Restrive covenant on ex-council house against garden sheds

evilcartman

I bought an ex-council house nearly two years ago in quite a rush (yes, I know I should have taken more time but I was between a rock and a hard place at the time) and it came with a few silly restrictive covenants, including one about written permission being required from the council to put up any shed, greenhouse or outbuilding although said permission is “not to be unreasonably withheld”).


I’ve been back in reasonably paid employment for quite a while now and am looking to put up a garden shed on my fairly large back garden, as I need it to store garden tools etc instead of having them cluttering up my utility room.


So I emailed the council to seek permission for a shed up to 8’ x 6’. I said I would probably go for a smaller size in practice but my previous house had one of that size, so I was seeking permission for up to that size to cover myself in case I decided that a 7x5 would be too much of a squeeze. I pointed out that my neighbours to both sides had sheds/outbuildings of that size or larger, so I couldn’t really see it being an issue and assumed the whole thing would just be a formality.


However, I received a telephone call from the local housing manager and he didn’t seem too clued up on restrictive covenants on freeholders. He also seemed to think that an 8x6 would be ‘too large’ but invited me to write in with my precise requirements anyway.


I will make a formal application but, before I do so, is there any case law or other precedents for determining ‘reasonableness’ in such applications? I know from googling that such covenants are quite common – and often routinely flouted when people have bought a new-build from a developer a few years after the development is completed. But obviously the council isn’t going away any time soon, so I have to play along with their games unfortunately.


Surely the “not to be unreasonably withheld” clause means that they can’t just deny permission on an arbitrary basis and that they can only deny it if it falls foul of specific regulations or is causing loss or annoyance to neighbours? I have already pointed out that neighbouring properties have larger sheds already in place and my neighbours on one side (who are still council tenants) also have a 13x8 carport at the side of their house without having had any grief over it. Also, the part of my garden where I propose to put the shed is backed by a set of disused garages and very large trees, it’s unlikely to even be seen by residents of neighbouring properties.


I’ll be submitting photographs of my garden, a drawing to show my proposed location, as well as Google Maps aerial screenshots of a few neighbouring properties with the various outbuildings pointed out (along with measurements from Google Maps’ handy measuring tool).


Now if the council denies permission after all this evidence is supplied, what recourse do I have in appealing the decision? I presume I could appeal within the council and take it to the LGO if they continue to be obstructive. Any other courses of action I could take without getting the courts involved (which I suspect would be a rather expensive sledgehammer to crack a nut)?

beecher2

Sounds like you're the first person to ask permission. Think you're getting a bit ahead of yourself - ask for permission and it'll probably be granted, you maybe just caught the housing officer off guard if he's never been asked about this before.

AlexMac

Yeah, if the local 'housing manager' is 'confused' and commenting off the top of his head on something he might not be personally deciding, then I wouldn't worry. But you might gently check if he's the person to ask? My Council has a dedicated unit for RTB and leaseholders (service charges, consultation on repairs, general liaison) and anything legal goes to the Councils lawyers. They're really efficient and work to policies, not opinions.

Maybe contact the people who send out your service charge demands and ask who to write to rather than phoning the local oik? (no disrespect- I used to be an oik!)

martinthebandit

I didn't think covenants were anything to do with the council?

But to be honest, a shed in the back garden and both your neighbours already have sheds? How is anyone going to find out you have put it up without 'permission'?

mrschaucer

Yes, the way to go is to contact the LEGAL DEPARTMENT at the Council, by letter, and enclose a copy of the restrictive covenant so that they know what you are on about. Nobody else will have the authority or knowledge to deal with it. I shouldn't worry though, it'll probably be a rubber stamp exercise once you find the right people.
Oh, and be warned, if you put up the shed without permission, a future buyer's solicitor WILL pick up on it and want indemnity insurance etc etc ...

evilcartman

AlexMac wrote: »

Maybe contact the people who send out your service charge demands and ask who to write to rather than phoning the local oik? (no disrespect- I used to be an oik!)

I don't pay any service charges; this is a freehold house, not leasehold.

I wrote to the housing department's generic queries department to ask who was responsible and they passed me to the 'oik'. I think contacting the legal department, as suggested by another poster, is probably the way to go.

evilcartman

mrschaucer wrote: »

Oh, and be warned, if you put up the shed without permission, a future buyer's solicitor WILL pick up on it and want indemnity insurance etc etc ...

Yes, this is one thing I was concerned about, plus I presume the council could in theory demand it be taken down if it doesn't have permission.

@martinthebandit - it's very common for councils to impose restrictive covenants on RTB properties. I didn't buy it under the RTB scheme, I bought it at full market value off the one who did, but the covenants are unfortunately transferable. New-build houses often have restrictive covenants on them too but people tend not to pay much attention to those as the developer doesn't usually enforce them once all the plots have been sold off. Councils, on the other hand, don't go away...

And, having asked around, housing managers do look out for any unauthorised works in their patch when they're on site visits, which is why I'm playing it by the book.

beecher2

We paid £13 for an indemnity insurance policy which was sorted out within about half an hour, so I wouldn't get overly worried about it.

Yorkie1

beecher2 wrote: »

We paid £13 for an indemnity insurance policy which was sorted out within about half an hour, so I wouldn't get overly worried about it.

OP has already contacted the council about the issue so I doubt an indemnity policy would be suitable.

cattie

martinthebandit wrote: »

I didn't think covenants were anything to do with the council?

But to be honest, a shed in the back garden and both your neighbours already have sheds? How is anyone going to find out you have put it up without 'permission'?

They are if it was the council who drew up the covenant in the first place, as they did in the case of this former council owned property.

moneyistooshorttomention

martinthebandit wrote: »

I didn't think covenants were anything to do with the council?

But to be honest, a shed in the back garden and both your neighbours already have sheds? How is anyone going to find out you have put it up without 'permission'?

Well...since OP has asked, then they might come and check deliberately.

Personally, I wouldn't have asked. I would have just gone ahead, even if the neighbours didn't have sheds (but obviously all the more so because they do).

A standard size garden shed is part of the A Home Is Like This Norm. Mine isn't an ex-council house, and no-one has said anything about any unreasonable restrictions of any description, but I wont be going looking for trouble. I'm just going to put one there because I need it and it is The Norm. It will be a standard size etc etc one...so why would I even ask?

Ask Officialdom something and there is a good chance that they wont know their job and aren't aware of the correct answer, but will come out with An Answer anyway. On the other hand, that they DO know the Answer and will be keen to apply it to justify their job.