I'm in the process of buying a property that comes with some land and a restrictive covenant that states only certain structures can be placed on it. The list includes things like garages, greenhouses, garden sheds, fences, and some outdoor furniture, but my plan was to build a summer house and set up raised beds, water butts, and a compost area. Our solicitor hasn't given us clear guidance on what this means for our plans. Has anyone dealt with similar covenants? I'm hoping to become more self-sufficient with this property, so any advice would be greatly appreciated!
3 Answers
A summer house is basically just a fancier shed! Some older covenants can be quite ridiculous—like ours says we can't hang laundry on Sundays! A lot of these rules are rarely enforced, but yours sounds a bit stricter regarding land ownership. I'd check if neighbors have similar issues or structures.
The way I see it, the list is pretty clear about what's allowed. You probably shouldn't plan on a polytunnel or summer house. Raised beds, though, likely won't be seen as a structure at all by anyone who matters. Just make sure to keep things simple and removable if you can!
Yeah, that makes sense! We decided to ditch the summer house idea after realizing it could cause issues.
It sounds like a polytunnel could be considered similar to a greenhouse, and a summer house might just be a fancy shed in the eyes of the covenant. Usually, these restrictions are there to prevent large, permanent structures, so if your summer house isn't set up with utilities, you might be okay.
That's a good point! I'll definitely keep that in mind. Just worried about any implications since the covenant's been around for a while.
Good advice! I’ll definitely look around at the neighbors. It's comforting to know that some of these rules are ignored.