Form T381 UK: Object to Covenant Discharge or Modify

At a glance

• What Form T381 is: the official notice of objection to an application under section 84 of the Law of Property Act 1925 to discharge or modify a restrictive covenant, filed with the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber).
• Who can object: anyone with a genuine legal entitlement to the benefit of the covenant — either the original covenantee, or someone who owns land the covenant was created to benefit and can enforce it.
• Deadline: your objection must reach the Tribunal within one month of the date the applicant gave notice of the application, under rule 34(1) of the Tribunal Procedure (Upper Tribunal) (Lands Chamber) Rules 2010. Miss it and you must apply for an extension of time.
• Fee: filing Form T381 is free. The applicant pays a fee for the original application (Form T379) — check current fees on GOV.UK.
• Admission: the applicant has 14 days to dispute your entitlement to object. If they do not, you are automatically admitted to oppose the application.
• Costs: successful objectors are normally awarded their reasonable costs; an unsuccessful objector is not usually ordered to pay the applicant's costs unless they behaved unreasonably.
• Compensation: you can ask the Tribunal to award compensation if it discharges or modifies the covenant despite your objection — the form only needs a provisional estimate.

What Form T381 is and when you need it

A restrictive covenant is a private obligation, usually created in a conveyance or transfer, that restricts how land can be used — for example, preventing building, limiting a property to residential use, or controlling its appearance. The owner of land affected by a restrictive covenant can apply to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) to have it discharged (removed entirely) or modified (changed) under section 84 of the Law of Property Act 1925. That application is made on Form T379.

If you have the benefit of that covenant — meaning you are entitled to enforce it — Form T381 is how you formally tell the Tribunal, and the applicant, that you oppose the change. Filing it makes you a party to the proceedings, with a role in shaping how the Tribunal decides the application.

The jurisdiction is called the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) today, but section 84 itself dates from 1925 and originally gave this power to the Lands Tribunal; the function transferred to the Upper Tribunal from 1 June 2009. The Tribunal has no power over positive covenants (obligations to do something, rather than not do something) or easements such as rights of way — only restrictions on use or building.

This guide covers England and Wales. Restrictive covenants and the section 84 jurisdiction are English and Welsh law; Scotland has its own system of real burdens, and Northern Ireland has separate land law.

Who is entitled to object

Form T381 asks you to tick one of two bases for your entitlement:

• you are the original covenantee — the person the covenant was made in favour of; or
• the covenant was created to benefit land you now own, and you can enforce it.

This matters because registered title does not reliably answer the question either way. The Land Registry title of the land being built on or changed will usually show that it is subject to a restriction, but titles do not generally record which other land has the benefit of that restriction — that depends on tracing the original conveyance or transfer that imposed the covenant and how the benefit passed down to you. If you cannot establish your entitlement from your own paperwork, HM Courts & Tribunals Service's own guidance recommends seeking legal advice before objecting.

This distinction has real consequences. If the applicant disputes that you are entitled to object, you will need to produce evidence — typically your registered title or older conveyancing documents — and an objector who cannot prove entitlement is likely to end up liable for the applicant's costs of that specific dispute.

The legal grounds an application can rely on

Your objection should respond directly to the ground or grounds the applicant is relying on. Section 84(1) of the Law of Property Act 1925 allows the Tribunal to discharge or modify a restriction on four grounds:

| Ground | What it requires | |---|---| | (a) Obsolete | Changes in the character of the property, the neighbourhood, or other circumstances mean the restriction ought to be treated as obsolete. | | (aa) Impedes reasonable use | The restriction impedes some reasonable use of the land for public or private purposes, and either secures no practical benefit of substantial value or advantage to those it protects, or is contrary to the public interest — and money would adequately compensate any loss. | | (b) Agreement | Everyone currently entitled to the covenant's benefit has agreed, expressly or through their conduct, to it being discharged or modified. | | (c) No injury | The proposed discharge or modification will not injure anyone entitled to the benefit of the restriction. |

For ground (aa), section 84(1B) requires the Tribunal to take into account the development plan, any established pattern of planning permissions in the area, the period and context in which the restriction was created, and any other material circumstances. If the Tribunal modifies a restriction, section 84(1C) also lets it add new restrictive provisions in place of the ones relaxed — a "modification" application does not automatically mean the covenant disappears with nothing in its place.

Not every Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) form is about restrictive covenants in the way most objectors expect — do not confuse Form T381 with Form T371, Notice of Reference, which deals with land compensation and Electronic Communications Code disputes in the same Tribunal, not section 84 covenant applications.

The deadline and how to file your objection

Your notice of objection must be received by the Tribunal within one month of the date the applicant gave notice of the application — normally the date of the publicity notice, or the date you received a copy of the application, whichever applies to you. This comes from rule 34(1) of the Tribunal Procedure (Upper Tribunal) (Lands Chamber) Rules 2010. If you miss it, Form T381's own guidance says you must apply to the Tribunal for an extension of time — there is no automatic right to be let in late, so treat the one-month window as the real deadline and diarise it the moment you become aware of the application.

The Rules also require your notice to state whether you want your case decided at a hearing (rule 34(2)(e)), alongside your and your representative's details, the basis of your entitlement, and your grounds of objection.

