• Wednesday, December 4, 2024
Restrictive Covenants Update - Andrew Francis

Real property law and restrictive covenant specialist barrister, Andrew Francis was a contributing speaker at Trinity Chambers' recent Business & Property Conference. His session is available to watch and is entitled:

‘Who’s Afraid of Restrictive Covenants?’ - A Restrictive Covenants Update

The law of restrictive covenants can be complex and if the reasons for that complexity are understood, the ingredients which form the “jigsaw” of the law of restrictive covenants should fall into place. In his update talk, Andrew breaks down this complexity and highlights the three main ingredients to the law of restrictive covenants, as follows:

  • Common law - law of contract, law of damages for breach of contract at common law, law of assignment and the law relating to the passing of the benefit of a restrictive covenant.
  • Equity - developed by the Court of Chancery, covers the running of the burden of a restrictive covenant and the remedies for breach.
  • Statute - including the 1925 property legislation and the rules relating to the registration of restrictive covenants against the title to the burdened land (or in the case of unregistered titles in the Land Charges Register) and later legislation such as the Land Charges Act 1972, the Land Registration Act 2002 and other legislation conferring special rights to enforce restrictive covenants.

Against this background, Andrew then explores the following questions in the context of his detailed update:  

  • What do the words in this restrictive covenant mean?
  • Who can enforce the restrictive covenant?
  • What remedy will the Court grant for this breach?  
  • Prospects of success if the matter proceeds to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) under section 84(1) Law of Property Act 1925.

There is a handout that accompanies the session. If you do not have a copy and would like one, please email stevew@trinitychambers.co.uk.

This recorded seminar and its accompanying notes are made available for educational and information purposes only. The views expressed in it are those of the speaker. The contents do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied on as such. The speaker and Trinity Chambers accept no responsibility for the continuing accuracy of the contents. Contact Trinity Chambers if you have a specific legal query.

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