PROPERTY DISPUTIES/WILL

A property dispute is common within property law, and will occur frequently over ownership rights. Covenants are a common cause of dispute on both leasehold and freehold land. On freehold land, a covenant is simply a promise made in a deed. A covenant is usually made when the owner of a piece of land sells part and retains part of the land. The seller may not want the buyer to use the land in a way that can affect the seller's retained land, so he may impose covenants on the land.

A covenant can be either positive or restrictive. A positive covenant requires the land owner to do something to, or on, the property. A property dispute will frequently occur with positive covenants as they do not 'run with the land' - meaning that once the original owner sells the property, the covenant applies to them rather than to the person he has sold the land to under the law of contract. Therefore, when the person that entered into the original covenant sells the land, they will usually ask the buyer to guarantee that they will continue to uphold the positive covenant. In the event that they do not uphold the positive covenant, the landowner is required to sue the previous land owner, who can then sue the current land owner. Particular problems arise when the land has changed hands lots of times.

If you would like to obtain legal advice on a property dispute, or advice on possible rights that people may have over property, please call us 011-91-26964680.