The Restrictive Covenant
A Restrictive Covenant is simply a legal obligation
written into a deed of sale by the seller that
obligates the buyer to do or not do something. The
restrictions and obligations can be designed to "run
with the property" and thus be enforceable on
subsequent buyers of the property--though,like
stipulations in will s and trusts (see: Wills and Trusts),
they are more easily attackable in court in future
years than are the restrictions in Conservation
Easements (see The Conservation
Easement. Also, many Restrictive Covenants are
time-limited, which makes them more vulnerable to
being changed in the future.
Restrictive Covenants, which are relatively common in
Upper Riceville now, can be used for many purposes.
Here we deal only with their use for conservation
purposes. The conservation-oriented restrictions and
obligations that may be included in a Restrictive
Covenant could involve such matters as are dealt with
in Conservation Easements: amount and nature of future
subdivisions, type and amount of construction that will
be allowed in the future, and so on. They may also be
designed for other purposes--for example, to protect
ridge top or watercourses by specifying where building
may take place and where it may not. And so on.
Some additional facts about Restrictive Covenants:
Conservation stipulations may be included along with
stipulations of other sorts. Also, conservation
stipulations may be added to existing Restrictive
Covenants when property is sold, as long as their
language does not conflict with the language of the
Restrictive Covenant currently in force.
What to Do
Your deed of sale will likely be prepared by your
attorney or someone acting in roughly that capacity. It
will be important to seek someone familiar with
conservation issues or at least open to them. You may
also want to consider what types of future conservation
protection you want for your property in the process of
preparing to sell it so you can inform potential buyers
appropriately from the outset and have a firm plan when
you consult the attorney. To carry out these tasks, you
may wish to consult examples of existing Restrictive
Covenants as well as the stipulations in some existing
Conservation Easements. Your SRA contact may be able to
help in this regard.
Contact
SRA for Restrictive Covenants: Joyce and Ron Sousa
joyce@scenicricevilleadvocates.org