Hi
My family sold some land in 1989.
A restrictive covenant was placed on the land limiting its use to agricultural & horticultural only.
This covenant is described on both the 'contract of sale' and the conveyancing document from that time. We have copies of these documents.
The land was sold again as three separate blocks to three separate new owners in 1999.
According to the title deeds in the Land Register these blocks of land were first registered in 1999 & 2000. We have recent copies of these title deeds.
The title deeds in the Land Register make mention of the covenant for two of the blocks of land, but for one block of land there is no mention of a covenant.
Re. the block of land for which there is no mention of the covenant - a few months prior to registration the then owner signed a letter with my family to temporarily relax the covenant to allow for equine use of the land - so the owner was definitely aware of the covenant and the letter is very clear that the relaxation was temporary . We retained copies of this letter.
Fast forward to 2018 and this particular block of land is sold again. In 2021 the new owner applies for permission and erects permanent buildings on the land. We informally speak to the new owner and they claim no knowledge of any restrictions on the land - stating they'd been assured by the previous owner that there were no restrictions . Their solicitor advises them that, since there's no mention of covenants in the Land Register title deeds then no such covenant exists.
So, it appears that when the block of land was registered with the Land Registry the covenant wasn't, and now it cannot be enforced..?
Our solicitor is adamant that there is a restrictive covenant on the land, citing the conveyancing document and the previous relaxation letter as evidence. The new owner's solicitor is advising their client that this evidence is insufficient.
What to do? Our solicitor is offering to carry-out investigations with the Land Registry but will charge us (handsomely) for doing so.
So we're potentially having to pay for a rather convenient omission 20yrs. ago.
Would drop the whole matter but we've already invested a few £100s of my late father's estate not to mention our time & frustration getting this far...
We remain on amicable terms with the new owner - we don't see this as their fault...
Any thoughts on the most efficient way forward? Would like to look into making a claim but against who?
Thanks for reading...
Julian
My family sold some land in 1989.
A restrictive covenant was placed on the land limiting its use to agricultural & horticultural only.
This covenant is described on both the 'contract of sale' and the conveyancing document from that time. We have copies of these documents.
The land was sold again as three separate blocks to three separate new owners in 1999.
According to the title deeds in the Land Register these blocks of land were first registered in 1999 & 2000. We have recent copies of these title deeds.
The title deeds in the Land Register make mention of the covenant for two of the blocks of land, but for one block of land there is no mention of a covenant.
Re. the block of land for which there is no mention of the covenant - a few months prior to registration the then owner signed a letter with my family to temporarily relax the covenant to allow for equine use of the land - so the owner was definitely aware of the covenant and the letter is very clear that the relaxation was temporary . We retained copies of this letter.
Fast forward to 2018 and this particular block of land is sold again. In 2021 the new owner applies for permission and erects permanent buildings on the land. We informally speak to the new owner and they claim no knowledge of any restrictions on the land - stating they'd been assured by the previous owner that there were no restrictions . Their solicitor advises them that, since there's no mention of covenants in the Land Register title deeds then no such covenant exists.
So, it appears that when the block of land was registered with the Land Registry the covenant wasn't, and now it cannot be enforced..?
Our solicitor is adamant that there is a restrictive covenant on the land, citing the conveyancing document and the previous relaxation letter as evidence. The new owner's solicitor is advising their client that this evidence is insufficient.
What to do? Our solicitor is offering to carry-out investigations with the Land Registry but will charge us (handsomely) for doing so.
So we're potentially having to pay for a rather convenient omission 20yrs. ago.
Would drop the whole matter but we've already invested a few £100s of my late father's estate not to mention our time & frustration getting this far...
We remain on amicable terms with the new owner - we don't see this as their fault...
Any thoughts on the most efficient way forward? Would like to look into making a claim but against who?
Thanks for reading...
Julian
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