A senior lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University Law School, Michael Poulsom, has warned that many leasehold and some freehold titles contain covenants that forbid the use of residential property ‘for the purposes of trade or business’.

Whilst this is unlikely to affect workers doing a regular office job from a laptop, it could be an issue for the self-employed or those who deal with customers face to face in their homes. If the landlord is notified and decides to take legal action, the consequences for violating the terms of a lease include forfeiture of the property.

So, it’s important for leaseholders and freeholders subject to restrictive covenants to check their leases, title deeds and any other relevant documentation (and obtain legal advice if unsure) to ensure they do not inadvertently commit a breach of covenant.