covenant (law) - Historical Covenants, Legal Covenants

A term used in certain legal systems (eg in England and Wales, but not in Scotland) for a written document under seal; also known as a deed. It contains a promise to act in a certain way, which is signed, sealed, and takes effect on delivery (in the USA, the requirement of seal is now largely abolished). A transfer of property may be made by deed. In England and Wales, most documents transferring freehold or leasehold land contain covenants which are said to ‘run with the land’. A covenant may be positive, providing for the performance of some act or the payment of money, or negative or restrictive, forbidding some act. In some cases there may be a tax advantage: the term deed of covenant is often used in the UK for members of charities to covenant their membership subscriptions or donations (it being assumed that the subscription is paid after tax has been deducted). The charity claims back from the tax authorities a sum equal to the tax paid by the member.

More specifically, a covenant, in contrast to a contract, is a one-way agreement whereby the covenantor is the only party bound by the promise.

The covenant is an important concept in Jewish and Christian thinking, derived in the first instance from the biblical covenant tradition.

Historical Covenants

Historically, certain treaties and compacts have been given the name of covenant, most notably the Solemn League and Covenant that marked the Covenanters, a Protestant political organization important in the history of Scotland.

Other important documents that have been given the name 'covenant' include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Palestinian National Covenant.

Legal Covenants

Under the common law a covenant was distinguished from an ordinary contract by the presence of a seal. Because the presence of a seal indicated an unusual solemnity in the promises made in a covenant, the common law would enforce a covenant even in the absence of consideration.

In contemporary practice in the USA, a covenant typically refers to restrictions set on contracts like deeds of sale. "Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions," abbreviated "CC&Rs," is a common term for covenants attached to a contract of sale for a house, condominium, or cooperative, particularly in the tens of millions of American homes governed by a Homeowners' Association (HOA) or condominium association.

In the 1920s and 1930s, covenants that restricted the sale of property on the basis of race, ethnicity, and religion were common throughout the USA, particularly in the South.