Covenants
Restrictive covenants have been part of the legal deeds of properties here since the estate began, and the Village Design Statement reiterates them.
They are the reason the estate has kept its character through a century of changing tastes. They are also, occasionally, the reason somebody cannot do something they had assumed they could.
Who holds them
A covenant is only worth anything to somebody entitled to rely on it, and on this estate that is the Association.
The constitution records that the roads, verges, roundabouts, twittens and Greensward were transferred to MOSA by deed, and that the Association “also holds the 'benefit of the Covenants’ of the Sea Lane Estate”. Because the Association is unincorporated, the deeds and covenants are held by Trustees on its behalf.
That is the answer to a question solicitors ask and residents rarely do: who would be entitled to act if a covenant were broken. See section 3 of the constitution.
Checking your own
Covenants vary between properties. They are not uniform across the estate, so the only reliable answer for your house is in your own deeds.
If you are not sure what applies to you, check your deeds first. If they are not to hand, your conveyancing solicitor or the Land Registry can help.
Common ground
The covenants generally deal with matters such as the use of a property as a private dwelling rather than for business, the character and materials of buildings, and boundaries and accesses.
For how these work in practice alongside planning, see building work and planning and living well together.
Solicitors and estate agents
If you are acting on a purchase or sale and need information about the estate or a particular property, there is a defined route and a published fee.