Restrictive Covenant queries

Petriix

I've spent a fair bit of time looking into restrictive covenants  as there are some attached to our house. Here's what I can surmise (without legal qualification):

• They are only enforceable by the specific beneficiary so usually not the other home owners on the estate.
• The beneficiary can only take enforcement action to recover a tangible loss caused by the breach. While legal bills may high, compensation is unlikely to be significant - usually limited to the difference in price if the property had been sold without the covenants.
  
• Historic breaches are vanishingly unlikely to be questioned.
• Indemnity policies are cheap, incredibly common, satisfy most lenders and buyers; but they are unlikely to actually help you if the beneficiary did one day seek to enforce the covenant.
  

davidmcn

Petriix said:

• Indemnity policies are cheap, incredibly common, satisfy most lenders and buyers; but they are unlikely to actually help you if the beneficiary did one day seek to enforce the covenant.

Not sure what you mean by that - they would if you're the insured and what they're enforcing is covered by the policy.

FinallyStoppedLurking

davidmcn said:

Petriix said:

• Indemnity policies are cheap, incredibly common, satisfy most lenders and buyers; but they are unlikely to actually help you if the beneficiary did one day seek to enforce the covenant.

Not sure what you mean by that - they would if you're the insured and what they're enforcing is covered by the policy.

May they mean help financially but not in the sense of having to change something (eg. knock down an extension)?!

davidmcn

FinallyStoppedLurking said:

davidmcn said:

Petriix said:

• Indemnity policies are cheap, incredibly common, satisfy most lenders and buyers; but they are unlikely to actually help you if the beneficiary did one day seek to enforce the covenant.

Not sure what you mean by that - they would if you're the insured and what they're enforcing is covered by the policy.

May they mean help financially but not in the sense of having to change something (eg. knock down an extension)?!

The insurers would ultimately pick up the loss in value of the property if the extension had to be knocked down - I think it would cover the costs in actually doing that. In practice of course anybody kicking up a fuss can probably be paid off (or beaten in court) for a much lower price.

FinallyStoppedLurking

Yes, so my point being the insurance wouldn't help you if you wanted to keep the extension but had to take it down. 

Agree a pay off could be a work around. 

Slithery

RoadToRiches said:

I stupidly asked a builder the size of my roof to work out whether having solar panels was viable, they came back asking for my address, then after giving it they send a standard copy and paste email saying they could not help and about complying with local planning law and building regulations and to check any restrictions contained in the transfer including any obligation to seek approval from them for any proposed alterations.

I am now worried as have the order in for solar panels to go up. Looking around the estate, I am not the only one who has them. What are the likelihood of them coming around and telling me to take them down with others breaching and getting away with it.

House was sold and they are off the estate over 7 years ago.

@RoadToRiches

Please start a new thread rather than adding to a 2 year old unrelated topic.

Thanks.

user1977

RoadToRiches said:

Slithery said:

RoadToRiches said:

I stupidly asked a builder the size of my roof to work out whether having solar panels was viable, they came back asking for my address, then after giving it they send a standard copy and paste email saying they could not help and about complying with local planning law and building regulations and to check any restrictions contained in the transfer including any obligation to seek approval from them for any proposed alterations.

I am now worried as have the order in for solar panels to go up. Looking around the estate, I am not the only one who has them. What are the likelihood of them coming around and telling me to take them down with others breaching and getting away with it.

House was sold and they are off the estate over 7 years ago.

@RoadToRiches

Please start a new thread rather than adding to a 2 year old unrelated topic.

Thanks.

It’s kind of related

Lots of queries are kind of related to topics previously discussed, but what will happen is that people will start answering the original question again rather than yours. Start a new thread. 

RoadToRiches

ok done and deleted