TP1 covenants enforcebale to successive buyer

Kekdal

Hi Experts,
I am trying to buy a Freehold Semi detached property built in 2002.
This was sold by a builder to the owner back then and had a TP1 contract, my solicitor now has sent me TR1 contract.
This also has a building regulation missing.

I have below questions:
1) Do the TP1 covenants apply to me (given I will be signing a TR1 contract with the seller)? Some of them talk about proportionate costs and transferor having the right to change terms of sale which would have made sense when the sale was between builder and the current owner. I am not sure if these apply to me and if so how.
2) This also has planning permission and Building regulation missing. My solicitor said that is because the property is built under new towns act. Are New town properties really exempt from Building regulations?
3) My solicitor has also contacted the council (which counters there answer in point 2) does that mean any chances of obtaining, an indemnity against lack of building regulations, finished now?

Thanks for your time.

G_M

TP1 & TR1 are not contracts. The contract of sale is a sseparate document. The TP1/TR1 are forms used to register ownership transfer with the Land Registry.

Kekdal wrote: »

I have below questions:
1) Do the TP1 covenants apply to me (given I will be signing a TR1 contract with the seller)? ....
The covenants also are specified in seperate documents - usually aDeed, or earlier conveyance. You need to read that document to understand what covenants it imposes, and on who. The TR1/TP1 will (often) refer to covenants specifies in thse other documents.

Havving said that, it is likely that such covenants bind each owner of the property, hence they are referenced in each Transfer (whether a TP1 or TR1).

2) This you mean the property - not the TR1!) also has planning permission and Building regulation missing. My solicitor said that is because the property is built under new towns act. Are New town properties really exempt from Building regulations?

No, but they are certified in a different way ie all new builds en block rather than each property being individually certified. You need to trust your solicitor - that's why you are paying him!

3) My solicitor has also contacted the council (which counters there answer in point 2) does that mean any chances of obtaining, an indemnity against lack of building regulations, finished now?

You don't say why he has contacted the council. Have you asked him?

Kekdal

Hi G_M,
Thanks for your prompt response (and sorry for the long post)

1) They have provided a copy of original TP1 and some of the clauses there made sense then e.g transferor reserves the right to make changes to layout etc and transferor can change conditions of sale.
I understand this might have made sense back then as the builder would still have been building the whole site. There luckily is mention of 5 years validity in a particular clause for making changes/extensions but no expiry on other restrictions (which seem to be quite strict in the sense they don't even say permission would not be unreasonably withheld)

My TR1 has transferor as the current owner so I am not sure what impact it has on me especially since the definition of transferor in the original TP1 includes its successors. I am worried if I need to take permission from my current seller and the builder for such things despite being a freehold.

2) Sorry yes I meant the property, I tried calling NHBC and unfortunately they have no record of this property either (But I think the whole street was built at the time so their reference might be a site and I couldn't provide the right search terms).

3) I called up my solicitor and they said it was different situation than they thought and it might require Building regulations hence they contacted council.
I wonder if my solicitors calling council keeps the indemnity route open.

Actually the way they have been dealing the purchase has made it very difficult for me to trust them. On several occasions I actually had better update from the estate agent via the sellers solicitor than my own!
In fact there was no mention of any such problem in the final report. I was about to exchange and had a related question while taking home insurance which is why this came up!!! Being a first time buyer isn't helping either.

Thanks again to everybody spending time on this.

G_M

1)
Stop looking at the TP1. That is a documnet transferring the propertty from the original builder to the original owner. You are not a party to that transfer. It does not apply to you.

Have you yet found reference to the Deed or Conveyance in which the covenants are specified?

Look at the property's Land Registry title - that is what you are buying. That defines any rights or obligations of your purchase. Though it should reference other relevant documnets, in which case, read those too.

The TR1 that you sign will transfer the Title (currently held at the LR) from tthe currrent owner (transferor) to you (transferee). The transferror of the TP1 is rrelevant - again, you were not involved in that trasaction.

2)
NHBC is nothing to do with Planning Permission, or Building regulations, which was your original concern.

NHBC may provde a warranty on the property, but only if the builder has decided to sign up to the NHBC scheme, which is voluntary. There are also other independant warranty schemes for new prroperties, but again, there is no obligation on the builder to sign up to any of them.

If you are concerned about Planing Permission, either speak to the council, or go in and see your solicittor for an explanation.

3) Yes you're right. Alerting the council to a missing Building Regulations certificate (asssuming it was needed) might invalidate indemnity insurance.

I'm no expert on Planning or Building Regs but believe that
a) large developmets are given planning consent as a whole, not on a propery-by property basis. The New Towns Act 1946 as amended by the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 Part III requires developers to include withing their planning applications things like provision of social house, money for road widening, and/or schools etc., which their develoment would havve an impact on. Provided that development plan is approved by the Planners, each house within it would (I think!) be covered.

b)Similarly I believe (not 100% sure) that developers self-certify their developments for Buildig Regs. The council Planners do not inspect and certify each individual property though they may randomnly check some.

