What Are Restrictive Covenants?

Buying a home does not always mean you can do whatever you like with it. Many properties in England and Wales are subject to restrictive covenants: legal rules in the title that limit how the land can be used. They can affect extensions, fences, business use and more, so it helps to know whether your property has any and what they actually say.

What a restrictive covenant is

A restrictive covenant is a promise not to do something on a piece of land. It is usually created when land is sold, with the seller placing conditions on the buyer. Common examples include bans on:

• building extensions or additional houses
• running a business from the property
• keeping certain animals
• putting up fences or walls in front gardens
• parking caravans, boats or commercial vehicles

A restrictive covenant can bind later owners, but not every covenant does. Whether it remains enforceable depends on its wording, who has the benefit of it and the relevant legal and registration requirements.

Developers often add covenants when building new estates, usually to keep the area looking consistent and to protect the value of homes still for sale. Many covenants are decades old, and some date back well over a century.

Covenants that require you to do something, such as maintain a fence, are called positive covenants. For freehold land, the burden of a positive covenant generally does not pass automatically to later owners, although other legal arrangements may make the obligation enforceable. Leasehold covenants follow different rules.

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How to check your property

If you bought your home through a solicitor or licensed conveyancer, they should have checked for covenants and reported them to you. Their report is a good place to start.

You can also get a copy of the title register from HM Land Registry. Restrictive covenants are normally listed in the charges register. Sometimes the register refers to an older deed rather than setting out the wording, so you may need a copy of that document too. Current fees are on GOV.UK.

Read the wording carefully. Some covenants ban an activity outright, while others allow it with written consent from a named person or company. A covenant appearing in the register does not, by itself, establish that it is enforceable today.

If your land is unregistered, relevant covenants may be recorded in the title deeds, and a conveyancer may also need to carry out Land Charges searches.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

Can a covenant still be enforced?

Only someone with the benefit of a covenant can enforce it. This is usually the owner of neighbouring land the covenant was designed to protect. A developer or management company does not automatically have enforcement rights simply because it created or administers the estate. On some estates, owners may be able to enforce covenants against one another under a building scheme.

Old covenants are not automatically void. Past breaches, acquiescence over many years or substantial changes to the area may be relevant, but their legal effect depends on the facts. Other owners ignoring a covenant does not give you permission to do the same. Equally, being unable to find anyone with the benefit is not proof that nobody has it.

If someone entitled to enforce takes action, a court can order you to stop the breach, pay damages or, in some cases, remove work you have done.

Planning permission and building regulations approval do not remove the need to comply with an enforceable covenant. Your council may approve an extension that a covenant still prevents.

If a covenant affects your plans

The right approach depends on the wording and enforceability of the covenant, your plans, who can enforce it and whether anyone has already objected. Get advice before starting work or contacting anyone who might have the benefit, as either step can limit your options.

• Ask for consent or a release. If the covenant allows the activity with consent, start there. Otherwise, you can ask those with the benefit to release or vary it. They may want payment, and the agreement should be properly drawn up and registered. If several owners have enforcement rights, one neighbour's agreement may not be enough.
• Consider indemnity insurance. Where enforcement seems unlikely, insurance may cover specified losses if someone later objects, subject to the policy terms. It does not release the covenant, authorise the breach or guarantee your project can go ahead. Contacting a potential beneficiary before seeking insurance can make cover difficult or impossible to obtain. If a policy is already in place, contact may breach its conditions.
• Apply to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber). The tribunal can discharge or modify certain restrictive covenants on statutory grounds, including obsolescence or, subject to specific conditions, interference with a reasonable use of the land. Those with the benefit can object, and compensation may be payable. Applications can be slow and costly. Building first and applying afterwards can count against you, so do not treat this as a fallback.

If a neighbour says you have breached a covenant, do not ignore it. Check the exact wording in your title register, because covenants are often narrower or broader than people assume, and take advice before responding in detail.

For advice on enforcement or a dispute, look for a solicitor experienced in restrictive covenants and property litigation. The Law Society's Find a Solicitor service can help you find one, and Citizens Advice can help you understand your position. Our Neighbour Rights Checker can help you set out the facts if a dispute has begun, though it does not give a legal assessment of any covenant.

Where the disagreement is with a neighbour, mediation can be quicker and less expensive than court proceedings and may help preserve neighbour relations.

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