What is a restrictive covenant?

• A restrictive covenant (RC) is an agreement between landowners that limits the type of development on a property now and into the future. This is the best protection against higher density development in our neighbourhood. The Britannia Caveat is an example of a Restrictive Covenant that has successfully been used to enforce special development rules for many years

• A new RC for Elboya is being proposed. When a large number of our properties have the same new covenant, this provides group protection against challenges in court, with group resources to defend it.

Why should I do this?

• Most neighbourhoods around us have done this, including Britannia, Elbow Park, Rideau, Roxborough, Bel Aire, Chinook Park and Kelvin Grove. This now makes Elboya an easier target for developers; a “sitting duck” with relatively less protection.

• A new covenant is a relatively inexpensive way to allow us, as a group of neighbours, to guide the future development of Elboya and protect our property value as single family lots.

But I already have a restrictive covenant on my property?

• Legal discussions have suggested a new, modern covenant will have more legal “weight” for the following reasons:

  • If there has been an exception made to another property with an existing older covenant, it could make your RC (and your direct neighbours) indefensible, opening opportunity for a R-CG 8-plex beside you, for example.

  • Older covenants can generally be harder to defend as they were made at a totally different time. Toronto recently declared RC’s older than 40 years to be null and void, opening up opportunities for high density.

  • Some old covenants in Elboya have only a few properties registered on them. This makes it easier for a developer to have it removed in court. A new covenant with more properties provides group protection as more landowners would support it being upheld in court.

What will this cost?

• The cost to do this will be $500 for each property to allow for a new covenant to be registered on your property and provide money for a legal fund to defend any challenges to the covenant in the future. There is power in many, as neighbours work together to protect each other.

• The Britannia covenant has functioned effectively this way for decades and their community fund has supported any effort to have their covenant removed.