covenant laws and enforcement

lotty

Guest
Hi folk. Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of covenants on property?

We are interested in a house that has a covenant list as long as your arm and one of the restrictions is you are not allowed to park a caravan, boat or "dwelling on wheels" on your parking area. It is a barn convertion with allocated parking, the parking is at the rear of each property.
There are 7 properties in the development converted 11 years ago. We haved viewed 2 of them today, both owners have said that the other property owners are very nice and they can't see a problem if we asked, but we don't want to go down the line of buying one only to be told no!
I always understood that it was the developer who enforces them, In this case the builder owns a fishing lake and club boardering the properties, would it be worth contacting him to get written permission?

Any advice would be much appreciated
Lotty
 
I think you'll find the covenant will be for at least 50 years, you would only need one of the other houses to be sold and the new owners object to you parking your van. As the development is so new I think you would be on a dodgy wicket.
 
Our bungalow ,which is in a close and built in the 60's has a no caravans one,the developer is long dead and nobody has complained about the van.yes that's a good idea to contact the developer ad get some feedback ,regards Stephen.
 
There's only one person you should be talking to and that's a lawyer. Probably the biggest purchase in your life and you need to be absolutely sure about the restrictions imposed and how they will impact on you if you sell in a few years time. If you decide to buy the costs involved in seeking good legal advice will be worth every penny.
 
I totally agree with northerner, last time I owned a house similar covenants were in place.

Some imo amounted to restrictive practice along the lines of conservatories etc ,one was hampered by styles etc that the developer had afinancial involvement in, one covenant insisted tv aerials.could only be in the loft space not external.

If you are in love with the property, then you always have the option of putting the van in storage.

On the worst enemy thread and no one seemed to pick it up, I suspect a lot of supermarkets are subject to a covenant in the respect of allowing overnight parking...I.e out of trading hours.


Good luck
Channa,
 
I think moonshadow has summed it up, it only takes one NIMBY and your stuffed. As Northerner said, get advice from your solicitor.

My daughter has a converted barn, there is a piece of land along side the garages that is a communal plot, Matthew (son in law) looked after it, as no one else bothered, he mowed it and planted some trees, made it look really nice, then the one of the other occupants moved out and the neighbour from hell moved in, long story but they got monthly gardening invoices, £150, between 4 properties, they rent the barn out now but it caused major upset and fall outs, Lotty, I would steer clear if I were you, think about what your neighbour has done with the camera????? i'm sure there is something out there for you, you don't need the extra hassle in your life.

have a quick look over this, you probably already have, just ignore me if you have lol

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covenant_(law)
 
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lotty said:
Hi folk. Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of covenants on property?

We are interested in a house that has a covenant list as long as your arm and one of the restrictions is you are not allowed to park a caravan, boat or "dwelling on wheels" on your parking area. It is a barn convertion with allocated parking, the parking is at the rear of each property.
There are 7 properties in the development converted 11 years ago. We haved viewed 2 of them today, both owners have said that the other property owners are very nice and they can't see a problem if we asked, but we don't want to go down the line of buying one only to be told no!
I always understood that it was the developer who enforces them, In this case the builder owns a fishing lake and club boardering the properties, would it be worth contacting him to get written permission?

Any advice would be much appreciated
Lotty
Click to expand...

Yes,

however there are covenants & covenants. Some are so complex that you will not get a mortgage on the property.

the "list as long as your arm comment" might mean that this property possible sounds like one of those.

The citizens advice centre should be able to put you in touch with the best local people - solicitor? - to give free advice.

Advice such as "I ain't never had no bother in twenty years" kindly meant though it is, is no substitute for a written legal document.


Dezi :pc:
 
As you have already been advised tread very careful. I 've exprienced a legal wrangle that dug up all sorts of problems. Once bitten as they say.
 
We have a similar covenant as you are reading Lotty. The difference with us is that we bought our van after we'd moved in!

before we bought the van we met with the 2 neighbours whom it would affect (sight and a small encroachment) but they were happy (We live in a small cul-de-sac off the main road through our estate). One of the neighbours has changed during that time but we haven't had a problem.

I did speak to our solicitor at one stage and he felt that a court would throw the case out if it ever got there (neighbours being daft or something more legal!).

There is now another house on the estate with a motorhome parked outside and also one with a caravan.

The above has worked for us but, there is a lot of good advice in the posts above - please seek legal advice, it is the biggest purchae any of us will make, and 'neighbours from hell' are not nice!

Good luck!

ian
 
Watch the small print

Hi Lotty,

You need to be very careful with Covenant's I am not allowed Nun's to stay in the upstairs of my flat between 9 30 am and 8 15 pm, I thought it was because they have prayers at these times, but it's also strange as I live in a Ground floor flat.

