Issue details

The property, 5 Gladstone Road, Dane End was sold under the right to Buy provision contained in the Housing Act 1980 in 1984. The current owner of the property has planning consent for a new dwelling in the garden of this property (3/25/0760/FUL) and has requested consent to relax the covenant restricting the use of the property for one dwelling house only.
The owner will be able to realise development value because of the grant of planning consent and in other circumstances that do not involve a property sold under Right to Buy legislation the Council would expect a capital receipt reflecting a share in this uplift in value. However under the Court of Appeal case of R v Braintree District Council (2000) the Council are unable to restrict the purchaser’s right to profit or to share any of this development value. In these circumstances the covenant has no value to the Council but there is no good reason to refuse the request and an additional dwelling will contribute to housing supply in the area. A refusal to the request could also be challenged as unreasonable given the Council no longer retains any land ownership in the area and therefore could not argue that the release of the covenant would adversely affect any of its property assets. Due to the court ruling in the Braintree case the council cannot charge any consideration for the release of the covenant but can charge its reasonable costs. The resident has agreed to pay the Council’s legal and surveyors' costs totalling £1,122.16.
The purpose of this report is to seek consent to the relaxation of the covenant contained in the conveyance dated 30th April 1984 restricting the use of the property to one dwelling house only.