Anybody know anything about restrictive property covenants?

Question

We have recently moved into a new house and know that a covenant exists to stop businesses being run from houses on the estate. However, our neighbour who has been there for about 7 years is a book distributor and employs people to collect and deliver books. They arrive daily in transit vans with a large lorry delivering stock on a weekly basis. The books are stored in his garage and the owner is outside loading/unloading/sorting orders etc anytime from about 7.30am to 11pm including sundays. His employees are there every morning in the week till about 9.15am and often return around 3.30 to unload for an hour or so. We are getting fed up with all the coming and going and know that what he is doing is wrong but don't know whether to enforce the covenant or notify the council as I am sure he won't have planning permission or paying business rates. Anyone got any advice.

Answer 1

Trying to get a covenant enforced is risky and can be expensive and time consuming. It might be easier to apply to the local authority planning department, as your neighbour clearly does not have planning permission to run a business of this kind from residential premises. While one does not always need planning permission to work from home, the key test is whether the overall character of the dwelling will change as a result of the business. If the business results in a marked rise in traffic or people calling and involves any activities unusual in a residential area and disturb neighbours at unreasonable hours, then planning permission would certainly be required. My inclination would be to approach the local authority first.

Answer 2

A restrictive covenant is a legal obligation imposed in a deed by the seller upon the buyer of real estate to do or not to do something. Such restrictions frequently "run with the land" and are enforceable on subsequent buyers of the property. Examples might be to maintain a property in a reasonable state of repair, to preserve a sight-line for a neighbouring property, not to run a business from a residence, or not to build on certain parts of the property.
The courts can (though there is some discretion) enforce a restrictive covenant by granting an injunction. A body known as the Lands Tribunal has a special power, under s. 86 of the Law of Property Act 1925, to remove or relax covenants which appear out of date or unreasonable. A landowner whose land is subject to a restrictive covenant which stands in the way of development may be able to apply to the Lands Tribunal to remove the covenant or amend its terms, thus allowing the development to proceed. The same process for removing or modifying restrictions applies to some other sorts of restriction, for example covenants in leases.
You should seek the advice of a solicitor before venturing any further in this matter.

Answer 3

Apply for an injunction. You need to apply by obtaining an application notice (Form N16A, available from hmcourts-service.gov.uk) along with an affadavit (3 copies of both). I'd advise seeing a solicitor as obtaining an injunction isn't a very userfriendly process.

Essentially, you have the right to enforce the restrictive covenant, but you may also have a claim in nuisance (this will entitle you to compensation for the loss of value or enjoyment of your land that has occured due to your neighbors activities on his own land).

Answer 4

Notify the HOA of the violation and insist that they enforce the rules. If they do not, sue the HOA to enforce the rules. Time to get tough, but the covenants are on your side.

Answer 5

Is your house & his house privately owned?
Are the properties freehold or leasehold?