Also known as: usual covenant for title · covenants for title
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A collection of promises by a grantor in a deed assuring the grantee of good title and protection against defects. The promises typically include covenants of seisin, right to convey, against encumbrances, quiet enjoyment, warranty, and sometimes further assurance.
Urban Utley conveyed a commercial parcel to Unity Capital by general warranty deed that contained the usual covenants for title. An earlier mortgage held by Apex Finance was not excepted from the deed. When Apex later foreclosed and evicted Unity Capital, the eviction triggered the covenants of seisin, right to convey, and against encumbrances, allowing Unity Capital to recover its loss from Urban Utley.
Ulf Ulfsson conveyed a medical office building to Ursula Ung by special warranty deed that limited covenants to claims arising through him. A restrictive covenant recorded by a prior owner decades earlier prevented Ursula from using the building for her intended dental practice. Because the encumbrance predated Ulf's ownership and was not created by him, the special warranty provided no basis for recovery against Ulf Ulfsson.
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The usual covenants for title consist of seisin, right to convey, against encumbrances, quiet enjoyment, warranty, and sometimes further assurance. These promises appear together in a general warranty deed and assure the grantee that the grantor holds the estate described and that title is free from undisclosed defects.
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A quitclaim deed contains no covenants for title. It conveys only whatever interest the grantor possesses and shifts all risk of title defects to the grantee.
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A special warranty deed limits the usual covenants to defects arising by, through, or under the grantor. A general warranty deed extends the same covenants to all defects, whenever created.
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Covenants for title may run with the land. Later grantees can therefore enforce them against the original grantor when a breach occurs.
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…uniform, we understand the law upon the subject to be perfectly well settled. Taylor on Landlord and Tenant, 147; Rawle on Covenants for Title, 147. The lessor is responsible upon the covenant for his own acts, and for the acts of others claiming by title paramount to the lease, but he is not responsible for the acts of a mere…