Also known as: affirmative covenant · negative covenant · affirmative covenants · negative covenants · restrictive covenants
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
A classification of servitudes in which the nature of the burden determines the category. An affirmative covenant compels the covenantor to perform a specified act. A negative covenant requires the covenantor to refrain from specified conduct.
Alan Ackerman owns a condominium unit in a mixed-use building. The recorded declaration requires each unit owner to contribute proportionally to maintenance of a shared law library in a neighboring unit. The contribution duty binds Alan as a subsequent purchaser because the burden runs with the land and compels positive action.
Arcadia Retail purchases an office unit subject to a recorded declaration. The declaration prohibits any unit from serving as a high-volume document storage facility. The prohibition binds Arcadia because it limits permissible land uses and operates as a negative restraint on conduct.
The nature of the burden controls the classification. A covenant that requires the covenantor to perform an act is affirmative. A covenant that requires the covenantor to refrain from conduct is negative.
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A restrictive covenant is a negative covenant that limits permissible uses of land. Negative easements receive equivalent treatment as restrictive covenants.
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Yes. The obligation requires unit owners to perform the positive act of making proportional payments. This character distinguishes it from a negative covenant that merely forbids particular conduct.
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Yes. The prohibition directly forbids a category of activity and thereby narrows the range of lawful uses to which the burdened land may be put.
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