the_fbi
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| posted on 7/11/07 at 08:22 PM |
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House purchase Land Registry restrictions on car work
Just in the process of buying my first house, and looking though the Land Registry Title Transfer document I see the following.
"Not to build dismantle or repair any engine motor vehicle caravan horsebox boat or trailer or anything of a like nature upon any part of the
Property PROVIDED THAT this stipulation shall not preclude the carrying out of minor repairs to a private motor car or light can used solely
for the private purposes for a period not exceeding twenty four hours"
(copied word/word with poor punctuation!)
Is that normal?
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Mansfield
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| posted on 7/11/07 at 08:24 PM |
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We are not allowed caravans on our estate, or big white company vans either. I guess anything is possible.
Edit - no one takes any notice of this around here.
[Edited on 7/11/07 by Mansfield]
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mookaloid
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| posted on 7/11/07 at 08:25 PM |
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not good 
"That thing you're thinking - it wont be that."
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Davey D
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| posted on 7/11/07 at 08:26 PM |
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And i thought that we had a strange restriction our land... were not allowed to smoke fish..  living in grimsby im sure it might have been a
problem many moons ago hehe
you could always try applying for it to be lifted?
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ravingfool
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| posted on 7/11/07 at 08:28 PM |
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increasingly so for recently built property, estates, property that was part of a larger plot.
Obviously it's because the owner retaining the rest of the land wants to ensure they can stop the new neighbours from running a garage from home
or clogging up the lawn with bits of cars and making it an eyesore.
Or in the case of newly built estates, to allow the other new owners to prevent such things happening.
The question is who has the benefit of the restrictive covenant you've just described?
Realisticly if you have a garage and keep any build garaged it's not going to be an issue but it's something to keep in mind.
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ravingfool
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| posted on 7/11/07 at 08:33 PM |
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Davey D, unless it's a very old covenant there's very little chance of the court even thinking about lifting it, and that costs a lot of
money.
If it's less than 25 years old then you cannot purchase indemnity insurance in respect of the covenant either so you can either bear it in mind
and carry on regardless or you can negotiate with the beneficiary of the right, however making them aware of your plans could encourage them to
enforce their rights, or indeed make them aware of them when they were not otherwise!
aslong as you build it in the garage no1 is really going to have a problem with it and go to the length and cost of taking you to court to enforce a
minor covenant. just be aware that it exists and that if you're an arseh*le to your neighbours then they may be able to wind you up aswell
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DarrenW
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| posted on 7/11/07 at 08:37 PM |
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I recall this being posted about 12 months ago so must becoming common.
Probs not much you can do about it either. If you are considerate and dont annoy / offend anyone then i doubt you will have a problem with it, however
if you do cause anyone concern then they have an easy path to cause you grief back.
When was the covenant placed? When land was sold or when houses were sold?
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britishtrident
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| posted on 7/11/07 at 08:54 PM |
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Very common --- I don't know the situation in england but in Scotland such restrictions are just about unenforceable unless start making
excessive noise at all hours or leave untaxed cars on the street.
Trick is be nice to your neighbours
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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the_fbi
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| posted on 7/11/07 at 09:40 PM |
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So firing up a 2 stroke Kart may be pushing things a bit?
House is 1988 so reasonably "new" by all accounts.
As has been said, its just a case of being sensible and respecting the neighbours.
I expect the real motivation behind it is to prevent cars or parts of cars being left hanging around (there is a restriction about the wheelie bins
being out of sight too!) which I appreciate. Also people starting a "home garage" type setup which would breach the AUP of the property
anyway.
Its not like using an angle grinder or firing up a Kart or BEC is much different to a petrol lawnmower or a strimmer, so I think people just have to
be sensible.
I did see a 7 of some type in a garage just round the corner, so clearly there are other people "breaking the rules" so it won't be
just me.
(For any of the Northampton people, I'm moving to the St. Giles Park area of Duston).
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wilkingj
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| posted on 7/11/07 at 11:13 PM |
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Its a restrictive covenant put on by the estate builder to stop you doing anything that will prevent him from selling the houses.
ie he has an estate of 600 houses, the first 10 are sold, and the owners... then put up huge brick walls with glass on top, put a broken caravan on
the drive, saw down the tree, and stick a 6ft satellite dish on the roof, and strip a ford Cortina on the drive for spares / scrap.
This will make it more difficult for the builder to sell the homes.
Once the homes are sold, the builder wont give a crap what you do.
I managed to speak with one of the directors of the builders of my estate, and this is why its done.
My solicitor also explained that the words " this scheme does not form a buidling scheme" (or similar words) means that the other owners
(on my estate) cannot enforce the covenants on me.
ONLY the covenant owner (in my caase the builder) can enforce them. This is done to prevent the owners ganging up on the builder and doing a single
legal action to cover all homes. ie it cuts everything down to single properties and single actions.
It also works in reverse between the home owners.
So for anythig to happen against you...
The neighbours have to complain to the covenant owner, who then decides if he wants to take action.
This is how the restrictive covenant works on my estate of 620 homes.
Have all the houses been sold on the estate, ie has the builder finished and gone onto the next project?
You can apply to the covenant owner to remove the restrictions, or ease some of them. This cost me £6:50 to the builder solicitor. However that was
16 years ago!
It MAY NOT be the same for you, as it will depend upon the exact wording on your deeds.
You may have to take legal advice to get the deeds put into laymans terms for you. This cost me £50 (single consultation), and he told me what to
write in the letter to the builders solicitors, or another £50 if he wrote the letter.
It can be done, and without too much difficulty.
