Can covenants stop a garden structure at my home?
Yes. A restrictive covenant can prevent development at a freehold home even with planning permission. For England and Wales, obtain the title register and relevant deeds, then ask a property solicitor to check the wording and consent route before ordering. Share the cleared specification with Cambridge China Bridge.
Check the covenant separately from planning
A restrictive covenant is a legally binding restriction on land. It can restrict building, business use or the style and size of buildings, including at a freehold property. Planning permission does not override it. Before choosing a China-bought garden room, pergola, canopy or exterior fitting, ask a property solicitor to assess the actual proposal against the deed wording.
The document process below covers England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland use different property registers; ask a local property solicitor about the appropriate documents and consent route. For the separate planning and building-control checks, use our garden room and pergola permissions guide.
Obtain the register and plan
Use the government’s land and property information service to obtain the title register and title plan. The property summary alone does not give the covenant details. The register may contain the wording or identify another document containing it. The title plan shows location and general boundaries; ask your solicitor to compare it with any deed plan identifying the affected land.
Keep the title number and copies with your purchase file. Online downloads cannot be used as proof of ownership; order official copies if that evidence is needed. If an address search finds nothing, government guidance recommends an index map search. Ask your conveyancer to investigate rather than treating an empty result as clearance.
Get the deeds referred to in the register
List each transfer, conveyance or other deed referred to in the covenant entries, recording its date and parties. If a deed is marked as filed, HM Land Registry has a scanned copy. Use the government’s deeds request form with the title number, following its payment and submission instructions. Request the relevant plans and schedules as well as the covenant text.
HM Land Registry does not store original paper deeds and may not hold a scanned copy. If a document is unavailable, ask your purchase solicitor, mortgage lender or previous conveyancer whether their files contain it. Ask your current solicitor to investigate the missing wording and any later consent, release or variation before you commit to manufacture.
Identify the restriction and the consent contact
Ask your solicitor to distinguish a prohibition from a clause allowing work with consent. Highlight wording about additional structures, external alterations, materials, appearance, fences and intended use. Request a written conclusion covering your proposed product, position and installation. Do not use a neighbour’s similar installation or the factory’s description of a removable structure as your clearance.
Official guidance warns that identifying who can enforce an older covenant may require old conveyancing documents. Ask your solicitor to establish who holds the benefit and who can give the required approval before contacting a developer, estate manager or neighbour. Ask whether the proposed signatory’s authority and any other relevant beneficiaries need checking.
Resolve consent or a blocked proposal
Once your solicitor confirms the route, submit the site layout, photographs, elevations, materials, colour, dimensions, fixing details and intended use. Request written approval tied to the exact drawing revision. Ask your solicitor what form the approval should take, which conditions remain and whether any review charge is agreed before proceeding.
If consent is refused, the wording prohibits the work or the beneficiary cannot be identified, pause the order and discuss redesign, an agreed release or variation with your solicitor. A landowner can apply to the Upper Tribunal’s Lands Chamber to discharge or modify a restrictive covenant. Ask your solicitor about suitability, evidence and costs before pursuing that route; do not order on the assumption that an application will succeed.
Working out your own order? Send us the product on WhatsApp and we reply the same working day: WhatsApp us
Make clearance a factory order checkpoint
Before paying a deposit or authorising production, retain the solicitor’s conclusion, relevant title documents, approval and conditions with the agreed factory specification. Record responsibility for any redesign and what happens commercially if clearance remains unresolved. Our product specification guide explains how to turn the approved details into an order brief.
Cambridge China Bridge’s own staff in China can obtain factory drawings and coordinate the approved specification. Keep the property interpretation and consent work with your solicitor. Return changes in dimensions, appearance, position or fixing method for review before authorising them, using our design revision guide.
Frequently asked questions
Can a covenant stop a pergola on freehold land?
Yes. Restrictive covenants can restrict building at a freehold property. Ask a property solicitor to compare the pergola’s position, design and installation with the full deed wording before ordering.
Does planning permission override a restrictive covenant?
No. A restrictive covenant can prevent development even with planning permission. Resolve the covenant position separately before committing to manufacture.
How do I get the covenant deed for my house?
For England and Wales, obtain the title register and identify the relevant deed. If it is filed, request a copy through the government’s deeds request form using the title number. Ask your solicitor to investigate missing documents.
Can I order while covenant consent is pending?
Keep quotations and drawing preparation moving, but hold the deposit and production authorisation until your solicitor confirms clearance. Agree with the supplier what happens if consent requires redesign or is refused.