Covenant
A promise contained in a deed. In land law, a restrictive covenant is a binding promise, imposed on land, that restricts what an owner may do with it; a positive covenant instead requires an owner to take some action.
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
Government guidance for landowners seeking to remove or alter old covenants describes the core concept in a single working sentence: 'A restrictive covenant is a legally binding restriction imposed on land by agreement between two freehold landowners or contained in a lease.' Common examples include covenants preventing a buyer from using land for business purposes, from building on it, or requiring a particular style of building to be kept.
Because covenants are typically created by deed on a sale of land, the guidance also explains who can actually enforce them years or decades later: 'Restrictive covenants are imposed by deed, often on a sale of land, but they are private arrangements' — and 'only the person who imposed the covenant, and anyone who owns any of that person's land later, can enforce the restrictive covenant.' That is the practical consequence of a restrictive covenant running with the land: the benefit and burden can pass to successors in title long after the original parties have gone.
Related terms
Official sources
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