Restrictive Covenants
Binding promises limiting how land is used
A restrictive covenant is a promise, given in a past deed, not to do something on the land. It binds every later owner, not just the person who gave it. Common ones forbid building, trading from the house, or keeping livestock. HM Land Registry records them for England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland call the equivalent a burden.
What This Means
Propbar shows covenants with the register wording beside a plain-language reading of each. Most covenants on ordinary homes are old and dormant. A 1930s promise not to keep pigs affects nothing you are likely to plan. They matter when you want to build. A covenant against further development can block an extension that planning permission would allow. Consent under a covenant and planning permission are separate things, and neither substitutes for the other. This is one of the few things on this report that lenders and insurers price directly: where a covenant is already breached, a lender will normally require indemnity insurance before completing.
Practical Advice
- Ask your conveyancer who now holds the benefit of each covenant, since one with no traceable beneficiary is hard to enforce.
- Ask your conveyancer to quote for restrictive covenant indemnity insurance before raising any breach with a neighbour.
- Ask the seller's conveyancer for the deed each covenant came from, since the register entry only summarises it.
- Apply to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) in England and Wales to modify or discharge a covenant that blocks your plans.
Additional Information
Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own routes. Scotland uses the Lands Tribunal for Scotland, which can also discharge a burden by agreement with the benefited owner. Northern Ireland uses the Lands Tribunal for Northern Ireland, under the Property (Northern Ireland) Order 1978.