Question Regarding Title Deeds

classy69

Hi,


I am looking to have my garage converted into a dining room, and the builder has stated that I would need to check the deeds, as there may be a restrictive covenant in place. I have looked at the title deeds provided to me from when I purchased the property, and these were dated October 1986. (I purchased in 2013) There is a paragraph under restricted covenants saying the garage cannot be converted into a room for habitual use. However, the more recent title deeds which were used to prove that the people I was buying from were actually the owners, dated June 2013, does not mention this covenant about the garage.

Could you advise as to where I stand regarding this please? Can I go ahead with the conversion? As a side issue, about 3 houses in my road have already had theirs converted…..


Many thanks.

Davesnave

I think restricted covenants are usually only mentioned on the original title document and assumed to apply thereafter, but what happens in practice is that their beneficiary, usually the builder, departs the scene and there is no one left to enforce them.

Quite often, a covenant like this allows for permission to be granted on application to the beneficiary, so if its the builder and they still exist, you could apply to them, as they won't now care about people changing the development.

If they don't exist, then your council isn't going to care about this covenant. If it's permitted development, they'll just want it to conform with building regs.

Why don't you talk to those who have already gone ahead with the conversion? You might learn useful info on a practical level too, but remember, building regs change and what applied to them might be different, especially as regards insulation.