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Real Property • Real Covenants
PROP#132
Legal Definition
A successor in interest to the covenanting party must hold the entire duration of interest held by the covenantor at the time he made the covenant.
Plain English Explanation
Vertical privity exists when the successor to a property interest holds the entire estate held by the original party that agreed to the covenant. In other words, a tenant does not have vertical privity with the landlord, since the landlord's interest in the property extends far beyond that of the tenant (i.e., when the lease is over, the landlord gets the property back)
Hypothetical
Hypo 1: Amy owns Whiteacre. She's interested in selling part of Whiteacre to Bob, but Bob needs assurances that Amy will help pay to maintain the shared driveway between the two properties. Amy agrees. Amy sells a portion of Whiteacre, called New Whiteacre, to Bob with a covenant that "for herself, her heirs, successors, and assigns to contribute 50% of the expenses related to maintaining a common driveway between Whiteacre and New Whiteacre." Amy then conveys Whiteacre "to Carl for life." Carl refuses to pay to maintain the shared driveway. Result: Bob can not enforce the covenant against Carl because Carl does not possess the entire interest that Amy did, he only has a life estate, which means there is no vertical privity.
Visual Aids
Related Concepts
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