Restrictive Covenants


Release of Restrictive Covenants

Restrictive covenants have been requested by the Ministry of Environment as a means to protect natural open space associated with various types of private land development. Covenants represent an agreement, in perpetuity, between private property owners and the Ministry to retain patches of land that represent an area's ecological diversity and benefits. These agreements may also be applied as a measure to ensure that government legislation is respected, such as the protection of fish habitat under the federal Fisheries Act. As such, these agreements are to be respected in perpetuity.

There are some restrictive covenants that explicitly outline the conditions under which the covenant may be amended or even released. In these cases, the Ministry will respect the specific terms of the agreement.