Council covenant consent for alterations - Newcastle

CarrieVS

I'm buying an ex-council house in Newcastle upon Tyne, and it has a number of covenants attached as you would expect, which bind subsequent owners as well as the original Right to Buy purchaser.

Two of these covenants relate to making any external alterations to the property, and require the owner to get council consent in addition to any planning permission or building regulations and regardless of whether these are needed.

I've heard that these covenants can sometimes be judged unfair or can be removed, but I don't want to bank on that being possible for me, and if the council are reasonable about it I may not find it worth the hassle. I've heard that some councils charge quite reasonable admin fees for this while others demand quite large amounts.

I've tried contacting the local council to ask what they charge but it's like getting blood out of the proverbial and I don't want to hold up the sale over it, but I'm extremely nervous of tying myself in without knowing the terms (a number of things, mostly small, will need doing sooner or later.) Has anyone got any experience in the last couple of years of trying to get consent for this sort of thing from Newcastle council in particular and can tell me what sort of fees they charge?

Update: I did get the information out of the Council after all. They didn't tell me how much they charge for consent but it's a moot point as the charges only apply if the property wasn't bought under Right to Buy or the Housing Act.
Thanks again to you guys who took the time to reply even though it didn't quite answer my question.

bris

You should always fear the worst.


Take it the covenants will never be removed and decide whether or not this is ok by you.


Covenants can be removed so if they still haven't put you off, have your solicitor explain what they are for. They can be obsolete so no longer relevant but on the other hand they may be still fair depending on what they are.


You can also discuss with who benefits from them what their intensions are and whether or not they would be willing to remove them. But if it'd the council and you can't get answers then it's the risk you take.

ed110220

If Newcastle has transferred its housing to a housing association then the covenants may have been transferred with them. That's the situation in Bath. Curo have inherited the covenants and don't give a monkey's about them, except as an excuse for charging an extortionate fee to have them lifted.

CarrieVS

Guys, thanks but I am working on the assumption that the covenants won't be lifted - I said as much in my OP. I only mentioned that I knew about the possibility in hopes of getting an answer to the question I asked instead of links to stories about how some people have had them lifted.

It is, in fact, the council I need to contact - I got that much out of them. Bath is irrelevant to me! I'm asking about Newcastle. I tried my very best to stress in my OP that I am asking about Newcastle because I am already aware that the answer varies widely between councils (or housing associations etc.)

What I have not managed to get out of them is even a vague idea of the fees they charge. I posted this thread on the off-chance that someone on this forum has experience of this in Newcastle and could tell me what the situation in Newcastle is. I know that's a long shot and I won't be too disappointed if no-one answers, but I thought it was worth asking.