Guide to peculiar covenants identified during Portsmouth Conveyancing

old covenant on Portsmouth house

Many older houses in Portsmouth are subject to covenants which were imposed when the land was sold for building back in the 19th or early 20th Centuries. When Conveyancing Solicitors in Portsmouth point them out to buyers, clients are often puzzled as to why anyone now bothers about them. The following is an example of some covenants affecting a house in Southsea, Portsmouth, taken from the land registry title:

“A Conveyance of the land in this title dated 20 September 1911 made between (1) Bailey & Whites Limited (Company) and (2) George Arthur Rourke (Purchaser) contains the following covenants:-

COVENANT by the Purchaser for himself his heirs executors administrators and assigns (with the Company

THAT every house or principal building that may be erected on the said piece of land thereby conveyed should be used as a private residence only and shall front on Ashton Road aforesaid should have a forecourt five feet wide should have a stone bay window on the ground floor in front and should not have a less frontage to the said road than fourteen feet or be of a less net annual value than fourteen pounds

THAT there shall not be carried on upon the said piece of land thereby conveyed or any part thereof any noxious noisy or offensive trade or any manufacture THAT no part of the said land or any building erected thereon should be used as a place of public worship or as a public house Inn Tavern or Beershop or otherwise for the sale of wines malt liquors or Spirituous Liquors.

THAT no bricks or tiles should be made on the said piece of land thereby conveyed or any excavation be made therein except so far as might be necessary to form the foundation of any building to be erected thereon and

THAT there should not except as aforesaid by any clay loam gravel or soil dug thereout.”

This is typical of covenants imposed at that period, when they were intended to ensure that the houses were built to a reasonable standard, and that owners did not use them for purposes which would cause a nuisance to neighbouring owners. As the house clearly dated from before 1914, and had apparently always been used a private house, it was unlikely that there would be any breach of the covenants. The buyer had no intention of using the property as either a pub or a church, and did not intend to carry on any trade or business at the property, so was not concerned about the existence of the covenants.

Older nineteenth-century Conveyances often contain even more lengthy covenants, dating from the time when property lawyer s' clerks wrote out the documents by hand and were paid by the amount they wrote. These covenants often contained extensive prohibitions against such unsavoury uses as tallow-boilers, catgut skinners, or tanners, while restrictions against use as a lunatic asylum or tea-gardens are not uncommon. Today, these may bring a smile to 21st Century buyer's face, as the likelihood of anyone wanting to carry on such a trade in a residential house seems very remote, but it must be remembered that in the past, in cities like Portsmouth, the most obnoxious trades were carried on in and among residential homes, with little regard for the smell, noise or harm they might cause.

It should not always be assumed that covenants are irrelevant; there are some which may still be applicable and can be enforced by an adjoining owner. If you are buying a house in Portsmouth, Conveyancing Solicitors will advise you if the property is subject to any covenants which might still be applicable.

If you want to know whether your house in Plymouth is subject to any such covenants, you can obtain a copy of your registered title from the land registry, or ask your Conveyancing Solicitors to obtain a copy.

Although the Land Registry has a sub-office at First Floor, Great Western House, 34 Isambard Brunel Road, Portsmouth PO1 2DR. Although that office is no longer the correct one for lodging applications for registration of property transfers in Portsmouth, they will be able to see personal callers; but you will need to make an appointment by contacting Customer Support on 0844 892 1111.

During Conveyancing in Portsmouth, copies of registered titles can more conveniently be obtained online without the need to go the land registry office.