Restrictive covenant broken... what to do

[Nobunaga]

Hello Legal Beagles,

I’m new here, so please go easy on me

I bought a house last year with an unusual access and restrictive covenant issue.*

The house is accessed by first walking through the secondary entrance of a block of flats, down into the basement and out of the back door. The house is in what was once the garden for those flats (now freehold land that I own). As you would expect, I have a legal right of way to do this, and there are various appropriate restrictive covenants in place.*

This is all fine, and the previous owners of the house always used this entrance. However, it is not the most convenient access, since going via the basement to enter the house is not particularly pleasant and inaccessible for people with poor mobility.*

This is where it becomes interesting...

When the house was built (about 25 years ago), the owners bought a sliver of land from the flats next door to form part of our garden. As part of this contract, a restrictive covenant was created. This give the owners of the house (now me) the right to go through their building to access this land. This presents another - more attractive - option for entering my property. It does not require going down basement stairs, and would entail walking thought their more attractive period ‘lobby’.*

So why don’t I use this? There are two issues:

1. A few years ago, one of the flat owners absorbed the corridor that leads to the back door into their property. My only access would be to walk through their flat! They have frustrated / broken the covenant. (Either they did not know about it, or they realised it has never been used so would not be challenged).*
2. Even though the covenant has been in existence since the house was built, it has never been used. Asking the neighbours for a key to their lobby and walking through it every day - while legally correct - is just going to annoy them.*

My initial thought has always been to live with things as they are. I’m happy with the house and the entrance is fine for me. BUT, I would be keen to hear your views. Should I formally mention this to the neighbour who has broken the covenant (this, in theory, would mean that they would need to raise it as a dispute when they sell the property). Should I ask for a fee to remove the covenant - how much? Hmmm. Thoughts?

N

[des8]

So who actually agreed the covenant to allow access along the corridor?
Was it the owner of that flat?
Does that corridor actually belong to that flat, or has it just been taken into possession?
Is the covenant registered at Land Registry on both properties?

Presumably as access to your property is easier via the corridor loss of it would make it more difficult to sell your house?