There is no fee to file Form T381. Send a copy to the Tribunal and a copy directly to the applicant (or their representative) — filing with the Tribunal alone is not enough. HM Courts & Tribunals Service's e-filing service is available for this, and is mandatory if you have appointed a professional representative; otherwise you can post or email your objection to the Registrar, Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber). Keep proof of when you sent it.

What happens after you file: admission, evidence and directions

Once your objection is received, rule 35 of the 2010 Rules sets a clear timetable:

1. Within 14 days, the applicant must tell the Tribunal and you whether they accept you are entitled to the benefit of the restriction.
2. If they do not dispute it within that time, you are automatically admitted to oppose the application.
3. If they do dispute it, you have a further 14 days to send the Tribunal and the applicant evidence of your entitlement.
4. The applicant then has 14 days to say whether, having seen your evidence, they now accept your entitlement.
5. If they still do not, the Tribunal decides the point itself — usually from the papers already filed, though occasionally at a hearing.
6. If the Tribunal rules against you, you can apply to the court under section 84(2) of the 1925 Act for a declaration on who is entitled to enforce the restriction, and the Tribunal will pause proceedings while that runs.

Once you are admitted to oppose, the Tribunal directs either separate statements of case from you and the applicant, or that your application and notice of objection simply stand as your statements of case (rule 36). From there, directions move the case towards a hearing — typically covering a listing window, witness and expert evidence, and hearing bundles — or, if the applicant asks and no one has objected, the Tribunal may decide the application without a hearing at all.

On costs: HM Courts & Tribunals Service guidance is consistent that successful objectors can normally expect their reasonable costs paid by the unsuccessful applicant, while an unsuccessful objector will not usually be ordered to pay the applicant's costs unless their conduct was unreasonable. The narrower risk sits around proving entitlement itself — if the applicant disputes it and you cannot establish it, you are likely to be liable for the applicant's costs of dealing with that issue.

Claiming compensation

Form T381 has a section asking whether you want to claim compensation if the application succeeds despite your objection, with an approximate amount. This figure is expressly provisional — making the claim does not stop you from objecting to the application on its merits, and you are not locked into the number you give.

If the Tribunal does discharge or modify the covenant, section 84(1) allows it to order compensation on one of two heads, not both:

• a sum to make up for the loss or disadvantage you will suffer because of the discharge or modification; or
• a sum reflecting how much the restriction reduced the price paid for your land when the covenant was originally imposed.

If compensation is ordered, the discharge or modification does not legally take effect until the Tribunal has confirmed the compensation has been paid, and the Tribunal can direct that its order lapses if payment is not made within a set time.

Worked example

Priya, a fictional example, owns a house whose garden backs onto a plot of land that a developer now wants to build on. A covenant on the developer's land — created decades ago when both plots were sold off the same larger site — restricts it to a single dwelling. Priya's conveyance shows she has the benefit of that covenant as the current owner of the neighbouring land it was created to protect.

The developer applies to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) on Form T379, relying on ground (aa): that the single-dwelling restriction impedes reasonable use of the land and secures no practical benefit of substantial value to neighbours. A publicity notice is displayed, and Priya receives a copy of the application on 3 March. She has until 3 April to file Form T381.

She ticks the second entitlement box (covenant created to benefit land she owns), sets out her objection — loss of light and increased overlooking from a larger development — and states she wants a hearing. She also claims a provisional £15,000 in compensation in case the Tribunal proceeds anyway. The developer does not dispute her entitlement within 14 days, so she is automatically admitted to oppose the application, and the Tribunal goes on to give directions for statements of case and a hearing date.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Missing the one-month deadline. Diarise it from the date you receive the publicity notice or the application copy — do not wait until you have gathered every piece of evidence first.
• Ticking the wrong entitlement box, or ticking one without being able to evidence it. If your paperwork does not clearly show your entitlement, get advice before you file, not after the applicant disputes it.
• Only sending your objection to the Tribunal. You must also serve a copy on the applicant directly.
• Leaving the "hearing" question unanswered. Rule 34(2)(e) requires you to say whether you want the case decided at a hearing — decide this deliberately rather than by default.
• Assuming a fee applies to objecting. It does not — only the applicant's original application attracts a fee.
• Forgetting to claim compensation as a fallback. You can object to the application in full and still ask for a provisional compensation figure in case the Tribunal does not accept your objection.

What to do next

1. Check you are entitled to object. Confirm whether you are the original covenantee or the current owner of land the covenant benefits, and gather your title documents or conveyancing history.
2. Diarise the deadline the moment you learn of the application. Work out the one-month date from the publicity notice or the date you received the application.
3. Identify which section 84 ground the applicant relies on, and prepare your response to it specifically, rather than a general objection.
4. Complete Form T381 in full — your and any representative's details, your entitlement basis, your grounds of objection, whether you want a hearing, and any provisional compensation claim.
5. File with the Tribunal and serve the applicant — by e-filing, or by post or email to the Registrar — and keep proof of when you sent it.
6. Respond promptly if the applicant disputes your entitlement within 14 days; you will have 14 days to send evidence.
7. Take advice early if your entitlement is disputed, the covenant matters to you financially, or the case looks likely to reach a hearing.

This guide provides general information about objecting to a restrictive covenant application in England and Wales. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice tailored to your specific circumstances. The law described was accurate as at August 2026 and is subject to change — always check GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk for the most current position.

Last reviewed: August 2026 · Next review due: August 2027 or on legislative change.