A recent case has highlighted the fact that the county court has the power to vary restrictive covenants on existing buildings to permit landowners to convert houses into flats, if they have been granted planning permission.
In the Lawntown Ltd vs Camenzulis case, the Camenzulis tried to prevent the conversion of a neighbouring house into flats as they feared it would affect property prices and set a precedent which would destroy the character of the neighbourhood. Lawntown Ltd succeeded in gaining retrospective planning permission before going on to tackle the restrictive covenants which prevented the conversion.
The Lands Tribunal has power to vary or remove restrictive covenants under section 84 Law of Property Act 1925 and this is the usual method. However, Lawntown tried a little-used process under section 610 Housing Act 1985 and asked the county court to vary the restrictive covenants, not the Lands Tribunal. The county court considered the shortage of housing, recognising that converting existing houses into self-contained flats is one means of increasing available homes and agreed to allow the conversion because of the benefit to the public of meeting the need for additional homes.
The court of appeal backed the county court’s decision, citing the shortage of housing and agreeing that the extra housing provided a public benefit. Furthermore, the Camenzulis were not entitled to compensation as there was not enough real evidence that the conversion would result in a reduction in the value of their own property.
This case may encourage other developers and landowners to make wider use of Section 610, so it’s worth noting that Section 610 can only be applied to existing buildings, not to the construction of new homes. Section 610 has the advantage of being a court process and therefore potentially quicker than the Lands Tribunal although it can’t be used in all cases.
For more information call David Heys on 0116 212 1027
