Restrictive Covenant?

miss_zoe

My son is in the process of buying a house and his solicitor has thrown up a couple of snags. The house is in a small enclave of 3 houses in total, and it seems there is a covenant that restricts all 3 houses from renting out their properties. This isn't his main concern, as for now, and the foreseeable future the house will be his family home. His main concern is the fact that when he wants to sell the house in the future, he has to get permission from the other 2 house owners, and presumably vice versa. He is worried that should either of his neighbours become incapacitated by that time, he will find it difficult, if not impossible to obtain the required permission. Would you advise taking out indemnity insurance to cover this possibility, or would it be fairly easy to get the covenant removed? The houses are about 25 years old.

Alter_ego

Are the houses freehold or leasehold?

user1977

miss_zoe said:

when he wants to sell the house in the future, he has to get permission from the other 2 house owners, and presumably vice versa.

Are you sure that's what it says, or has something possibly been lost in translation? What's his solicitor's advice?

canaldumidi

please quote the covenants in full.

miss_zoe

The houses are all freehold.

At the moment the solicitor is trying to find out more details, but to be honest, he seems to be out of his depth.

I'll see if I can get a copy of the covenant in full and put it on here.

Thank you for your replies.

AFF8879

I’d be very surprised if neighbour can refuse you permission to sell your house, no matter what the legal documents say, I would have thought some form of common/statutory law would override them.

wend33

Are you sure it's a restrictive covenant? Or could it be a restriction on the title which stops registration of certain dispositions without consent? It is possible to apply for a restriction to be disapplied in certain circumstances.