Edmonds Judd

covenants

Neighbourhood subdivisions

What is going up over the fence?

As urban land becomes more expensive, landowners and developers are constantly looking for ways to get the most out of their patch of dirt. Adding to the equation, a housing shortage across the country has led to increasing land development and subdivision to create additional dwellings. More recently, there has been a move to more compact multiple unit developments in many neighbourhoods.

 

Types of developments

Multiple unit developments have become popular with Kāinga Ora and other government or charitable agencies as they can build multiple dwellings onto a section that in the past may have been limited to a single dwelling.

Whether these types of developments on your neighbour’s property are being built for social housing or privately, you may have concerns about the effect they may have on your property.

 

What about my view?

Strictly speaking, no one has a legal right to a view. If you have concerns about a potential development at the property next door, you should first check the title of that property. If it is subject to any restrictive covenants that prevent certain development or subdivision, the landowner with the right to enforce the covenant could potentially put a stop to the prohibited developments. Often this will be you as the neighbouring property owner, otherwise if the covenant is ‘in gross’ it is enforceable by anyone.

Falling short of that, there may be restrictions in a covenant meaning that any new dwelling should comply with specific design specifications or building height restrictions that protect certain views or ‘view shafts.’ This may ease concerns knowing the new buildings next door should not affect your property too much.

 

No covenants, no choice?

Where there are no covenants in place that restrict the developer’s use of the land, the developer is bound solely by the relevant district plan and the Resource Management Act (RMA). The district plan sets out the local authority’s rules and restrictions for land use and development, and any application to develop a property is determined based on its compliance with the relevant district plan.

 

Consent

Where a development next door looks as though it may affect you, the developer may ask you to sign a consent. This will be either in preparation for their submission to the relevant local authority or may be a requirement set by the local authority following their application.

In either case, you do not have to sign the consent if you are unhappy with the development as it is presented. There may be a particular aspect of the design or location of the new dwellings that you don’t like; sometimes neighbours can negotiate amendments to the developer’s plan in consideration for their consent. Other times, you may simply not want it to proceed.

It is important to understand that not consenting to the developer’s request does not automatically mean that the development won’t go ahead.

 

Notification

If you are a potentially affected neighbour and you have not approved the application, the developer can request that the local authority notify the potentially affected parties of their application. At this point, you would be invited to submit your objections to the local authority for it to finally determine whether the development can take place.

In other circumstances, the relevant local authority will require that the developer notify affected parties as part of their application process. You can view the relevant district plan on your local authority’s website to determine if the development next door is compliant with the various rules relating to land and new housing.

In some circumstances, the proposed development will be wholly in compliance with the district plan and have no effect on your property. Where that is the case, you may not have any grounds for an objection or even be required to be notified of the development making it difficult to raise any objection.

 

RMA review

At present, the RMA is under review which is likely to result in a significant overhaul to the legislation governing land use and subdivision. Time will tell as to the effect of these changes on the rights of neighbours regarding subdivision and developments over the fence.

If you are approached by a neighbour about their development and need help to find out more about what they can do or what you can do to stop it, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

 

 

DISCLAIMER: All the information published in Property Speaking is true and accurate to the best of the authors’ knowledge. It should not be a substitute for legal advice. No liability is assumed by the authors or publisher for losses suffered by any person or organisation relying directly or indirectly on this newsletter. Views expressed are those of individual authors, and do not necessarily reflect the view of Edmonds Judd. Articles appearing in Property Speaking may be reproduced with prior approval from the editor and credit given to the source.
Copyright, NZ LAW Limited, 2022.     Editor: Adrienne Olsen.       E-mail: [email protected].       Ph: 029 286 3650


Land covenants

Rules on how you can use your land

A covenant is an instrument registered against land that governs how an owner or occupier can use their land. The land bound by the terms of the covenant is referred to as the ‘burdened land’ as that has the burden (although not all covenants are negative) of complying with the terms of the covenant. There can be either positive covenants which compel the owner or occupier to do something, or restrictive covenants that prevent the owner or occupier from carrying out a particular activity.

 

Common covenants

Generally, people encounter covenants when their lawyer reviews the Record of Title of a property and advises that it is subject to a land covenant. Often the covenant will dictate that certain activities or uses are restricted or prohibited on the property. Examples include the maximum height of buildings allowed to be built on a property or a prohibition on keeping certain animals.

Covenants are commonly seen in subdivisions where the developer intends to sell multiple sections for the construction of new homes. Often a developer will register extensive land covenants that prescribe various design features of the houses to be built in the subdivision. This helps the developer dictate the look and feel of the subdivision; it will generally include covenants such as a minimum build cost, the type of cladding permitted for the exterior of new builds and maximum heights of fences and plants, along with prohibitions on collecting rubbish on properties, the visibility of clotheslines and many other visual features which are all designed to help the developer preserve the aesthetic appeal of the subdivision.

Another type of land covenant is a reverse sensitivity covenant (sometimes called a no-complaints covenant). These are used where a party in a rural or industrial setting may wish to subdivide or develop part of their land for residential use. A no-complaints covenant would be used in this instance to protect the existing property use of the farm or the factory from complaints made by the new residential neighbours who might object to certain smells or noises generated by that existing use which will continue on the retained land. This ensures that farms and factories can continue their normal business despite the development of purely residential property next door without fear of those neighbours complaining and interfering in how those businesses operate.

If you are looking to purchase a property, particularly if it is bare land, it is important to check that it isn’t subject to covenants. If there are any covenants registered against the Record of Title, you should ensure they won’t restrict your intended use of the land or leave you bound to put up with offensive noise or smell from neighbouring properties without any right to complain.

 

Enforceability of covenants

In a similar way that the owner or occupier of ‘burdened land’ bears the obligation of complying with the terms of a land covenant, the owner of ‘benefitted land’ has the right to enforce covenants affecting the burdened land.

The covenant will often contain penalty provisions that state the burdened landowner will be penalised a punitive amount for non-compliance with a covenant registered against their land.

If the burdened landowner fails to comply, the owner of the benefitted land may have the right to have the work required to comply with the covenant completed and to recover those costs from the burdened landowner.

Covenants can also benefit a party in gross meaning that the party with the right to enforce the terms of the covenant isn’t necessarily an adjoining landowner but often the development company responsible for a subdivision, or a local or territorial authority. Covenants in gross can give the developer the control over the design of buildings in their subdivision to ensure they can maximise the profitability and marketability of their sections without having to rely on individuals to enforce covenants themselves.

As land covenants can vary so broadly depending on their purpose or the way they are drafted, it is important to talk with us early on if land you own, or are looking to buy, is affected by a covenant. It is particularly important if you have a unique plan for a build or slightly unusual use for your land in mind that might be precluded by a restrictive covenant. A quick check by us can alleviate any doubt and ensure you won’t be caught once it is too late.

DISCLAIMER: All the information published in Property eSpeaking is true and accurate to the best of the authors’ knowledge. It should not be a substitute for legal advice. No liability is assumed by the authors or publisher for losses suffered by any person or organisation relying directly or indirectly on this newsletter. Views expressed are those of individual authors, and do not necessarily reflect the view of Edmonds Judd. Articles appearing in Property eSpeaking may be reproduced with prior approval from the editor and credit given to the source.
Copyright, NZ LAW Limited, 2022.     Editor: Adrienne Olsen.       E-mail: [email protected].       Ph: 029 286 3650