Regards Snowbirds.:banana::banana:




lotty said:
Hi folk. Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of covenants on property?

We are interested in a house that has a covenant list as long as your arm and one of the restrictions is you are not allowed to park a caravan, boat or "dwelling on wheels" on your parking area. It is a barn convertion with allocated parking, the parking is at the rear of each property.
There are 7 properties in the development converted 11 years ago. We haved viewed 2 of them today, both owners have said that the other property owners are very nice and they can't see a problem if we asked, but we don't want to go down the line of buying one only to be told no!
I always understood that it was the developer who enforces them, In this case the builder owns a fishing lake and club boardering the properties, would it be worth contacting him to get written permission?

Any advice would be much appreciated
Lotty
Click to expand...
 
Hi

I totally agree with the advice above to seek the services of a solicitor because this can be a very complex issue but broadly there are two ways in which you could proceed:

1. The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) may change a covenant if it can be persuaded that it is out of date or unreasonable; or
2. You could take out Indemnity Insurance against anyone objecting to your breaking the covenant.

Which of those two things you do (or possibly the third option of obeying the covenant!) depends very much on the individual circumstances - so we are back to consulting a lawyer.

Good luck
 
another option is live with it? if it is the only thing stopping you buying your dream home (which should come before your hobby) buy it and try it if complaints do occur put it in storage!! some things are set in place just so they are in place just in case it is ever needed :idea-007: does that make sense no!! well i know what i mean
 
From direct experience I can tell you that a dwelling that has shared amenities (ie, shared parking areas, one access) can be an absolute minefield if you have one neighbour from Hell. If there is the tiniest reason to be wary of the setup then forget it.

I keep a big van on my drive despite a covenant regarding caravans, boat trailers etc. I lost my storage and could not find anything else near enough. I canvassed my neighbours and none of them minded in the least. If I get a new neighbour who objects, then I have a problem. The chances are that we would sell up.

As I have my title deeds at home, I read through the various covenants for my estate (the houses are around 25 years old now) and found that many residents had infringed these. They mainly related to fences and double glazing. If you did purchase this house, make sure you are familiar with all of the covenants. This is because if you fall out with a neighbour who might want your van gone, you can inform them that you can do the same to them. It might just stop them taking it further.
 
I had friends who ignored a covenant on a converted Nunnery, split into various dwellings. The covenant said that they should not carry on a business from the premises. In fairness, they were not the only ones carrying on a business from there, but others did not like what they were doing and it forced them to have to move in the end.

I am not a solicitor, but my understanding is that many of these multiple occupancy developments are set up as leasehold with the freehold held by a management company who become responsible for maintenance and enforcement of any covenants. Sometimes these management companies struggle and may sell the freehold on to some other (bigger and faceless) management company, so attitudes can change. I would be very concerned that premission given at one point could be taken away again at another, but check it out further if I was you.

Hope you sort this out.

Gozzer
 
thanks for all the great advise folk. :cheers:

We have decided to put that property on the back burner for the time being and keep looking. We did like the house but not enough to have it without the van, part of our reason for moving is to have the van on site with us, it's what ive been saying is one of my items that I don't want to compromise on, so for now we are leaving it. I have the builders number to speak to him if i change my mind, I was thinkin if I got writen permission off him via the solicitors then any new folk moving in would not be able to stop me as the permission is already in place before they move in?
Also, i have found out today the building is leasehold not freehold and there is a £60 a month maintainence fee, which I though was a bit much for the size of the property!

Back to the computer, the search for my dream home goes on!:pc:
Lotty
 
Phew, glad you've opted for that Lorraine, i know what your like with lists, but having a list of covenants would take you to an early grave.

keep looking, its out there, xx
 
kimbowbill said:
Phew, glad you've opted for that Lorraine, i know what your like with lists, but having a list of covenants would take you to an early grave.

keep looking, its out there, xx
Click to expand...

ta m8.
4 more viewings arranged for this week so far!
xx
 
A covenent is a powerfull thing,,a supermarket tried to buy a dissused bus shed smack opposite my shop,however there was a covenent on the land preventing the sale of alcohol,,this supermarket tried everything in their power,including considerable amounts of money to get the covenent lifted,,they failed!!...if a supermarket giant fails then the rest of us dont stand much chance...best off left alone,I think you've made the right decision..
 
I once owned a house built in 1926, which was once the Duke of Sutherlands estate. There was a covenant that I could not erect a building to house people suffering from lunacy.

John.
 
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