A Restrictive Covenant is an obligation based upon the owner of land to stop him from using that land for a specific purpose.

In some cases, covenants, unlike simple contractual arrangements between two or more parties, can attach to land and ‘run with the land’ thus binding owners of that land into the future. For this reason, in England and Wales, covenants must be registered against the registered title of land.

A Restrictive Covenant might prohibit a landowner from using land for a specific purpose (such as storing a caravan for example). This is also known as a negative covenant. There are also positive covenants that might require someone to do something specific.

Sometimes a covenant might seem to be restrictive in nature and therefore a negative covenant but actually be a positive covenant and vice versa. For example, a covenant “to use the property only as a residential dwelling” is, on first reading, a positive covenant to use a property a certain way. However, in practice it is actually a restrictive covenant not to use the property for any other purpose than a residential dwelling (a house).

The reason that it’s important to be able to identify what is a positive covenant and what is a negative/restrictive covenant is because not all covenants are always enforceable and the way these covenants pass with a property’s title varies, dependent on whether a covenant is positive or negative.

For a covenant to continue to be enforceable after the original parties have parted with the land involved, both the benefit and the burden must “run with the land”. The rules which dictate whether the benefit and burden run differ depending on whether the covenant is positive or negative. The tests applied to establish whether a covenant is enforceable are set in Equity and Common Law. For more details click here.

Furthermore, there are circumstances where a covenant might become outdated or otherwise unenforceable. In such circumstances under S84(1) of the Law of Property Act 1925, an application may be made to the Lands Chamber of the Upper Tribunal (formerly the Lands Tribunal) to remove or modify a covenant.

In certain cases, it is possible to take indemnity insurance against historic covenants where the underlying issue cannot be resolved.

Related articles:

Download our Free First Time Buyers Guide

Recent posts

Skipton Building Society launches ‘Delayed Start’ mortgage meaning first time buyers won’t be required to make repayments for the first three months. 

According to a survey by Skipton, first time buyers who bought their home in the last five years found that in the first three months of living there, they were spending upwards of £30,000.

If you have recently moved into a property with a garden that requires a little TLC, or you’d like to get on top of your current green space, check out our tips.

High street lender, NatWest, have launched a new product to help first-time buyers purchase a property with assistance from a family member or friend to get them on the property ladder sooner.

‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ (BNPL) schemes, such as ‘Klarna’ are short-term loans that allow shoppers to make a purchase, but delay paying for it for an agreed amount of time.

Klarna is one of the most popular BNPL services with 18 million customers in the UK alone, and offers interest-free payment options which is appealing to shoppers. However, does it affect a mortgage application?

We look at how to get the best Buy to Let mortgage rate, what's in store going forward, and options as a landlord with increasing costs.

Throughout this past week, lenders have continued to reduce their mortgage rates giving borrowers in the UK some welcome news following the change in global tariffs under US President, Donald Trump.

Did you know that buying a house, or relocating is in the top 10 most stressful life events?

Stress of course is an unavoidable part of life and there are many reasons why people experience stress, not just buying a house!

There are lots of effective ways to manage and reduce stress, check out our tips to help you.

With the stamp duty relief ending in England and Northern Ireland, we have listed the top 10 cheapest areas for first-time buyers as published by Rightmove.