Covenant Help

Section62

squigglebit said:

I would imagine that landscaping a proper garden rather than one that resembles a dumping ground would only have a positive impact on their land.

surely the neighbouring property (which the rent out) would be more desirable with a nice view rather than one that in parts looks like a scrap metal yard.

The danger there is you are superimposing your personal view on someone else - some people prefer the look of a 'dumping ground' to a neatly manicured urban garden.  Speculating on whether the other person will or won't prefer something is futile - what matters more is working out whether the covenant could stop you doing what you want.

In this kind of situation the most important thing is often how well you get on with the neighbour.  Unfortunately there are signs that the other landowner is someone you might not be able to get along with - you are in a better position to assess that than we are, but you need to give serious consideration to whether you would be able to live next door to someone with a very different lifestyle/outlook to you.

squigglebit

I don’t particularly want to turn it into a gravel pit either so at least we can agree on that one!
I’m not sure where that one’s come from as it’s not even a gravelly area.

sounds like we’ll just have to ask nicely and hope that common sense prevails and will allow us to avoid doing anything less pleasant such as challenging the covenants 🤞

user1977

I don't see anything there which is relevant to doing up the garden anyway ("excavation" I would interpret as something significantly more serious than normal gardening). 

Section62

squigglebit said:

I’m not sure where that one’s come from as it’s not even a gravelly area.

It is common to include covenants relating to mineral rights (sand/clay/gravel etc) whether or not they are known to be present. The aim is to stop the land being used for extraction of any kind - there's no need to be specific about the actual materials present to achieve that.

squigglebit

Final question, if we say dear mr covenant owner please can we extend our house

can they just say no or do they have to provide a “valid” reason?

squigglebit

user1977 said:

I don't see anything there which is relevant to doing up the garden anyway ("excavation" I would interpret as something significantly more serious than normal gardening). 

It definitely requires more than normal gardening, it’s on a steep slope and will require some sort of landscaping to put flat stages in. 

user1977

squigglebit said:

user1977 said:

I don't see anything there which is relevant to doing up the garden anyway ("excavation" I would interpret as something significantly more serious than normal gardening). 

It definitely requires more than normal gardening, it’s on a steep slope and will require some sort of landscaping to put flat stages in. 

In which case that's "necessary works to the property". It's reasonably clear the intention was to prevent exploitation of the minerals, not normal domestic stuff. 

ProDave

If you want to build an extension, get your solicitor to seek permission from the covenant holder that you can build the size of extension you want, before you exchange contracts.