Agricultural Tie and Occupancy Covenant Mortgages for Over 55s

Agricultural ties are planning conditions typically attached to houses built on agricultural land, restricting occupation to a person last employed in agriculture, forestry, or related rural trades. The tie is registered as a planning condition and cannot simply be ignored. Breaching an agricultural tie can result in planning enforcement action, including potentially a requirement to vacate the property. Lenders know this, and they assess the risk of the property being unoccupiable to a future buyer and therefore less saleable.

Local connection covenants are common in national parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and some specific rural areas including parts of Cornwall, Wales, and the Lake District. They typically require occupiers to have a local connection through employment, family, or existing residency. The covenants are sometimes administered by the local authority and sometimes through private deeds.

Rural Exception Site developments are a specific planning route where housing is permitted in areas that would otherwise be closed to development, in exchange for the homes being restricted to local people. These are common in national parks and have become more widespread over the past 20 years.

Lifting an agricultural tie or occupancy covenant is sometimes possible through the local planning authority, typically by demonstrating that the original purpose no longer applies. This is a specialist planning process requiring a qualified planning consultant and usually involving evidence gathering over several months. Where a lifting application is in progress or likely to succeed, lender appetite may be broader. Where no lifting is planned, the covenant continues to apply and lenders underwrite accordingly.

We are not planning consultants and cannot advise on whether a covenant can be lifted or the likelihood of success. We signpost planning advice where relevant. Our role is the mortgage, which assesses the property as it stands including the covenant.

The Process

Your first conversation is a relaxed discussion about the property, the nature of the covenant, and your circumstances. There is no cost or obligation.

We may ask for the planning history, the specific wording of the covenant, and any recent correspondence with the local planning authority. We research the market and come back with a written recommendation.

Every covenant case is different. A working farm cottage with a live agricultural tie is a different case from a National Park property with a local connection covenant, and our recommendations reflect those differences.