Property Law - Deed of Covenant

Ann_Firth

Apologies if this isn't the right place. I'm just looking for some advice. I've done as much research as I can and now I'm hoping I've found something...

I have a deed of covenant that was signed as a deed by myself and a management company providing a service for communal areas. I own the freehold to my property, this is for management service of communal areas (public access). At the time the deed was executed the management company were only successor in title to the land as they didn't yet own the land the deed pertains to. Is this deed legally enforcable? I wondered if the deed of covenant would have had to be made with the original land owners?

To add more information, I was the second purchaser the original owners were covenanted with the original land owners (developer).

I was never told about this during the purchase so it's come of quite a bit of a shock when the bill landed.

Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

anselld

It is almost certainly enforceable. Did your Solicitor not explain it when you signed?

It is not clear what communal areas are involved, given it is freehold, but who do you think is going to pay for them if the communal users don’t?

moneyistooshorttomention

anselld wrote: »

It is not clear what communal areas are involved, given it is freehold, but who do you think is going to pay for them if the communal users don’t?

The owner of those communal areas one assumes.

******************

OP - what is the bill you refer to? Is it a service charges bill? (presumably annual?).

How long have you been living in this place?

It's not clear what the set-up is. Is it a flat in a block of flats - or is it a perfectly standard house with perfectly standard green areas (ie of the type Councils normally own, but you're in one of these set-ups of the last few years where someone else owns those grass areas?)

Amongst the paperwork you were given for the property - eg old style Deeds, modern day Title Plans and Register entries, etc - is there anything down in writing saying words to effect of "The following charge is payable for x/y/z at the following intervals" or any similar type wording?

If there's something that specifically mentions payment somewhere in writing then you are probably liable. If there is nothing stating payment anywhere in writing then you are probably not liable. Hence we need to know what paperwork you have and what it does/or doesnt say about payment.

anselld

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

The owner of those communal areas one assumes.

Nobody is going to own communal areas without some arrangement to recoup maintenance costs from the communal users.

Ann_Firth

Thanks for your swift response.

No, I was never told about this. People I've spoken to on the estate were told there would be amenity areas but in the form of playareas and such, as they bought off plan but I was the second purchaser and wasn't told any of this. The amenity area is just a public access 'green space' at the edge of the development (no playarea etc), which has no benefit to the estate and we are now expected to pay for.

I've lived there 3 years and now I'm receiving a bill.

I've done a bit a research and found the burden to observe and perform the covenant is only enforceable through a deed of covenant. I just wondered if this would stack up as it was signed by the management company that at the time didn't own the freehold to the land in question.

Davesnave

You say that the deed between yourself and the company managing the communal land was signed by you, so why did you sign it if you didn't understand it?

In what circumstances did you sign it?

If you were not put under undue pressure, or had information about it deliberately withheld, then it's likely that it was a normal part of the transfer process, possibly explained, but perhaps not fully understood at the time.

These arrangements are now commonplace, as councils are most reluctant to take responsibilty for areas which are publicly accessible, but privately owned.

Granted, 3 years is a long time to wait for the bill. Is it particularly onerous?

Ann_Firth

Thanks for your swift response.

It's a bill for annual maintenance.

It's a standard house on a large new build developement. The land is at the edge of the development and has no benefit to any of us. It used to be owned by the council but now the maintenance company own it.

In my deeds it does mention the annual sum and not being able to go up more than inflation but after 5 yrs it is revised and they can charge whatever they like.

They didn't own the land at the time the deed of covenant was signed (by them) so that's why I was wondering if this would stack up.

It came as quite a bit of a shock so that's why I'm trying to understand this.

Thanks for all your help

Ann_Firth

I thought it was just deeds to the house. I was a first time buyer. My solicitor just told me to sign there was no mention of this being in place down the line.

70% of the bill is for having a management company in the first place. I asked for more details and they sent a service agreement which details the tasks they undertake. It's just grass. We get extra charges for fly tipping etc - there's no end.

Tom99

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]So are you saying the covenant you signed was to pay a service charge for one area but now you are being sent bills covering an area which was outside that covenant?[/FONT]

ThePants999

Complain to your conveyancing solicitor. This should have been made clear to you during the purchase.

EachPenny

Ann_Firth wrote: »

It's a standard house on a large new build developement. The land is at the edge of the development and has no benefit to any of us. It used to be owned by the council but now the maintenance company own it.

But it does have a benefit to you - if it wasn't there and being maintained then you wouldn't be living in the house.

The provision (and subsequent maintenance) of green space is usually a condition of getting planning consent for new development. If the developer doesn't provide that space and make arrangements for ongoing maintenance (usually funded by the residents) then the development doesn't get built.

The same considerations apply to things like the roads, utilities, libraries, schools etc - the developer has to spend part of the eventual sales income on making contributions towards these facilities. Even if they never actually use the facilities the residents of the estate will have indirectly contributed to them.

The difference with the green space is the Council have chosen to leave the responsibility with the developer, and that means an ongoing annual payment for you to make, rather than it being included in the upfront lump sum the original owner paid to the developer who gave it to the Council.

Your solicitor should have explained this to you when you purchased the house. If they didn't, then as others have already said - your complaint should be made to the solicitor.