A restrictive covenant is a private agreement between land
owners where one party will restrict the use of its land in some
way for the benefit of another's land. Restrictive covenants,
once agreed between the parties, are placed in the title deeds
to the property. They bind the land and not the parties
personally. In other words, the restrictive covenant 'runs with
the land'. This means that the covenant continues even when the
original parties to the covenant sell the land on to other
people. Restrictive covenants also continue to have effect even
though they were made many years ago and appear to be obsolete.
They are enforceable by one landowner against another, provided
they are restrictive or 'negative' in their effect and
effectively allow a form of private planning control. An example
of restrictive covenants on a housing development are deed
restrictions that protect property values by preventing any
deviation of the appearance of units within the development from
a standard. Frequently, restrictive