Don't count your chickens....how restrictive covenants can affect homebuyers

At Daniel Cobb, we are avid readers of the property press; we often spend our weekends at home (or behind our desks in branch) reading the supplements cover-to-cover.While there are plenty of column inches given over to house prices, mortgages and million-pound properties, it was refreshing to see an article in The Guardian about covenants. Covenants - clauses that restrict what you can and can't do at a property or on land you own - often only rear their head once a property has completed. This small print, however, should be the subject of your attention early in the buying or renting process. Covenants can affect whether you can keep pets at a property, build an extension, alter the facade of a dwelling, have bonfires and even dictate where you hang your washing out. A good property solicitor or conveyancer should highlight any covenants before the exchange date but pre-dating this, an agent should disclose any known covenants to the seller or tenant under consumer protection regulations, enabling them to make an informed decision.& If you have firm plans for a particular property, be sure to consult with your agent and solicitor before reaching those crucial moving milestones.

Housing developers and property management companies are often keen to enforce covenants on their estates or blocks of flats to maintain an attractive environment while properties are being sold.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/jul/09/restrictive-covenants-homebuyers-out-of-pocket