What happens when someone breaks a covenant?
When you fail to live up to that covenant, you are considered in breach of covenant and can be sued for damages. To be sure, the promise may refer to something you either promised to do or promised not to do sometime in the future. Indeed, a claim of breach of covenant may be for damages or specific performance.
Can a property covenant be broken?
If the covenant is expired, or will expire in the near future, a property owner can safely violate it without fear of legal ramifications [source: Rossi, et al]. Other times, covenants may be unenforceable because the original wording of the covenant is inexact.
Can a Neighbour enforce a covenant?
Enforcing Restrictive Covenants If a neighbour threatens to breach a restrictive covenant binding on them you will probably want to obtain an injunction to prevent breach rather than simply claim monetary compensation.
What is the remedy for breach of covenant?
Damages or injunction—the test The primary remedy for breach of a covenant’>restrictive covenant is a permanent injunction to restrain the breach. However, the courts have jurisdiction to award damages instead of an injunction.
How long do covenants on property last?
If the covenant is attached to the land it is said to ‘run with the land’. That means it continues to apply to the land regardless of whether either the burdened or neighbouring lands have been sold on. This means a restrictive covenant can last indefinitely even if its purpose now seems obsolete.
Can my Neighbour enforce a restrictive covenant?
A neighbour can only enforce a restrictive covenant on a property or land if they are the landowner that benefits from the covenant. A neighbour that has no direct connection to the restrictive covenant cannot enforce it in any way.
How long after a breach of covenant can it be enforced?
Generally speaking, it is hard to enforce a restrictive covenant after 20 years. The Limitation Act 1980 also states that claims in land should be brought within 12 years, within 12 years from the time the breach occurred, not when the deed came into force.