At the beginning of the year, we wrote about the Hassan & Osman v Heath (2025) ruling, which demonstrated how restrictive covenants have the potential to prevent, or significantly impact, proposed developments or alterations to a property, even after planning permission has been granted.
Product articles
Below you’ll find articles or communications we’ve issued which are related to our Restrictive Covenants indemnities.
Whether it’s building a new property, or extending and altering an existing one, developers and homeowners often assume that obtaining planning permission is the last major hurdle to overcome before construction begins. However, restrictive covenants detailed within the title deeds also place limitations on how land or a property can be used, and as this recent claim shows, the threat of a covenant being successfully enforced can be enough to prevent a development project proceeding.
One of the most common types of legal indemnity enquiries we receive is for the breach of freehold restrictive covenants, and it’s easy to understand why.
Reform of the leasehold system has been an ambition of several previous UK governments. Looking back, the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 was an attempt to establish a long-term alternative to leasehold ownership of flats, and other properties. However, since its introduction, commonhold ownership has failed to overhaul the more established leasehold framework.
Claims arising under policies issued for leasehold properties can be triggered for any number of reasons.
The contribution made by renewables to UK power has more than doubled since 2014, with energy generated by wind, solar, biomass and hydro sources making up 42% of the UK’s electricity in 2020.
We look at some of the most common questions posed to our underwriters.
Having an offer accepted on the ‘perfect’ property is an exciting time and, at that point, most would-be purchasers have little idea as to what’s in the title deeds, let alone any covenants that might restrict how they might use their new property.
A recent restrictive covenant claim demonstrates how we tailor our approach to the specific circumstances of each claim we receive.
Restrictive covenant policies rank amongst our most sought-after products, and it isn’t hard to see why. Title deeds very often contain covenants ranging from the mundane to the downright bizarre.
It's true that insurers don't have the greatest of reputations when it comes to claims, but the policyholder in our latest claims case study was delighted with the way we helped him out of a tight spot.
Extending a home is rarely straightforward, and as the claimant in our latest claims case study found out, it can prove even more difficult if your neighbours have the benefit of covenants over your property.