An Introduction to Property Restrictions

Property restrictions (also often known as covenants) are essentially legal agreements or conditions that are attached to a property.

Types of Property Restrictions

The most common property restrictions are restrictive covenants. These prevent certain changes. They are often found against listed properties or those that are part of a conservation area and may mean that extensions are not allowed or redecoration must be done in a certain way.

Other restrictions include the Form LL restriction and restrictions that are imposed for financial reasons.

Form LL Restriction

The Form LL restriction ensures that only the registered owner of a property can re-mortgage or sell it. They have to provide ID (passport and/or birth certificate) to a conveyancing solicitor to verify that they are the registered owner. This makes property fraud much harder. Legal experts such as Parachute Law are able to advise on a wide range of property matters including property restrictions.

Tenants In Common Restriction

This restriction is placed by the Land Registry when two or more people purchase a property under a tenants in common agreement. Each owner usually owns a specified share of the property – where there is no specified split, the owners are deemed to have equal shares). Each owner can do as they choose with their share.

The restriction ensures that the proceeds of any sale are distributed in accordance with the shares held. It also means that, if one owner dies, a co-owner has to get permission from the deceased’s named beneficiaries if they wish to sell the property.

Financial Restrictions

The other type of restriction is a financial one. This can prevent the sale of a property if the required permission hasn’t been given.

Who can place a restriction on a property?

The property owner can add a Form LL restriction to help prevent property fraud. The Land Registry can add restrictions like tenants in common restrictions. Finally, creditors can place restrictions that prevent the sale of a property without their express permission (although usually, they will allow this if an agreement is made to pay off debts with the sale proceeds).