On 20th September, 2011, the Phew! Conveyancing team was hired by a client to guide him in purchasing a property located in Fawnbrake Avenue, London. The property was sold for £ 660,000 to the client. The local authority for the deal was London Borough of Lambeth.
The team examined the official copy entries and it was found that the property was subject to some additional restrictive covenants as per the Conveyance dated 10th August, 1897. The most important restrictions were that, the property concerned can only be used as a private dwelling house and the boundaries which were marked as “T” on the plan should be repaired and maintained by the purchaser.
Also, fences must not be less than six feet high. Minimum four houses must be erected on the plots concerned. The frontage of each house must be at least eighteen feet six inches reckoned from centre to centre of the Party Walls. There must be proper offices, outbuildings, vaults, drains and fences.
Approval by the surveyor of the Vendor must be there before any building on the land is erected. Every house must front onto Fawnbrake Avenue and each house should value minimum £400. The front wall should range and be in line with the building line marked on the plan. Also the client was not allowed to set any steam engine or burn brick, clay etc. in the land.
The Phew! Team found out that the property was also subject to a Conveyance dated 20th April, 1898 and the restrictions were explained to the client. The Client must have to maintain the boundaries which the seller currently maintains.
The Local Authority Search revealed that the area is under Smoke Control Order and this prohibited smoke from the chimneys. Yet another Clear Air Act prohibited smoke from the other premises also. There was also an HMO order which stated that the property bought by the client cannot be shared in any form. The failure to get a licence from the local council before the property is let as HMO will result in many legal consequences.
Further investigation by the team revealed that Fawnbrake Avenue was adopted and the maintenance is done by the local council with funds collected from public. Moreover, there were no plans for improvement of roads or arrival of any new roads.
The lawyer for the selling other party was Stanley Smith Hill & Co. The estate agency concerned with the deal was Petermans.
