Restrictive covenants

A restrictive covenant is a contractual obligation requiring the covenantor not to do the thing specified (such as building on the land or using the land for particular purposes). Unlike positive covenants, the burden of a restrictive covenant is capable of 'running with the land' so that successive owners or occupiers are bound by the restriction.

Covenants restricting the carrying out of certain activities on land imposed by a seller may be divided into three classes:

•
covenants imposed for the seller’s own benefit—these are personal to the seller and are not enforceable by anyone else, unless expressly assigned
•
covenants imposed on or after 1 January 1926 by the seller (as the owner of retained land of which the land being sold formed a part) and intended to protect or benefit the retained land—these are capable of running with the land and may be enforceable without express assignment by the owner for the time being of the land for the benefit of which they were imposed
•
covenants imposed by the seller on a sale of land to various buyers who, with their respective successors in title, are intended

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