house?

Thanks in advance

Tancred

jaymz84 wrote: »

Hi,

Hopefully this is a reasonable simply question, with the answer being that I've nothing to worry about.

I'm in the process of buying my first house, and have received my searches today. Apart from some chancel liability, there are two restrictive covenants on the property - A 1901 covenant on land usage which doesn't cause any issues, and another in 1964 by a company that looks like the house builder. The covenant prohibits 'alteration to the property which would affect the exterior elevation in any manner shall be made without the previous consent in writing of the vendor'.

The garage that was originally on the property has been converted into another reception room, and a rear extension has been added to the house.

Some quick searches have revealed that covenants such as these are common to prevent extensions on newly built properties, which makes sense on new development. Additionally, I can't find any record of the 'vendor' online.

Should I be worried by this covenant, and the fact that it has been breached before proceeding to purchase the house?

Thanks in advance

It's not a problem. You can simply ask your solicitor to buy an indemnity insurance and that will cover you.

jaymz84

Fantastic!

I didn't want this issue to cause me to rethink the purchase. I can sleep easily now!

ey143

Interesting, I have a similar situation but with 10 covenants, of which 4 or 5 are bothering me.

One of them says that there are to be no temporary sheds or buildings on the land and that anyone can rip down my fence to smash it up without fear of reprisals or costs! Would something like that stand up - surely this is breaking and entering?

ALso am I correct in thinking that the covenant can be removed by the successors of the original land owner who put the covenant in place (and not the original owner if they have passed away)?

Richard_Webster

The covenant prohibits 'alteration to the property which would affect the exterior elevation in any manner shall be made without the previous consent in writing of the vendor'.

If the company no longer exists the covenant is unenforceable - your solicitors should be able to check this.

Also any alterations more than 20 years old are immune.

If more recent and the company still in existence then your sellers should pay for an indemnity policy.

Unless your solicitor has told you that the Land Registry entries show Chancel Liability, you can ignore it completely as you will not be liable as you will purchase after 13th October.

Indeed I have to question why they bothered doing the search unless they thought there was areal possibility of the transaction completing before that date.