I suggest you make an appointment andd visit your conveyancer to talk through your concerns. Hopefully you have not chosen to use a cheap online-only conveyancing warehouse......

PS - Have you Exchanged Contract yet? Have you received and signed the contract? That is step 1 (well OK step 42) in the process. The TR1 is step 2! (well, step 56). Stop referring to the TR1 (or TP1) as a 'contract' - it isn't.

Kekdal

Hi G_M,
I can't thank you enough for spending your time on my post really appreciate that.

1) Checked the Land registry and many of the odd restrictions from TP1 are not mentioned there, nor is there a reference to TP1. There are some constraints (Charge register) but they look reasonable except one which says not to put any dish antenna type of stuff which is visible from outside but that is not a deal surely current occupants would have electricity and broadband and I would be able to arrange the set up similarly.

2) Thanks for clarifying this.

3) You are right about 3A, I had asked for a copy of local search report from solicitors which mentions the property is part of new towns act so hopefully that is ok.
Thanks for 3B hopefully it is one of them and council confirms the same.

You are right, I am sorry, there is another paper sent by solicitors which is the contract.
I have not exchanged yet, planning to wait untill this Bldg reg is clarified.
Thankfully conveyancers are not an online one, will book an appointment with them to sort this out.
Many thanks again G_M it was indeed a lot of help.

Richard_Webster

1) Checked the Land registry and many of the odd restrictions from TP1 are not mentioned there, nor is there a reference to TP1.

The Land Registry will either contain a reference to covenants set out in a Transfer dated [date of original TP1] and you have to get a copy of that from the Registry or if they are short they may set them out in full in the Charges Register with a heading like "A Transfer dated ## made between XX and YY contains restrictive covenants as follows:..." In the latter case you are saved the trouble of getting a copy of the whole document but in either eventuality, they are binding on you.

Land_Registry

Richard_Webster wrote: »

The Land Registry will either contain a reference to covenants set out in a Transfer dated [date of original TP1] and you have to get a copy of that from the Registry or if they are short they may set them out in full in the Charges Register with a heading like "A Transfer dated ## made between XX and YY contains restrictive covenants as follows:..." In the latter case you are saved the trouble of getting a copy of the whole document but in either eventuality, they are binding on you.

Agree. Most likely referred to as 'filed' as registered in 2002
Yes some if the covenants/clauses may have been intended to primarily bind that first purchaser but if you read the covenanting clause it should make it clear that it binds successors in title - that is the norm.

You may find your new TR1 will include your own covenant to 'observe and perform' the covenants as well.

Routine conveyancing really so your conveyancer should be able to talk you through the relevance of the TP1 and it's impact on you and the rest if the development who are most likely the owners if any benefiting land and therefore those who could enforce the covenants fir example.

EddyB

Hi "Land Registry"! Please help. We have an enforcement problem on my estate regarding the clauses in the TP1 of the houses.



1. There is a clause in the TP1 which clearly states that no house-owner may alter the railings or columns on the exterior of their Property, yet one house-owner has done precisely that. We owners don't yet have control of the Management Company, and we are managed by the Management Company's Managing Agent. We expect the Managing Agent to enforce the clauses in our TP1s on behalf of the Management Company. But if it isn't the Managing Agent's responsibility to attend to enforcement of the TP1 clauses, then whose responsibility is it? How can those clauses be enforced?



2. The owner who has altered the exterior appearance of their house (in such a way as to devalue the houses on either side), is a second owner of the house. I understand from this thread that he won't therefore have a TP1 but a TR1, but surely all of the regulations contained in the clauses of the TP1 are still binding upon him? Or is it possible that they are not?


Thank you.

G_M

Pay £3 to the Land Registry here and download a copy of the relevant property's Title.


Read that.

EddyB

GM, many thanks indeed for that reminder that the Land Registry can supply helpful information!


I have now downloaded the Title from the Land Registry for the property in question and have found it's only 3 pages long.

However, in the section called "B: Proprietorship Register", it states:

"The Transfer to the proprietor contains a covenant to observe and perform the covenants referred to in the Charges Register and of indemnity in respect thereof."

And then in "C: Charges Register", it states:

"A Transfer of the land in this title dated [removed] made between (1) [Name of the Developer] (2) [Names of the first owners of the house] contains restrictive covenants."

I would like to think that the sentence in Section B means that the restrictive covenants referred to in Section C are all the restrictive covenants of the standard TP1 which all first owners of houses on this estate had to sign, and which the rest of us on this estate still have.

But can I be sure from the above that the restrictive covenants of the initial TP1 are now binding on the second owners of the house?


Does the above mean that the second owners of the house in question have a copy of the original TP1?

G_M

"A Transfer of the land in this title dated [removed] made between (1) [Name of the Developer] (2) [Names of the first owners of the house] contains restrictive covenants."

Read the transfer dated [removed].


That will show you what covenants the Title refers to.