The nervous wait to exchange....

[mattyfez]

Neighbours can not enforce a covenant, only the original party (or those specifically mentioned in the deeds w.r.t the covenant) can.

Thats my understanding, and in the case of...

any building changes shouldn't impact air&light for others

Standard planning permission and building regulation approval would apply, and would presumably be denied if it affected your neighbours rights or if they contested it.

 

[mattyfez]

I remember two covenants in particular from when we bought our house. The first was that any precious metals or minerals discovered on our land belonged to the state and they had the right to raze the land and house to obtain them. The other was that we are not allowed to run a business from home or associated land which might be a problem as looking to the future that could be a possibility.

I think you have to take that sort of thing in the spirit in which it was written...

... I mean constructing a toolshop and doing metalwork in the back garden would be a clear breach due to noise and disruption and deliveries of materials, customers coming in and out all day, etc.

By 'running a business' You might be running an online business from home, it's a very different scenario as it has zero impact on any neighbours, and they'd never even know about it anyway so it's moot.

 

[LuckyBenski]

I think you have to take that sort of thing in the spirit in which it was written...

... I mean constructing a toolshop and doing metalwork in the back garden would be a clear breach due to noise and disruption and deliveries of materials, customers coming in and out all day, etc.

By 'running a business' You might be running an online business from home, it's a very different scenario as it has zero impact on any neighbours, and they'd never even know about it anyway so it's moot.

This often comes down to wording e.g. "carrying out business" is not the same as running a business.

In terms of rates, insurance etc it usually is separated by whether you have customers visit the premises or work alone.

 

[jpaul]

Thats my understanding, and in the case of...

the covenant becomes meaningless (should be removed?) if the body that administers it,and the similar ones the neigbours have, isn't contactable to register the transfer of them/their obligations to new owners,
as the covenant usually demands.

Standard planning permission and building regulation approval would apply, and would presumably be denied if it affected your neighbours rights or if they contested it.

I don't know the way in which standard planning permissions enforce light&air (thought it was a measurable degradation incurred versus when you move in)
but I took ours as a more constrained requirement, even partially adjudicated by the administrative company

 

[jpaul]

guess this partially covers it - if you break covenant during your ownership.

Dealing with a restrictive covenant breach when buying a new home​

A house seller is often asked to confirm that he or she has complied with any restrictive covenants on the property. A seller may be in breach of a restrictive covenant as a result of having an extension built or structurally altered the property without obtaining the original developer’s consent, for example. In these cases, the seller may offer to provide to the buyers with a restrictive covenants indemnity insurance policy. The policy covers the buyers and their lender for any loss arising as a result of a future enforcement of the restrictive covenants.

e: or

You may consider that you have the benefit of a covenant and want to stop a neighbour from doing something on their land such as building a large extension. On the other hand, you may want advice on whether your neighbour can stop you building an extension. The question of whether the benefit or the burden of a covenant has passed to owners not original party to the Deed is a complex legal issue and you will require specialist advice.

my neighbour is benefitting from covenant that says I can't renovate as I want, as I would be for similar covenant he signed, so could protest.