Advice please on Land Covenants!

Baxter100

Hello - after a bit of advice!

We are looking at buying a house which backs onto a small piece of council owned land, and are looking at whether this land could be used for development in the future. The registered Title for the land states that:

A Conveyance of the land in this title dated 7 March 1977 made between (1) Birnbeck (Sixth) Co-Ownership Housing Society Limited (Vendors) (2) The Housing Corporation (Corporation) (3) Abbey National Building Society (Building Society) and (4) Bath City Council (Council) contains the following covenant:-

"The Council hereby covenant with the Vendors that they will at all times henceforth use the land hereby conveyed as an open space and will maintain it in good condition."

So there is a Covenant in place that the land can only be used for open space. What does this actually mean though? Are covenants binding forever, or can the Council remove it as and when they please?

Many thanks!

Baxter100

Also one further issue with this particular property. Looking at the title plans for both the house and the section of adjoining Council land, the owners of the house look to have 'pinched' a section of the council land (totaling something like 10 m2), and have put up a fence surrounding it, to include within the back garden.

What is the best course of action here? Ignore it? Look to buy the land off of the council? Reduce the offer on the house?

We were told that if the fence had been up for 14 years, then the house effectively has legal rights to the land - is this anywhere near true?!

This will obviously all come out when the solicitors get involved, but we want to get a good understanding before we get to that stage of what might be involved.

Thanks again!

G_M

Covenants like this remain binding, usually on future owners as well as current ones, until rescinded.

Yes the council can agree to remove the covenant.

Re the extra land, read

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adverse-possession-of-registered-land/practice-guide-4-adverse-possession-of-registered-land

Baxter100

Thanks for the info. Might take a bit of time for us to work through the extra land information. :S

We are not necessarily concerned about houses being developed on the land, but more the fact that the house has had an extension added which runs right along the edge of the boundary between the house plot and the council land.

Are we right in thinking that if this land was used for development, they could effectively build right up against the house? Or would there be restrictions in place that would prevent this?

jonathanrolande

Hello Baxter,

It is unlikely to be built on but not impossible. Re the additional land, ask your solicitor about indemnity insurance to cover you if it is taken back.

Hope that helps in some way!

Baxter100

Thanks Jonathan - will do.

stator

The question about the covenant is whether you would inherit the benefit of it? Are you buying the house off someone who bought the house off (1),(2), (3) or (4)? If so then the council can't just remove the covenant, if they violated it you could sue them.

Regarding the stolen land you should research adverse possetion. But I would assume that you won't get to keep the land and make your decision based on that. If you do get to keep the land then it's a bonus.

moneyistooshorttomention

More to the point, if your vendors are the type of people that go in for stealing land (ie under "adverse possession" provisions) then that says to me that they are people to be very wary of having as vendors. If they will do that to the Council, then I would be wondering what they might try to do to me as a buyer of their house and be very wary of what they might get up to that would affect me personally (eg they've shown their "colours" in that respect....so I would be much more on the lookout for them trying a bit of gazumping on me for instance).

Baxter100

Thanks for the advice.

Good point about the owners, although we don't know whether they themselves are the ones who 'pinched' the land, or if it was already that was when they moved in. How do you go about showing that a piece of land has been in adverse possession for 12 years?

nobodyspecial

You get your vendors to swear that the land has been used by them for that 12 years. They may then tell you it was already like that when they bought.
Of course all owned land was gained by adverse possession in the very first instance. Nobody owned the entire world and sold off bits. So in effect every landowner is in possession of stolen property

Baxter100

Very true!

One final question.... would the fact that the land has a covenant on it impact upon an adverse possession claim?