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Commercial Property Disputes

Restrictive Covenants on Your Commercial Land

Ruhul Ameen
Ruhul Ameen
Partner
Bahareh Amani
Bahareh Amani
Partner
Edward Sharp
Edward Sharp
Partner
Reema Chugh
Reema Chugh
Partner
Brenel Menezes
Brenel Menezes
Senior Associate
Simran Gupta
Simran Gupta
Paralegal

A restrictive covenant is an agreement that imposes a restriction on the use of your commercial land, for example, prohibiting you from building an extension, building further properties or changing the appearance of the property.

If you find that there are restrictions, our team of experts can help you negotiate a release or make amendments to the agreement.

After assessing your situation, a solicitor will give you initial advice as to the best steps to take. They’ll inform you of the correct steps and the time-scales.

Once the strategy has been accepted, our leading team of commercial property disputes solicitors work very hard to make sure they update or remove the restrictive covenant on your land.

Where can a restrictive covenant be found?

This can usually be found on the ‘Title Register’ which is held at the land registry. The covenants are sometimes passed down with the land, which can mean that it will apply to the new owner when the land is sold.

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Why choose Hodge Jones & Allen?

From the beginning we’ll explain the various funding options available to you. Our solicitors will also keep you up to date and make sure you have clarity of all costs and expenses.

We understand the investment you’re making in us and have the best solicitors in hand to help you. Our solicitors have been independently recognised by Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners due to their high quality work.

We can also assess whether the words used in the legal restriction actually impact on the current owner. We will provide you with a strategic plan and assist with the negotiations and applications.

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Frequently asked questions

How can I check if my premises has a restrictive covenant recorded against it?

This information will usually be recorded on your office copy entries for the premises in question. Your conveyancing solicitor may have provided these to you when you purchased your property.

However, if you cannot locate these, you can download an up to date version for a nominal fee from HM Land Registry.

How much compensation am I likely to pay/receive?

This will depend on several factors. A tribunal will look at evidence of what loss will be suffered if a covenant is varied or removed.

For instance, a valuer may assess that the partial loss of scenery may result in a reduction in the value of the house by 2%. Therefore, a tribunal may award compensation at 2% of the value of the premises that is suffering the partial loss of the scenic view.

Does the Tribunal have power to award legal costs in relation to the application to update/remove the covenant?

The rules provide that the party who is asking for the covenant to be updated or removed will not normally receive a costs order ordering the objector to pay costs unless the objector has acted unreasonably.

The rules do contain an exception to this where the objector’s entitlement is challenged, whoever is victorious in this challenge will usually be awarded their costs incurred in relation to the challenge.

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