News
Covenant restricts homeowner’s right to build
Nov 15, 2011
Category: General
When buying a home it’s important to check if there are any legal provisions restricting what you can do with the property.
Failure to do so could prevent you carrying out alterations or developing the land, as happened in a recent case in the High Court.
It involved a house owner who had bought a property on a small residential estate managed by a residents company. There was a covenant relating to the property stating that it was not to be used for any purpose other than “as a private dwelling-house in single family occupation”.
The house owner decided to build another house on his property but the residents company objected. It claimed that the covenant prevented further development.
The owner argued that the covenant only related to the house itself. However, the court found against him. It held that the covenant related to the property as a whole and so prevented a second house being built.
Please contact us if you would like more information about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of buying and selling a property.