Form T379 UK: Discharge Restrictive Covenants

What this document is

Form T379 is the official application form used to ask the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) to either remove a restrictive covenant affecting land or alter its terms so that it no longer blocks a particular use. Restrictive covenants are promises written into the title of a property that limit what the owner can do with it, for example stopping extensions, preventing commercial use, or restricting further building.

They can sit on a title for decades and still be legally binding even when the original purpose has fallen away. The power to modify or discharge these covenants comes from section 84 of the Law of Property Act 1925. The Tribunal can act where the restriction is obsolete, where it impedes some reasonable use of the land, where the beneficiaries have agreed expressly or by their conduct, or where modification would not injure anyone entitled to the benefit.

The form exists to gather every piece of information the Tribunal needs to weigh those tests fairly, including details of the applicant, the land, the covenant itself, and anyone else who might be affected.

How to use this document

1. Fill in your details and your representative's details. The opening section of the form asks for the full name, address, postcode, telephone number, and email of the person making the application. If you are using a solicitor or other representative, their contact details go here too. Getting this right matters because the Tribunal will use these details for all correspondence during the case. 2. Describe the land affected by the covenant. You will need to give the postal address and postcode of the land that is burdened by the restriction, along with the Land Registry title number and a copy of the title plan. The Tribunal wants to be able to identify the exact parcel of land under discussion, so accuracy here is essential and incomplete information can cause delays. 3. Set out your interest in the land. The form asks whether you hold the land as freeholder, leaseholder, or under some other arrangement such as a contractual interest. You should explain clearly what your legal relationship with the property is, because only certain categories of interest holder have standing to make an application under section 84, and the Tribunal will check this early on. 4. Identify everyone else with an interest and list the restrictions word for word. You must name every other person or entity with an interest in the land, giving their addresses and title numbers where known. You then need to reproduce the text of each restrictive covenant exactly as it appears in the original deed, and identify the document or transfer that imposed each one. Attaching a copy of the deed, conveyance or transfer is also required. 5. Explain the benefiting land, any breaches, and the grounds for your application. List who may benefit from the covenant and describe any land that carries the benefit of it. Confirm whether what you want to do would actually breach the restriction, and give details. Finally, set out which of the statutory grounds under section 84 you are relying on and why the Tribunal should grant the application.

Common questions