Best is to be very sympathetic to your neighbours, keep it all out of sight, in the garage, and the less they can see and know the better.
only the real busy bodies will remember the covenants and stir the crap.
I got most of my restrictions lifted as they prevented my basic human right to carry out my legitimate hobbies. ie Radio, Cars, Caravanning etc.
Have fun..
1. The point of a journey is not to arrive.
2. Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
Best Regards
Geoff
http://www.v8viento.co.uk
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ravingfool
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| posted on 7/11/07 at 11:36 PM |
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That's really lucky as often these covenants will run with the other property and neighbours on an estate will owe each other the same duties
under covenant despite the fact that the builder who created the covenants has sold all the land and moved on as restrictive covenants are normally
annexed to property which benefits from the covenant.
restrictive covenants are property based with one piece of property owing an adjoining piece of property the duty to observe some term and only the
present owners of the property which holds the benefit may enforce such covenants. ie. in most cases the developer will not be in any position to
alter the covenants that are in place, that will only be possible if they are strictly personal and not tied to the property.
good luck finding out exactly what these covenants are and who benefits from them - who you need to stay on the good side of!
*Just re read this and It seems I've managed to repeat myself and generally complicate what was meant to be a very quick comment... I must not
post after drinking, I must not post after drinking, I must not post after drinking, I must not post after drinking. I'm not going to try and
rewrite it though as I'm bound to make it worse at this point!
[Edited on 7/11/07 by ravingfool]
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andybod
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| posted on 8/11/07 at 06:38 AM |
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good memory from darren w i posted same question last year house we brought had same kind of thing ,i questioned it with my solicitor and he said if i
am building my car in the garage there is nothing anybody can do the covenant applys more to people stripping or repairing cars on drive way or
restoring building on drives ,i still do a few services and small repairs for mates and have received no complaints but i always try to respect the
neighbours by keeping the noise levels down you should be ok just double check with your solicitor. and do you also have to maintain the front of the
property ie. if a plant dies it has to be replaced with the same kind ? if so nobody pays attention to this either
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DaveFJ
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| posted on 8/11/07 at 08:59 AM |
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that seems rather light considering some of the ovenants I have seen recently! a friend of mine lives on a estate built in about 1995. their covenant
says things like, no skips (at all), only galvanised dustbins, can't paint house/doors/windows. can't convert garage to accomodation,
can't extend property, can't convert loft, can't plant large bushes/trees. can't lay paving (including a patio)....
I just suggested she move! 
Dave
"In Support of Help the Heroes" - Always
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wilkingj
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| posted on 8/11/07 at 10:04 AM |
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Mine says..
NO:
External Aerials, Satellite dishes, Washing Lines, Building of anything, Caravans, Lorries, Keeping of livestock, chickens, goats, pigs, etc
No fences or hedges at the front above 300mm
I got these covenants completely removed,
aerials, Sat Dish, Caravan, washing line
I have built a car port, and a house extension, although I had to get permission from the builder (Tracing the current owner was fun) once I knew who
they were the rest was fairly easy.
The covenants will depend on who wrote them and for what purpose. Some will be affected with your neighbours and some wont. Fortunately mine arent, as
the builder didnt want the owners ganging up on him (legally wise).
Each estate could be different, hence why you need to have them decoded by a solicitor. Its worth the money to know where you stand.
Knowing my neighbours can do nothing directly to me about me breaching my covenants is a big relief. I only have to worry about the covenant owner.
Now thats a different story. They were a small firm, that were sold on when the directors retired, it now is owned by one of the biggest construction
firms in the UK. I couldn't afford to fight them in court.
They arent really interested in the squabbling of individuals. and were very helpful. ie they want least amount of grief possible. They dont want to
drag people througth the courts to enforce the covenants, unless they really have to. There is probably NO GAIN to their company to do so, only to the
individuals complaining. Its merely a matter of company finance.
Your covenants COULD be different. If they allow the neighbours to take action against you, then its different. Hence why you need them decoding by a
solicitor.
Only someone with legal knowlege can decipher the legaleese on the deeds.
Unless you post the exact wording on here, along with the rest of the deeds wording, you are unlikely to get a definative answer to your particular
situation.
Get proper legal advice, and you will then know the answer.
EDIT:
You can get these restrictions eased (one time, like building an extension), or some can be permanantly removed, like aerials and Satellite dishes.
The new digital TV is considerably lower powered transmitters, Sandy Heath analogue Tv is 1Mw (Yup Megawatt) the new ditital transmitters are
something like 50Kw. Hence the need to external aerials.
Approach the covenant owner and see what they say. It will only cost you a stamp and politely worded letter to the company or their solicitor.
[Edited on 8/11/2007 by wilkingj]
1. The point of a journey is not to arrive.
2. Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
Best Regards
Geoff
http://www.v8viento.co.uk
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DarrenW
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| posted on 8/11/07 at 10:22 AM |
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i think the key words in this covenant will be 'upon any part of the property'. I doubt working in the garage would be the same as that is
within the property.
Working on any existing vehicles is covered under the allowed maintenance bit. The only bit i dont like is that about building a vehicle, but again if
done inside garage and you are considerate then i doubt anyone will cause you grief.
You just need to hope that a previous owner hasnt been troublesome before. Hopefully there will be others in the area who have old cars or bikes.
Is the area a vibrant young people one or a sleepy type area? i bought a house a while back in a more mature area and was worried about noise etc. I
met with neighbours before moving in as i had plans to extend. They couldnt have been nicer. Once i moved in i then realised the guys on each side had
vintage cars, others had nice motorbikes and i fitted in just fine. It really does pay to get on with people, but maybe i just like an easy life!!
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