Jvh2012 Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 (edited) We have bought a plot of land that the solicitor advised had a restrictive covenant but if the person who owned the land when the covenant was put in place (1931) no longer owns the land/has passed away, nor do his estate then the convenant no longer stands. Now we are being told to buy an indemnity policy as it will be needed for our self build mortgage company. Initially we were told around £150, then quoted £300-350 by the company and since then from searches carried out they have upped their quote to £840! Now the land on 1931 was split in a completely different way to how it is now, for some reason the middle of our plot was included in the deed yet has somehow ended up back with the property that sold us some of their land, I guess what im Asking is firstly, can I find a cheaper indemnity policy on my own if I really need it, and two of the land was sold seperately again surely the Covenant doesn’t stay with the middle Piece of our plot? also how would I find out if the owners of the current properties from the initial covenant are the family of the beneficiary in 1931? I know one definitely isn’t, can’t confirm the other one. Tia Edited February 23, 2021 by Jvh2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 We are in the same position Less the mortgage company A covenant was put on the land 53 years ago By two people that are no Longer here She is trying to locate the original paperwork to determine wether the Covenant died with them or remains attached to the land Or had a set number of years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temp Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 Not all covenants can be enforced and in that case it is possible to get them removed at the Land Registry. If it is enforceable it still might be possible to get it removed of amended by application to the Lands Tribunal" but that can take a long time. 27 minutes ago, Jvh2012 said: of the land was sold seperately again surely the Covenant doesn’t stay with the middle Piece of our plot? When land is split its common for the covenant to apply to both parts. However when its merged the covenant usually only applies to the original part. I think you need to find a specialist and get them to quote to review the paperwork and recommend a way forward. Compare that with the cost of insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jvh2012 Posted February 24, 2021 Author Share Posted February 24, 2021 I know it dies with them just don’t know whether any of their family still live on the land because if they do it stays with them apparently? It’s all very confusing! The problem is we don’t have time so are going to end up paying for insurance we may not even need which is frustrating! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonshine Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 try www.lawsureinsurance.co.uk for a quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaSocks Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 (edited) We're in a similar-ish position. Buying a bungalow with a large plot, vending solicitors (of the deceased estate) have revealed at the very last minute a restrictive covenant forbidding the alteration of the bungalow, the addition of another dwellinghouse (why we're buying it) or even a caravan on the plot... Maddening!! The original beneficiary of the covenant died in 1988 and now need to know whether to proceed with the purchase or not. It is s significant opportunity for us, but is it a punt too far!! I also hear that the beneficiary of the covenant could be passed to a company and not just a descendent.... We are currently letting the solicitors discuss it, and have asked for either a Deed of Release (from the covenant) or a 10% reduction in purchase price... We will see what happens.... Edited February 25, 2021 by SeaSocks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaSocks Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 @Temp Do you know how long a 'T379 - Application under Section 84 of the Law of Property Act 1925 to discharge or modify a restrictive covenant (01.16)' can take to process? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temp Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 2 hours ago, SeaSocks said: @Temp Do you know how long a 'T379 - Application under Section 84 of the Law of Property Act 1925 to discharge or modify a restrictive covenant (01.16)' can take to process? Not done one but if thats the process involving the Land Tribunal I have read it can take two years. Backlog due to Covid as well? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temp Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 Google found examples of their decision discussed here.. https://www.stiveschambers.co.uk/content/uploads/2019/04/Modification-of-Restrictive-Covenants-article-final.pdf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaSocks Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 43 minutes ago, Temp said: Google found examples of their decision discussed here.. https://www.stiveschambers.co.uk/content/uploads/2019/04/Modification-of-Restrictive-Covenants-article-final.pdf Interesting reading that! Thank you @Temp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaSocks Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 Anyone looking further into this can see the results of Lands Tribunal decisions, along with arguments etc here: https://landschamber.decisions.tribunals.gov.uk/Aspx/default.aspx?__EVENTTARGET=PagerControl&__EVENTARGUMENT=&__SORTCOLUMN=decision_datetime&__SORTDIRECTION=DESC&PagerControl_PageIndex=1&__VIEWSTATEGENERATOR=F8649389&drpCategory=3&drpSubcategory=-1&txtDecisionDate=&txtPrefix=&txtCase=&txtYear=&txtFromDate=&txtToDate=&txtClaimant=&drpCommissioner=-1&txtReported1=&txtReported2=&txtReported3= Which I filtered for Restrictive Covenants Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldsteel Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 Both the last properties we bought to build on were affected by restrictive covenants. The last one (10 years ago) cost me a fortune as the beneficiary was a neighbour who was originally co-operative when we built, then turned nasty when we sold the place and we had to pay him off, thanks to purchaser's solicitors making mountains out of molehills. Our current plot is affected similarly to @Jvh2012 with covenant dating back to 1970 and when we bought the plot we purchased an indemnity policy for £600 and added it to the seller's bill because its a 'defect in title'. Seller not happy but my solicitor said that the way it is usually done. The good thing about buying insurance is that the company assesses the risk on your behalf - covenants can be incredibly complex to unravel. If they agree to sell you insurance they must think the risk of follow-up legal action is acceptable. And any subsequent sale of the property is covered as the policy runs with the property in perpituity and solicitors will accept it. I wish I could have purchased insurance on my first build, but it was not available as the beneficiary was live and well and living next door. Insurance is only available when the beneficiary is hard to track down or there is doubt about whether it can be enforced. I am convinced covenants were invented by the legal profession to create a future fat revenue stream. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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