Neighbour claims I have broken the Covenant

NeilCr

You aren't on an estate are you?. With service charges and a manangement company. If you are they could (repeat could) have a go at enforcing it if asked

PasturesNew

I have covenants buried in the original planning permission and in the deeds etc. There's all sorts of stuff in there.

As a rule for breaking covenants, if you wish to continue to do so, then you just need to be aware of what covenant you're breaking, who put it there/why, so judge what sort of comeback you might encounter in the future and only go ahead if you're prepared to have your wrist slapped and have to put things back "as they were".

Covenants can be all sorts of things, from shrubbery/planting rules to hanging washing on lines.

Do you own the land where you've pulled the shrubbery up from? Does it make things look worse to passers by? Are there issues re Highways Agency over using that dropped kerb for cars turning into the land (they do like cars to be able to turn round and come out onto the road forwards, for example).

In short: who would you be peeing off if you just did it anyway?

Pulling up a few shrubs might not upset people; using a dropped kerb for 2-3 extra cars to park there might upset the planning permission/Highways agency.

Just understand how you are changing things to the detriment and safety of others.

Silvertabby

Is it possible that the covenant was imposed by the house builder and has now expired?

When we bought out new build in 1994 it was on the condition that we:

Didn't remove any shrubs planted by the builder

Didn't add any hedges/erect fencing in the front gardens

Didn't park a caravan or a lorry on the drive

Plus others that I can't remember - but it was all to do with maintaining the look of the estate until the last house had been built and sold.

Cakeguts

There is also a practical one of not putting up a front garden fence on the boundary because some of the services run along the boundary of the houses.

teddysmum

Davesnave wrote: »

If there's a dropped kerb already that's a major hurdle overcome as you don't need to apply to the Highways Dept in the council for one.

I wonder whether the fact that there is a dropped kerb, not leading to an existing drive/parking area, means that a vehicle can be driven over it, as some pavements have dropped kerbs to help with access for prams and wheelchairs.


These are more often seen on long stretches of pavement, along main roads, which are interrupted by side roads, but there are a number on our estate, which are obviously for pedestrian access and not for vehicles. (Some are at right angles to existing drives, which have their own access kerb drop.)

chucknorris

comeandgo wrote: »

Maybe it's not a covenant on your property. Maybe it's a planning condition. In one of our previous propertys we could not have any fencing, all back gardens were open plan, just a wire to show the division between the gardens. It was great, non of these horrid 6feet board fences.

That would be awful for dog owners, we certainly wouldn't consider living in a property like that. A secure (as far as dogs go) garden is an absolute must for us (not 6 foot high though). Also you might get some loony with a dog, who thinks that it is OK for his dog to poo in other gardens or chase cats.

comeandgo

chucknorris wrote: »

That would be awful for dog owners, we certainly wouldn't consider living in a property like that. A secure (as far as dogs go) garden is an absolute must for us (not 6 foot high though). Also you might get some loony with a dog, who thinks that it is OK for his dog to poo in other gardens or chase cats.

It was surprising how quickly the dogs were trained to stay in their own garden. One neighbour did warn us she was getting a dog from the sspca and it was not yet trained so we all just put up with it until the dog was trained.

Small children could be a problem. They were more difficult to "train".

Land_Registry

Chris-TT wrote: »

C: Charges Register

2 (09.01.2009) A Transfer of the land in this title dated 11 December
2008 made between (1) Lovell Partnerships Limited and (2) XXX
NOTE: Copy filed.

It doesn't mention anything about taking up shrubs, am I definitely looking at the right document, or is the neighbour referring to something else? He also said there was something in there that said not being allowed to park work vehicles on the driveway too.

That's the deed you probably need a copy of. The register, title plan and that deed are in effect your 'title deeds' now. Your solicitor will have obtained a copy of all three when you bought. Normally you would have been given copies to read and consider.

If you don't have a copy of the Transfer then you can apply for one by post for £7
https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-property-and-land/copies-of-deeds

I suspect the covenants your neighbour is referring to are on there and common to each plot on which the same builder built and sold

EachPenny

2008 falls in a timespan where many planning authorities had parking policies in place which were actively seeking to reduce car use by limiting the availability of parking. Planning guidance on parking standards was intended to deliver car use reduction by limiting parking, rather than insisting on minimum levels of provision that had been required in the past.

It is possible that conditions were imposed as part of the planning consent which restrict the number of car parking spaces available to the property - it is possible this is what the neighbour is talking about.

Without seeing photographs of the site it is difficult to be sure, but another reason for a requirement for a fence/wall to be in a particular position could be to maintain visibility for road users (commonly called sight lines) so if a fence/wall needs to be 'set back' a certain distance then this too could be a condition in the planning consent.

I agree with the point Teddysmum makes - having a dropped kerb in a particular place doesn't necessarily create a right to use it for vehicles to enter adjoining property (these rights are more complex). Even if it has been provided for vehicular use it doesn't mean that further consent (and possibly modification works) will be required if the parking area is subsequently expanded. I'm aware of cases where owners applied for the minimum length of dropped kerb to access a single parking space, then constructed driveways big enough for more cars. In this situation accessing parts of the driveway may involve driving over a verge and/or parts of the footway which hadn't been strengthened, so the council exercised its right to stop the owners doing this.

If you attempt to use a dropped kerb provided for pedestrians as a vehicle crossing point instead then you are likely to have someone from the highway authority visiting you quite quickly - there are health and safety issues involved and this isn't something they are likely to turn a blind eye to.

Chris-TT

Thank you for all the advice. I’m going to call Lovell Partnerships Limited when the working week begins and see if they can shed light on this. We live in a small close with about 10 houses, it’s a nice area however one or two of the neighbours are slightly snobby and I get the impression that they think the close is something that it's certainly isn't. The fence being moved wouldn’t make any difference as the shrubbery had grown taller than 6ft and was a lot more intrusive than a fence would be.