Ex-council house - Restrictive covenant about extensions

savv77y

I'm in the process of buying an ex-council house, found this restrictive covenant in the Title Deed in the "Schedule of Restrictive Clauses" section.
"No advertisement shall be displayed and no shed outhouse wireless or television aerial advertisement board or hoarding or any other structure of any kind whether temporary or permanent shall be erected
on the premises or any part thereof without the previous consent in writing of the council."
Can anyone advice me what the above covenant exactly means please..
1.) Can I do structural alterations to the existing building without the consent?
2.) Can I do extensions like conservatory, loft conversions or side extensions or rear extensions without the consent?
3.) Can I build garages or separate structures without the consent?
4.) Or am I not allowed to all of the above 3 options?
I'm aware that I need to apply for planning permission regardless of the consent from the council.

teddysmum

A garage, a conservatory and an extension are all structures, so they come within the restriction mentioned.


You may be able to alter the building, eg put in new windows, but it's not worth going ahead without asking permission or you may be ordered to remove and reinstate anything altered.

firebird082

We're just buying a place with exactly the same. We phoned the council and basically it just means you pass it through whoever their current housing and estates person is in addition to any planning permission you might require. A nuisance, and they might possibly (in fact probably will) charge for giving such permission. Our council said £75 for retrospective permission application.

If there are any sheds or similar already in the garden which might require consent, suggest asking the vendor for proof of the consent. Ours couldn't prove it, so have purchased an indemnity policy to cover it.

On the other hand, it's your private property, so how are they going to know whether you have erected a garden shed or not? I wouldn't have thought it would cover structural changes, just additions. Your solicitor should be able to advise...

rosie383

You are lucky if your deeds say that you must obtain consent first. The one we are trying to buy says no building at all. We are in the process of trying to get the restrictions lifted but have no idea at this stage if we can.

rosie383

It can be risky to go ahead without the proper consent. Someone we know had a covenant on his property of which he was unaware until he started to build a conservatory. Even though lots of the surrounding houses had them, one neighbour complained and the covenant came to light. He had a long delay on the construction but eventually got planning permission and all was well. Unfortunately if you know about the restrictions beforehand you can't then get indemnity insurance if you have a problem in the future.

savv77y

Thank you very much for all your replies.
A quick update regarding this, spoke to my Conveyancer today, she is very confident that the covenant relates to separate buildings only like garages and sheds but not for extensions/conservatory as they don't come under separate buildings/structures. I am kind of confused to what is actually correct.
Can anyone please let me know which department in council I should be speaking to get this covenant removed?
Thanks.

martindow

savv77y wrote: »

spoke to my Conveyancer today, she is very confident that the covenant relates to separate buildings only like garages and sheds but not for extensions/conservatory as they don't come under separate buildings/structures. I am kind of confused to what is actually correct.

That's not how I read the bold section in your OP. Any other structure ...on the premises or part thereof... seems to be all embracing and not just relating to detached structures.

firebird082

savv77y wrote: »

Can anyone please let me know which department in council I should be speaking to get this covenant removed? Thanks.

I don't know that you'll be able to get it removed. Ours specifically states 80 years from date of original sale. We spoke to the Housing and Estates team of our council. That's probably a good starting point. Alternatively the planning department were also quite helpful. Good luck!

AlexMac

savv77y wrote: »

Thank you very much for all your replies.
A quick update regarding this, spoke to my Conveyancer today, she is very confident that the covenant relates to separate buildings only like garages and sheds but not for extensions/conservatory as they don't come under separate buildings/structures. I am kind of confused to what is actually correct.
Can anyone please let me know which department in council I should be speaking to get this covenant removed?
Thanks.

We have two ex-council BTLs and our Council has an incredibly helpful and well-informed Leaseholder team in the Housing Department who deal with ex-council homes which have been sold off on a leasehold basis, so I'd start by phoning in to find yours.

I'd be a bit doubtful of taking your conveyancer's word for it unless they promise to specifically write this interpretation into the report which they will give you before you exchange and complete; this is in effect their legal advice to you. If they ain't prepared to put it in writing, you won't be able to sue them if it goes t1ts-up!

Alternatively, if you never intend to sell, just ignore the covenants and risk not getting found out. When you sell, you'll be asked to declare, in writing, if you've done any work to the house, and provide any appropriate certificates if so. Sometimes you can then get retrospective permission or building regs consents - but, if you ever plan to sell, why not do it right to start?

Some people get away with it. Our kids lived next door to someone in a Council House- which the neighbour rented and didn't even own. They nevertheless built an illegal extension in the back garden with sewer connections, kitchen, bedrooms etc, to house a bunch of (presumably) illegal or low-wage workers. They were otherwise really good quiet neighbours- doubly so as they didn't want anyone to grass 'em up to the authorities....

So there you go; different people have different attitudes to regulations; I never even park on yellow lines as I always got a ticket if I did...