Title covenants
Restrictive covenants when buying a house: what they can stop you doing
Restrictive covenants are promises in the title that limit how land can be used. They can restrict extensions, business use, parking, fences, alterations, subdivision, short-term letting or nuisance. Your conveyancer finds them in the title register, old transfers, conveyances, leases or estate documents.
This page covers the title and conveyancing issue. It complements, but does not replace, the survey decoder page for restrictive-covenant findings.
Last updated: 31 May 2026. Editorially reviewed: 31 May 2026.
Tool shortcut
Check the property before you offer
Flood, subsidence, EPC, crime, schools, transport, broadband, tenure, age, listed status and price checks where data is available.
Run a free previewWhy covenants matter before exchange
A covenant may be harmless if it aligns with how you will use the property. The same covenant can be a major issue if it blocks your intended plan. For example, a no-business-use covenant may not matter to a standard owner-occupier but may matter if you plan a clinic, nursery, holiday let or workshop.
The key question is enforceability and practical risk: who benefits from the covenant, whether there has been a breach, whether consent was needed, whether indemnity is available, and whether your lender accepts the position.
Common covenant problems
Buyers often discover a covenant after planning permission has already been checked. Planning permission and covenant consent are different. The council can permit an extension while a private covenant still restricts it. Your solicitor needs to check both routes before you rely on future works.
Source and search scope
| Source | What it checks |
|---|---|
| Title register | Shows whether the title is subject to covenants and may summarise them or point to filed deeds. |
| Filed deeds and transfers | Older conveyances, transfers or TP1 documents often contain the full wording and plans. |
| Estate or lease documents | New-build estates, leasehold properties and managed freeholds may include extra consent regimes. |
What the result means
Routine estate covenant
Often manageable if it only controls appearance, nuisance or estate consistency. Check consent for past works.
Covenant blocks intended use
This is a buyer-specific problem. Do not proceed until the solicitor confirms whether consent, release or insurance is realistic.
Possible historic breach
The property may already breach a covenant. The response is evidence, consent, indemnity or price adjustment.
Buyer and lender implications
- Lenders care where a breach could lead to enforcement, loss of value or an inability to certify good title.
- Indemnity insurance may be available for historic breaches, but usually not if you have already approached the beneficiary for consent.
- Covenants can affect future plans even when the current purchase is mortgageable.
Questions to ask your solicitor
- 1What covenants affect the title, and can I see the full wording and plan?
- 2Who has the benefit of the covenant and is it still enforceable in practice?
- 3Do any existing structures or uses breach the covenant?
- 4Would my planned extension, business use, letting or parking arrangement breach it?
- 5Is consent, release, variation or indemnity insurance the right solution?
Related conveyancing search guides
Run the check on this address
MyPropertyScan does not replace conveyancing searches. It gives you a pre-offer public-data preview so you can ask better questions before spending money on legal work, searches and surveys.
Run the check
Check the property before you offer
Flood, subsidence, EPC, crime, schools, transport, broadband, tenure, age, listed status and price checks where data is available.
Run a free previewFrequently asked questions
Can I ignore an old restrictive covenant?
Not without legal advice. Some old covenants are obsolete in practice, but others remain enforceable. Your solicitor should identify the beneficiary and enforcement risk.
Does planning permission override a restrictive covenant?
No. Planning permission is public law consent. A restrictive covenant is a private title restriction. You may need both planning permission and covenant consent.
Will a lender accept restrictive covenant indemnity insurance?
Often yes for historic or low-risk breaches, but the solicitor must confirm the policy meets lender requirements and that no disqualifying contact has been made.
Can a covenant stop me working from home?
It depends on wording and intensity. Desk-based remote work is different from running a customer-facing business, workshop or short-term letting operation. Ask your solicitor to apply the covenant to your actual use.
Editorial review
Editorial owner: BiteRight Ltd, operator of MyPropertyScan. We review buyer guides against UK public property datasets, RICS survey wording, lender requirements, and common buyer questions.
Pages are updated when source coverage, property-risk guidance, survey cost assumptions, or product checks materially change. Methodology and dataset limitations are explained on the MyPropertyScan methodology page.
Sources used
We use UK public and specialist sources where they are available. Public datasets can be incomplete, delayed, or missing for some addresses. Treat them as a starting point, not as a replacement for professional advice.
Source standard: preference goes to official government datasets, statutory bodies, professional standards, and primary dataset publishers. We cite the source family on the page and explain coverage limits rather than filling gaps with unsupported estimates.
General information only. Not legal, mortgage, insurance or surveying advice. Always confirm search results with your own conveyancer, lender, insurer and surveyor before exchange. MyPropertyScan is operated by BiteRight Ltd.