What is a Restrictive Covenant on a Property

What is a Restrictive Covenant?

A restrictive covenant is a legally binding obligation that restricts the use or development of a piece of land. It is attached to the land itself, not just the person who created it, meaning it passes to every future owner and remains enforceable long after the original parties have died or moved on.

Restrictive covenants are created by deed and registered against the title at HM Land Registry. When you buy a property, your solicitor should identify and report on any covenants affecting the title.

Common Examples

• **No trade or business** to be carried on from the property
• **No alterations or extensions** without the consent of a named party
• **No additional dwellings** to be erected on the land
• **No caravans, motorhomes, or commercial vehicles** to be kept on the land
• **Specific architectural requirements**, for example, no cladding other than brick
• **No keeping of livestock** or certain animals

Who Can Enforce a Restrictive Covenant?

For a restrictive covenant to be enforceable, there must be a party with the **benefit** of the covenant, someone whose land is protected by the restriction. This is often a neighbouring landowner, a developer who sold off plots, or a housing estate management company.

Where it is unclear who holds the benefit, common with very old covenants, enforcement becomes difficult. But "difficult" is not the same as "impossible", and the risk of a dormant covenant suddenly being enforced is one that mortgage lenders take seriously.

Restrictive Covenants and Planning Permission

Planning permission does not override a restrictive covenant. A local authority can grant permission for an extension or conversion; that does not mean the works will not breach a private covenant. Both must be satisfied independently.

Options When a Covenant Applies

**Indemnity Insurance:** The most common practical solution, a one-off premium policy protecting the insured against financial loss arising from enforcement of the covenant. Not suitable where the breach is recent or where the beneficiary is known and active.

**Consent from the Beneficiary:** If identifiable and willing, written consent provides a clean solution. The beneficiary may seek a payment in return.

**Application to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber):** Under section 84 of the Law of Property Act 1925, an owner may apply to have a restrictive covenant modified or discharged on grounds including obsolescence or where the covenant provides no practical benefit of substantial value.

What Your Solicitor Should Do

During conveyancing, your solicitor must search the title register and deeds for all covenants, report the substance of each in plain terms, advise on enforcement risk, and recommend indemnity insurance or other solutions where a risk exists.

Title register documents are available from HMLR and should be reviewed as early as possible. Property Passport UK provides recorded title data that can give an early indication of documented encumbrances, helping you brief your solicitor more efficiently before formal searches begin.