Covenants are legal obligations contained within the title deeds of a property that a new owner must abide by. They usually apply in perpetuity and can only be changed by a Deed of Variation. Covenants are either positive or restrictive.
Positive covenants are obligations to do something, such as to contribute to a maintenance fund by means of service charge payment. Restrictive covenants are binding conditions that are written into a property’s deeds or contract by a seller to determine what a homeowner can or cannot do with their house or land. Such restrictive covenants are designed to uphold standards for all residents and prevent owners from undertaking work or other practices which could impact negatively on the neighbourhood or undermine a desired level of ‘uniformity’ and/or maintenance.
Both the freehold and leasehold titles of all the properties on Deqanwy Quay contain a large number of restrictive covenants. These covenants may be absolute or conditional. Absolute covenants such as not running a business or short term letting are strict and unconditional without any exceptions. Conditional covenants such as building alterations require the approval of the landlord or lessor, in our case that is the approval of DQMC (please see webpage about building alterations).
Our title deeds each cover over twenty pages. Residents will have been made aware of these covenants by their conveyancing solicitor when purchasing their property. To help prospective new owners, Premier Estates have produced two very useful summaries of the restrictive covenants for the apartments and houses. These documents may also be useful as an aide memoire to present owners who might be thinking of altering the structure or use of their home as the covenants apply in perpetuity. It is vital to emphasize that the Premier Estates documents are for information only and that reference to the original title deed is essential. DQMC can help with interpretation of covenants and related questions; please contact the Board via the ‘Contact’ page.
Covenants applying to apartments
Covenants applying to houses
DQMC 